Every time my husband’s family visited him in prison, he always found an excuse to hug or stroke their hair, secretly keeping a strand of hair in his hand.
My husband and I went to high school together in our hometown, and later moved to the city to study and start a life together. Understanding the struggles of moving from the countryside to the city to make a living, we quickly developed feelings for each other. With the support of both families, we had a small wedding and continued to build our future in the city.
At first, we opened a small fruit stall in a local market. Every day, my husband would drive 60 kilometers to a wholesale market to buy goods for me to sell. With the support of many people and a natural knack for business, we soon bought a house and settled down. After 10 years of building our lives in the city, we had our first child. We promised each other to work hard, save money to renovate our parents’ homes in the countryside, and put aside savings for our children’s education.
But life took an unexpected turn when, on one of his trips to the wholesale market, my husband, exhausted from late nights and early mornings, caused an accident by hitting an 81-year-old woman crossing the street. He rushed her to the hospital, but thankfully, she wasn’t seriously injured. Despite compensating her family with all our savings, my husband was sentenced to 5 years in prison after the woman’s family filed a lawsuit.
When he went to prison, everything seemed like it was falling apart for our family. Our child cried as he said goodbye to his father, and I cried as I said farewell to my husband. He wiped his tears, and with a choked voice, he said:
“When I get out in 5 years, there will be nothing left. You should leave me and find someone else to take care of you. Please find someone who will love you and our child. Don’t come visit me anymore. I have nothing now, don’t wait for me.”
After saying this, he turned and walked away without looking back. Hearing his words was like a bitter pill. We had been through so much together, and we had a child. How could he just give up on us so easily? No matter what, I would keep fighting and try to get him out early. For the first year, my husband refused to see me, even when I brought our child to visit. He only sent messages telling me to remarry and take care of the child.
But I was determined. I would not give up. Every day I worked hard to pay off his debts and raise our child. On weekends, I took our child to visit him in prison. Eventually, my persistence softened him. He began to meet us, even asking me to come earlier because he missed our child terribly.
Soon, we made it a routine. We’d bring him homemade meals and spend quality time with him. At first, our child was upset that his dad wouldn’t see us, saying:
“Dad doesn’t like us. He won’t meet us, so why should we go?”
But after meeting him a few times, our child was overjoyed. From then on, he always wanted to go with me. Sometimes he would bring his school books for dad to teach him, or homemade gifts. For me, those visits were a kind of happiness, but there was always one thing that puzzled me. Every time we visited, my husband would always try to pull a strand of hair from me or our child. Sometimes he would hug us and stroke our hair, and other times, he would directly pull our son’s hair. I asked him about it, but he just smiled.
After nearly 4 years in prison, my husband was released early due to his good behavior. On the day he was released, our child and I went to greet him with a bouquet of fresh flowers.
That night, after so many years apart, we finally slept together again. He promised to work hard to give our family a better life. Then, he opened a backpack and pulled out a glass jar filled with strands of hair and said:
“Do you know what this is?”
I nodded, though I was confused, and he explained:
“This is the hair from you and our child that I’ve kept every time you visited me. During my time in prison, I missed you both terribly. But in the first year, I tried to forget about it, hoping you would have a better life. It was your love that helped me see the future differently, so I decided to meet you and our child. But I wanted something of yours with me to remind me that I have a happy family waiting for me. This hair not only eased my longing but also motivated me to reform so I could get out early.”
Hearing this, I cried because I realized how hard he had tried in prison, just like we had tried in life.
Our child, who had been standing outside the door, rushed in to hug his dad and cried.
He was so proud, especially since his dad was praised by many officers for his good conduct. My husband asked him:
“Do you feel ashamed because your dad has a criminal record?”
But our child, always understanding and loving his father, answered:
“No, mom says you’re a good man, and you only ended up in prison because of one mistake. You’re the happiest dad in the world because you will always have mom and me by your side.”
My husband and I burst out laughing at our son’s witty answer.