John had been a familiar face in my office for years. Quiet, polite, always ordering the same thing. Just another customer, or so I thought. Last week, I casually mentioned that my girlfriend and I were planning a trip to Vietnam. That’s when everything changed.

His expression froze. “I was there,” he said softly. “During the fall of Saigon. I helped evacuate orphaned children onto rescue flights.” My heart dropped. I had been adopted from Vietnam as a baby. I told him.

He stared at me, hands pausing mid-motion, eyes filling with tears. “Then I might’ve held you,” he whispered.

Silence sat between us. Continues…