Jasmine in Gunsmoke

short story about Rajesh Patel in Saigon 1974 a tale of loneliness desire and loyalty in a city on the brink of change. Written by Huynh Tan Hung April 2025. 50 years after the war's end. It is a personal and honest story born from my own life experience. I was adopted from Vietnam during the war in 1975 in connection with Operation Babylift an American rescue mission during which over 3000 children were flown out of the country. I was on the first plane that arrived in San Francisco on April 5 1975 received by President Gerald Ford. I was named Bjorn (after Björn Borg the Swedish tennisplayer) as the only thing known at the time was that I was headed to Sweden.I grew up there without placing much focus on my origins. But after my divorce in my 40s a need to understand my past was awakened. I took a DNA test and traveled back to Vietnam. The test revealed that I am half Vietnamese and half Indian. Through DNA matches I have connected with relatives of my biological mother who now live in the USA second cousins and cousins but no direct information about my biological parents.My short story is a way to reach out to them to write myself back into something I never truly got to be a part of. To find threads to my origins to process and create meaning. It is a form of therapy but also a story I believe can touch more people than just myself.Thank you for taking the time to read it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and hope that my story can find its way to a wider audience.Warm regardsHuynh Tan Hung