"Dear Xiaoli,

I hope you'll forgive your shimu for playing this trick on you again.

I see you've finally seen this lantern scroll after playing at the festival all night long.
And I wouldn't blame you for that. If I weren't so busy, I would gladly come with you in a heartbeat.

Hehe, you know I merely jest. You've worked hard these few years, dear daughter, especially this season.
I cannot imagine where our lantern shop would be without you around to help.

Alas, sometimes life just does not treat you well, even if you worked hard.
We all deserve a rest when things get a bit too much.
It just happened that I needed a particularly long one, which I might not wake up from...

So, don't forget to take care of yourself!
And always pursue what your heart truly desires - don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Happy Lantern Festival, dear. I hope you had enough fun, for the both of us.

P.S - You may take our savings stash at you-know-where. Spend wisely."

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~Art by:   Pagie
Karen © me
The cameo characters in the background are the artist's OCs lol

This scene is from Karen's past. She and her brother, Aeon, actually were orphans. They grew up in a small shanty town in Southern China and were adopted by two separate families. (Her old name was Xiaoli as can be seen in the letter here)
Karen's adoptive mother, who often referred to herself as "shimu" (as opposed to shifu), was a craftswoman, specialized in making and selling lantern designs - and every festival she'd send Karen around to deliver her clients' orders.
Sadly, bad things keep happening to her shimu, and one thing after another, Karen knew something went wrong for her to receive a letter like this from shimu.