I've been wanting to come back to this comment. It brought tears to my eyes. Still does, a day later. Your description of your own images of John and Tristan are like little added scenes, things I didn't imagine myself, beautiful and rich in their own right. I can't conceive of a more gratifying response to a piece of writing than to learn how much richness it evoked in the reader's mind and heart.

what I feel is deeper and more turbulent than mere gratitude. Restraint changed me.

Oddly enough, me too. I don't think I'll ever be completely at peace with it. The writing of it was as turbulent and emotional for me as the reading of it seems to have been for you. There's something deeply gratifying in learning that what you felt is so similar to what I felt. It means that by some miracle, the writing--the words themselves--didn't obscure the heart of the story.

Thank you so much for writing what you've written here. It means a great deal to me.