The Things You Would Have Said
Month
Dear Self,
I miss you. I miss the always optimistic smile that graced your face. I miss the compassion and the love that poured out of you like a fountain that would never dry. Most of all, girl from the past, I miss your powerful mind that could shape and mold the world around you to your desire.
Why did you leave? Was it the stabbing pain of lost relationships that compelled you to build the walls you hide behind? Did the pounding discouragement of the world chase you away?
You left without a breath, no warning or goodbye. I do not even know when it was that you slipped by, unnoticed. No longer do I see your face beaming back to me in the glass; the reflection is now gray and littered with negativity.
If you are still alive, wherever you may be, please leave a clue.
I will find you. You won’t be forgotten.
Love,
Me, age 19
Dear M,
This letter has been written and unwritten for five years now. I’ll continue to write it, in hopes that it will be answered.
The day I drove away will stick in my head forever. When I saw you last, I didn’t know it would be the final time. I resented you, overcome with hurt about a decision that we both made; the baby that would never be. I should have hugged you and wished you well, but instead I was hurt and watched as you removed your belongings, one by one.
As days glimpsed to years, I assessed that hurt. I needed to find you to apologize, to get over it, to rekindle the friendship that had sustained me for years. None of the social networks could locate you. You didn’t want to be found.
There are so many ghosts in this town that take on the shape of you. I’ve tapped on countless shoulders, thinking it must be you, written to old email addresses that bounce back, and tried in earnest to have my apology be heard.
It is this same feeling, day in, day out, that I carry with me. It weighs me down.
I’m sorry for that fateful day where I could have said, ‘See you later’, but instead I barely spoke. I should have told you that you were the most brilliant and inspiring human being that was in my life for six years. Thank you for affecting my world in such a way that even now, after not having seen you in five years, I write this letter.
I still carry that hope, as ridiculous as it may seem, that we could be friends one day. As life waxes and wanes, I still carry this hope. It’s too painful to swallow the idea that goodbye is definite.
Sincerely,
Jess, age 33
Duke,
I had no idea this would happen to you. People keep saying I must’ve known, had to have heard something.
For some reason, they don’t get that if I had know someone was coming to kill you, I would have told you.
Sorry you don’t get to see your son grow up. He is a lot like you: loyal, kind, and willing to do whatever it takes to make Shawna happy.
I don’t believe there is some great afterlife out there, but I do believe you are at peace.
R, age 21
Dear Charly,
Things I would have said: I’m sorry I didn’t say bye this morning. I’m sorry I didn’t pet you before bed. I’m sorry I didn’t take you for a walk. I am sorry I dropped the phone and it hit your head.
Love,
Cenna, age 8
Dearest Tyler,
I love you. I think you finally realized this when you told me you were going to prom with another girl and you saw the look in my eyes. I was heartbroken. I mean, we were together every single day. I had slowly started falling for you. But I suppose because I am not popular like all the other girls that you won’t ever like me. Even if you did, it wouldn’t go anywhere because you are afraid of what other people would say.
I was the only person to actually like you for you. I guess it will take you awhile to realize that. It truly breaks my heart that trying to fit in would keep you from seeing what a great relationship we would have had. We had many great times joking in the library and doing homework together. I miss every minute of it. Every second. I miss us laughing and making jokes about the lunch ladies, the teachers, and the library ladies. I miss you.
Love,
your Library Companion, age 17
Hey Jessi,
I miss you terribly. I wish with my whole heart that you would just come back, and that everything would go back to normal. It’s our senior year, and I need my best friend. I regret not coming to see you at the hospital sooner, but they told me I couldn’t. But now, I would’ve found a way. Any way. I feel lost and out of place.
But in a weird way, I think you were meant to die. That your tragic death jumpstarts my life. It makes a little bit more sense everyday, and then again, not at all. You’ve completely changed my outlook on life, how fragile it is. Sometimes I feel you when I least expect it. Sometimes I have this huge urge to tell you about my day. Sometimes I don’t think about you at all. I hope that one day, this all makes sense.
I miss you so much. I can’t put it into words. I guess it’s not goodbye, it’s “I’ll see you later”.
-Sunny, age 18
Dear Dad,
Well it’s been a while. I miss you terribly. I’ve been missing you ever since you walked out on the family. I wonder if I had been a better son, would you have stayed? If I did better in school or was a star athlete, would you have at least noticed me from time to time? I just wanted to make you proud, just to hear you say “I love you” or “I’m proud” would have been enough.
But I kept on trying. I made varsity my sophomore year of high school and we won a championship too, but you didn’t know that, did you? You came in and out of my sisters and my life, promising us empty promises and weightless dreams of a day when we would be a happy family again. There is a little boy in me who sits by the door waiting for his father to open it and announce he was home and that this time it was for good. But still the door remains closed. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think how life would have been different for me and mom. Lisa is fifteen now; you should see how beautiful she is.
When she told me she made varsity, I finally knew what it was to be proud. I cried that night knowing that because you weren’t there, she looked to me for approval. Growing up, I didn’t have all the answers to her questions so I grew up quickly and was robbed of my childhood. And for that, I resent you. But I can’t hate you for that because if you hadn’t walked out, I would not be the young man I am today. So for that, I say thank you.
Your only son,
Andres, age 18
Dear Toolbelt,
I just want to say that I love you so much, and you will always matter and you will always be important to me. Though we run in different circles, I will never forget the way I felt when I was alone with you. Those were some of the best moments of my life. I hope that some day we actually date. I’d love to finally be with you. Until then, I’ll have to put up with admiring you from afar. Every night I run the memories of us in my head, like a slideshow. The things we said to each other, and that last talk we had about us, and I am comforted in the fact that you love me, and that I’m your girl. I know that though we never dated, all those things are true. It hurts to think how far we’ve come and that we never got the chance, but if you ever get distressed, or are in need of love and comfort, please come find me, and I will willingly give. I do love you very much.
Forever yours,
Princess, age 17
Dear “Dad”,
I am glad I have this opportunity to write to you anonymously. I have thought very long and very hard about what I would say to you if I had the chance. First of all, thank you for adopting me and changing my life. You always financially supported our family, and Mom seemed to be really happy home-schooling us and being a homemaker. When I was 11, you started coming in my room late at night to “tell me bedtime stories”. I thought, If I was too old to have a tree house, why did I need bedtime stories? The first time you raped me, I was 12. I was confused about this for a very long time, and continue to be confused to this day. You left when I was 14. You had been cheating on my mom and got a younger girl pregnant. You packed up and left one day, and I haven’t heard from you since.
I see pictures online of your new children, and your new family (funny that they resemble us). I know you always wanted some of your own. I wish I could have been that. I feel we were not good enough. I used to be daddy’s little girl, but you left me and got a new version. I remember how you used to call me Sunshine all the time.
While it may not have been a heartwarming story, losing you has taught me a lot about life and made me a lot stronger. I have a hard time trusting men now, but besides that I am a strong person. Strong, but bitter. You took away my sweetness. You took away my sunshine.
The worst part is that I still love you, because you are my dad and always will be. I have tried to find you many times, but you don’t want to be found.
I wish you would call…to tell me you still love me, and that you were just confused, and that you didn’t mean to do what you did to me. To us.
Love,
Sunshine girl, age 18
Dear Kimberly,
There was a time when we had a chance to be much more than friends. I was so in love with you, but hid it because you’d been hurt so badly in your last relationship.
But I also hid them because I couldn’t believe that a woman with your intelligence, beauty, and amazing heart could ever fall in love with someone like me.
So I hid the depth of my feelings, hoping that the time would come when I wouldn’t have to hide them any more. But all the while, I was also thinking that such a time would never come along.
And then, amazingly it did…and I missed it. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made was how I acted on “The Night” (as I call it). When I took you home and walked you to the door, you kissed me differently than you ever had before or since.
That kiss delighted, confused, and stunned me all at the same time. I was confused and stunned because you never indicated that you had those feelings before. So stunned that I didn’t know how to feel or act.
In the moment, I panicked, said goodnight, and left. It didn’t take long to realize how stupid I’d been.
I’ve asked myself why I did that a million times, maybe more. I was stunned because this moment I had so long wished for was within my grasp…and I fumbled it away.
When we had dinner a couple of days later, I could already feel that the moment had passed. There was a slight distance that hadn’t been there before.
While time has passed and you’ve become a happily married woman, know that I loved you with all my heart then and I still do today.
If presented the opportunity to give up everything for one chance to go back to “The Night”, I’d do it without hesitation.
My love now and always,
Mark, age 44
To the boy who molested me,
You reinforced my belief that God is nonexistent, after what you did. But I came out of the situation completely unhurt. I dealt with what happened on my own and I moved on. You showed me how incredible my own internal strength was, and that I needn’t a deity to guide my way. Just me was good enough, and now I know I can get through anything.
For that, I am eternally thankful.
Stacy, age 20
Dear Grandma,
There are a million things I wish I had said to you. But now, I’m stuck with the guilt and regret and the anger of what happened. You were such a beautiful person, both inside and out, and you were taken so suddenly. I know that people say life is not fair, but in your case, there are no words to describe how unfair it was. You were just starting to live, just starting to explore the world, and then you were taken from us.
I miss you everyday. I wish you were here, more than anything. I wish things had been different.
I was young and selfish. Whenever you called, I was too wrapped up in my own life and dramas to talk to you. I sped through our conversations to get back to something meaningless. You always made it known how much you cared about and loved us, but I don’t think I ever told you how much I loved you and how much you meant to our entire family. I didn’t treasure the moments we had together. Now you’re gone and all I want is one last hug and one more of your brilliant smiles.
I know that you’re looking down on me from Heaven and I can only hope that you’re proud of me. I look back on your funeral and can’t believe I wasn’t there. I wanted to go so bad, but couldn’t miss school. I look back on that week and realize how dumb I was. You were so important to me. Please know that I’m sorry, but please know that I loved you with all of my heart.
Linds, age 21
Dear Cody,
You are a dog with wings. An angel sent from heaven to bring my torn family closer. You knew we needed you, and you will never know how much I am going to miss you. You were diagnosed with cancer a week ago, and there is nothing more we can do. I feel silly writing this but I don’t care, and I know you never cared how silly we looked. You loved us unconditionally. I will forever regret telling you to go away or not letting you sleep with me or putting you outside when you smelled bad. The fact that you won’t be around to annoy me anymore is absolutely heart- breaking. Thank you for reuniting my family and making us better people. I am going to try as hard as I can to make your last days on earth comfortable and full of love. I love you, and thank you. I will never forget you.
Love,
L, age 15
Dear Mam-ma,
It’s been almost two years since you passed away, and I swear sometimes I can still hear you giving me advice. I can still hear your sweet voice telling me that everything will be alright, even when it feels like the world is going to end. You would be proud of me now. I’m getting married in eight months to a wonderful man. His faith in God is amazing and I know that is just the type of person you would want me to find. I really wish you could have met him.
I’m sorry that when I was younger I didn’t appreciate you as much as I should have. I guess hindsight is always 20/20. Thank you for always giving my mom advice on how to deal with me growing up. She really needed it and you were the perfect person to give it to her. She misses you every day. You were her best friend. I know you’re watching over us. Thanks for being everything I ever could have wanted in a grandma. You were the best.
Love and miss you,
Caity, age 21
Texas,
I just remember all the little moments. At three am and it was pitch black and pouring rain and it seeped into the cracks in the window and I could hear it hit the cars below and the trees and it streaked down the glass and we just laid there and listened and couldn’t see anything but we just felt and we just were. Just laid there and listened to the rain. I had dreams and more dreams and they were so close and so real and I felt as though I could reach out and touch them and feel the wind and the sun and the tears rolling down my face. I remember watching you drive away down the road and the wind was blowing in my hair and it was autumn because all the leaves on the trees had dried and begun to crack and they made whispers when the wind blew past them and I watched and your car disappeared into the distance and I knew it was goodbye but I don’t think I cried because nothing is forever, ever.
I always wonder if you’ll come floating back or call me, maybe in thirty years when we’re both aged and I can smile and you’ll have all you ever wanted, and maybe I will too. I think I’ll get there eventually if I don’t fall off the tracks but sometimes the trains just come too fast, when I least expect it. A few nights ago, I walked across the bridge with the tracks below and it was warm and humid and everything hung in the air just like the nights when we used to talk about nothing but it meant everything. And I watched the tracks, just watched them and I think they sparkled. Maybe I’ll catch it someday like I wanted to catch you but right now I’m just floating. I think maybe you are too and so someday sometime before I die I just want to say goodbye again.
Glenn, age 19
Daddy,
Everyday I look in the mirror, and I see so much of you in myself. I have your eyes, your nose, your stupid little butt chin that I still hate. How could I have known that when I was 13, laying in bed and thought “Tomorrow is going to be a really, really good day, I can feel it” that I would be so terribly wrong?
Aunt Pam and Danielle woke me early in the morning to tell me that you were no longer with us and that you died three hours earlier, unconscious at the hospital after the accident. The time was 6:12 am and the image of that digital clock will forever be burned into my memories. I now count everything in intervals of 6’s and 12’s and can’t make it stop. You haunt my dreams and I try to shrug it off as no big deal when people ask me about you and how you died. Little do they know that I have been to so many counselors and still I can’t stop seeing your cold, empty and lifeless face in my dreams.
I curse your name in my sleep when I dream of how you left Megan and I alone way before your death. I still have anger in my heart, even though you are now gone. I feel more anger when I think of how I was your little princess and how you used to give me everything I ever wanted. You were my knight in shining armor and I never thought our lives would have separated as they did. I miss you and I miss the times I used to pray for you to get better and put the bottle down. Now, I no longer pray. I no longer sleep. I’ve tried my hardest to ignore the features that you passed down to me. I try to keep you from my memory as much as possible.
Why should I miss you? You weren’t there before so why should I care now?
To tell you the truth, I miss feeling hope that you would one day come back. You could have changed your life and maybe the accident would not have happened. If you were so tired from work that night, you should have let your friend drive home.
Because now, you will never know what I looked like on my prom night. You will never know how my first boyfriend treated me. You wont be able to dance with me on my wedding day. You will never get to hold your future grandchildren. I know you came and sat on my bed when I was going through the first couple months after your passing, just as you did when I was scared to fall asleep without my night-light on. I know how you wanted to hold me like I was your little princess again. I just know it.
Hopefully I can draw strength from those times and from the good times we had together, when I was younger. I will start praying again so that I may forgive you and finally begin to live my life without the anger and the counting. Please be with me on my journey. I really need the man I used to call Daddy. I love you, and as much as anger I have for you, I am still torn to pieces that I will never feel your embrace again.
Your eldest daughter.
Kaila, age 19
Honey,
How long has it been since you really kissed me? It feel as though it’s been forever. You say, “I love you”, but I usually don’t feel any love. I wish things were different. Better, happier. Not just content, but in-love.
Your loving husband, age 32
Dear Daddy,
I’m sorry I was so young and helpless, but maybe if you had stuck around a few more years you would’ve heard what I had to say about things. If I wasn’t three years old at the time, I would’ve been able to cry to you, tug on your shirt, tell you not to go. You could’ve waited just a few more years…to see me grow up, keep straight A’s all eleven years of school so far, play piano, have friends, and grow up into a beautiful young girl. But I guess you thought eleven days before I turned four was a perfect time to go on a stroll through the woods, with a rope in your hand and bad intentions in your mind.
I’m sorry your family wasn’t the best to you. I’m sorry Mommy and I couldn’t help you. You never told us you were sad until we found you. No hints, no notes, no inkling of a guess or even a thought that it was where you were heading. Mommy tried her best to make my life great with just the two of us. She’s done a pretty close job in making things perfect. We still have your house.
I cry everyday. But not aloud, usually. I’ve grown to be very secluded. I don’t open up to people very well. Mom says I need to show my emotions because I’m like a blank canvas. I just don’t want to show people my hurt. But on the outside I’m a little girl who keeps the smallest smile alive all the time, because Mommy would be upset if I didn’t. What you did twelve years ago has hurt me and I’m not the best at forgiving people. Sorry.
But it’s Christmas Eve and spirits are high and family is over and I’m needed to help wrap presents. Have fun watching.
Carly, age 15
Dear S,
You once said a man who is desperate will fight to the end, and your attempt to separate me from my girls made me desperate to fight for their safety and to maintain relationship with them. As you continue to ignore the girls’ need for their father, you continue to put them in an unstable and hurtful place. They follow your lead and your influence, it is a fact. They never knew fear or mistrust until you taught them to disrespect their father.
The girls understand our marriage relationship is over, but you and I have the continued position of parenting. I request for you to see past the feelings and desire to harm me.
Let my girls go from your desire to keep them from me. They love their father and need their father. You know my love for them is true. I will not stand by and let you take anything more that is stolen.
Sincerely,
The father of your three girls, forever, age 50
Dear Grandpa,
I love you.
I never got to say it while you were alive, and it has haunted me ever since you died. I never got to tell you how much you meant to me, or how many things I admire about you. You taught me everything. About plants, birds, fish, history - everything. I’m never going to meet anyone who is as wise and as humble as you. I can still hear your voice when I close my eyes. I’m afraid that if I do it too often, I might ruin it. Forget your voice. And I never want to. Ever.
You have always been so strong. You had time and patience for everyone. Took nothing for granted. I will never understand why the cancer took you. Why you had to suffer while others got to live. I would have taken all that pain away from you if I had been able to. You never deserved it.
And Grandma is trying to be so strong. She almost didn’t cry at the funeral. I know that she cries when she is alone. She’s just so used to being the strong one. And now that she hasn’t got you to keep her down to earth, she’s having a hard time.
I cried at the funeral. So did Caroline. We stood outside the church for a very long time because no one wanted to go inside and see the coffin. No one wanted to say goodbye to that white coffin. And it was so hard to know that you lay inside of it with your two black eyes. They never managed to heal before the cancer took you. Grandma said that you looked like a Halloween monster, and you smiled and nodded.
I miss you. I miss absolutely everything about you. And I loved you. I still love you. I have been thinking about taking your middle name since you got sick. Just to keep you with me all the time. To be you a little bit.
It’s really hard without you here.
My mom also showed up at your funeral. Even though she and dad got divorced eight years ago, you have meant a lot to her. You meant a lot to everyone. There were so many people there that there weren’t enough chairs.
We can’t bury your urn yet because of the weather. There is so much snow. Actually, the day of your funeral was the last autumn day. It was so pretty. You would have loved it. We would have taken a long walk and looked at the birds and the sky. At the trees and leaves.
A lot of people say “The good die young”, but that’s not always true. You were the best person I have ever known. I never thought I’d be able to write you such a long letter. But I’ve got a thousand more things to tell you.
One day when I’m ready, I’ll go sit on the beach in the autumn and tell you all about it. ‘Cause I’m sure that is where you are now; that is where you have been your entire life. The sea.
I miss you so much.
Emilie, age 18
You,
Thirty two years ago, I hurt you unintentionally. I had been unable to return your feelings for me. You later “found” me again. You had married someone else, had a family. I eventually married, and moved to California. When we began to communicate again, I realized the depth of my feelings for you. I have been so blessed to have a second chance to talk to you, to explain feelings, emotions and share memories with you. You have shared all of these things with me as well. While your life has been a very difficult one, I am able to be here for you now, to listen to your worries. I broke your heart so many years ago. And now, my heart breaks for you. I am here for you always. So grateful that you are there for me. Thank you for finding me again.
Me, age 53
Dear B,
So I am sitting here almost a thousand miles away, and I just thought I would drop you a line in a public forum to tell you thank you.
You’ve been there for me when no one else was. In the past couple of years, I have realized that you are more than just a cousin, you truly are my best friend. I know that no matter what, I can call you and you will be able to make me laugh, and for that I am truly grateful. Sometimes a good laugh is all it takes to bring me back to reality and put things in perspective.
Just wanted to let you know that no matter what, I am here for you. You have my number, and while I may not be able to up and go for a fourteen hour drive, I will always be here to talk to, cry with, vent to or laugh with.
Love ya tons,
Me, age 32
I am so thankful I had the opportunity to write an article for The Huffington Post to share my personal thoughts about The Things You Would Have Said. Take a moment to read it and thank you for your continued participation and support!
Dear Blondie,
I’ll never forget the very second when I fell for you. We were singing Kid Cudi around Fern Ridge in the heart of August. I don’t really know what it was but things sort of clicked between us that day and continued on for months. I remember finishing each other’s sentences that entire day. Then you brought me home and I met your family for the first time. They embraced me with love and kindness like no family I’ve met before. That’s when I knew you were really something special. Here was this bright, beautiful girl that shared my passion for fun and laughter.
There were very few moments when we were together that we weren’t smiling. Being with you reminded me of how I used to be; you brought me back down to earth and showed me what’s important in life. When I’m with you I’m a better man. You are the only girl that I’ve ever brought home that my parents liked just as much as I did and that Mitchell wasn’t afraid of. I miss seeing you every day, I miss smiling every day. I miss feeling complete.
I liked where things were going and I wouldn’t have traded our few moments together for anything in the world. Our relationship just felt like it was going somewhere special; it felt like we were doing things the right way, from friends to best friends then slowly into something more.
One thing in my life that I can’t do is live with regrets, and I don’t like when I let things slip away. You’re too important to me to let slip away, so I’m asking for another chance. I want to find out what would have happened and where we could have gone. I can be amazing for you, and I want to be. I want to take things slow and see where we end up. I don’t know what it is but you make me feel different, special. When I’m with you I feel blessed, like the luckiest man in the world. Let’s not let life pass us by and take this away from us.
G, age 19
Dear Grandmother,
I really enjoy having you with me and being there when I’m lonesome or sad. You always replace a frown with a smile. I’ve always wanted to tell you that I’m so glad you are always in my heart. I can always rely on you!
Sincerely,
Kate, age 8
Dear Seamus,
We all stood in the driveway tonight with your balloons and each said a bit before we let go and watched them fly away into the cold night sky.
I have a hard time calling this day your birthday because you should have NEVER been born this early. You were supposed to be a summer baby. A corn on the cob and peaches baby. Not an early crocus and snow drops one.
I cannot believe that it has been a year now. In some ways it feels like only a couple of months, and in other ways it feels like a decade.
I didn’t know what to expect of today other than I would surely cry. And I have, several times now.
I am still a little bummed that we haven’t find the right container yet for your little ashes. I believe I will know it when I see it, and I haven’t yet. But soon. We have to find just the right one to hold your ashes and those little scraps of defiant bone that refused to disappear even under the thousand degree flames.
I was shocked at how relieved I was to see your little bones in that tiny pile of ashes. It made you so real. You weren’t just this soft little magical creature that should have never left your watery world so early. You were something substantial, something that could withstand a crematory. You were real. You ARE real.
We are pregnant again, but not with a replacement baby. That is not possible as you cannot replace one person with another. No, this is sibling that will hold a different spot in our hearts. A sibling we will tell your name to, so even after we are gone, there are others that will remember your name.
Your big sister still loves you and misses you and thinks this whole thing has been very unfair. Hard to argue her point.
We have lost friendships with people who could not bear to acknowledge your passing. “I am so sorry for your loss” is apparently more than some people can say.
But, we forgive them and move on. And I will keep looking for the crocus that bloomed this day last year. It is late this year as it has been cold, but I have faith it will be there soon. And every spring from now until I die, I will always look for your spring crocus.
I love you little man. You are now and forever my little boy. My son.
Love you forever,
Mama, age 40
Dear Dad,
I loved it when you would let me steer your truck as I sat on your lap when I was younger. People think it’s crazy when I tell them you’d take me hunting and let me ride on the ATV with you, but it was just the way things were back then. I loved the games we’d play in the car while you’d drive (later I found out it was so you wouldn’t fall asleep).
I loved that you told me when I was ten that the song “I’m Already There” by Lonestar was ‘our’ song, because no matter far apart we were, you would already be there.
It’ll be two years in a few days since you passed. Two years since you fell asleep at the wheel. I’m sorry I wasn’t there the past few years. I’m sorry I wasn’t there that night. I love you, forever and always.
“I’m already there, take a look around; I’m the sunshine in your hair, I’m the moonlight shining down, I’m the whisper in the wind, and I’ll be there 'til the end. We may be a thousand miles apart, but I’ll be with you wherever you are.”
Much love,
Nicole, age 19
Dear Dad,
I wish you were there for those thirteen years. I barely know you, it seems. I don’t know how you could just leave me and my brother there with my mentally ill mother, for eight years. Were we not good enough? Were we a mistake? Well that’s apparent, but we were your mistake, and you just swept us under the rug.
When we moved back to your state, I was just a kid and so happy to see my daddy, although I would never call you that. I think you were in my life for a total of four years, as a normal parent, a loving one that sees their child on a regular basis (not once a month, if I was lucky). I know you were busy, making money, enjoying the company of your new wife. Was it worth it?
I would never call you father to your face. It was too hard. I could barely call you by your name. I knew it was wrong–that it wasn’t normal for a child to call their dad by his first name–but I also knew I could never call you dad. Now I don’t call you anything.
Love, your son,
Anon, age 20
Dear Jay,
Ask me out already. You know how I feel about you! I have said how I felt a million times. I have asked you out once and you said wait. Well, I have waited. It hurts to wait! I don’t want to mess up the friendship we have, the moments we have. Yet, all I really want, all I really ever pray for, is that you would ask me out. That when we kissed again, we would kiss as boyfriend/girlfriend.
Love,
Payton, age 16