Daddy issues || h.s

AUTHORS NOTE, THANK YOU and A PROMISE

I have lost count of all the times I have tried to write you this note, because suddenly, I find myself at a loss of words. In many ways, this is the hardest chapter I have ever had to write, because it has to be real, because this is my love letter to you, and I only have one chance at making it right.  

I have always wanted to make art, but whenever I tried to do it I would end up with nothing but paint staining on my fingers for weeks. I struggled, because I could never make anything beautiful enough to touch people's hearts, but then one day, I realised maybe I could. Not by the help of a paintbrush or a camera, but by the help of words. In my hands, these black lines seemed to turn into flowers that could only be watered by the eyes of the reader. I always wanted to make art, but you helped convince me I already was.

I will never stop writing, i don't think i ever could, even if i wanted to. It is a part of me, and i am a part of it. As if a piece of me is a fictional character that cannot breathe unless it can see itself on paper. All i have ever wanted to do is to inspire other people, to make them see the world differently or help them find sides of themselves they didn't know existed, and you have made me believe i am already making those dreams come true. You have made me aware that I am alive, that within me, there is a whole forest to explore, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I know you are about to leave this story, but when you do, there are two things I want you take with you. The first one is, that no matter what the fairy tales tell you, you will get more than one true love. Harry found it once, with the blue eyed boy who made his life feel like art, and then again, with the golden haired girl who made flowers grow in his chest. He found it many times after that too, and so will you. Even though you may never feel like art, or have flowers in your chest again, you will feel other things. You will feel like a Sunday morning with the smell of newly grained coffee tickling your nose and birds singing outside your window. You will feel like the tones of an orchestra, spilling out a melody that make a one legged ballerina spin around in perfect circles. You will feel again, and though it may never be the same, it will be just as beautiful. 

The second thing I want you to take with you is this: Stay for the whole story. Because you see; "Daddy Issues" is an illusion. When you first see the cover, and read the summary, you immediately assume you know what is going to happen. But then when you read on, past the cover and the title, you find yourself realising just how wrong you were. Its supposed to seem superficial, yet captivating, like an urban legend you're equally appalled and intrigued by.

That is the concept i have built this story around: Our never ending thirst for details about other peoples lives, but our complete lack of interest in actually getting to know those people. That's why i chose the cover, title, and summary i did; so that you would start out wanting to know the legend, but end up staying for the truth.  

It's like the greenhouse. When you first see it, you see nothing but the broken windows and the old, fading paint, but then you step inside, and see that it is alive. It is breathing, filled with the most beautiful flowers you could ever have imagined, and you think to yourself that if you hadn't stepped inside, if you hadn't dared to dive beneath the sea of broken glass, you would never have seen the insides of their chests. 

So once again, thank you. Thank you infinitely much for all the love you have given me.

This has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life. To write this story, to see it unfold in my hands has changed me in a way I never dreamed possible, and if I am to believe what you have told me, it has changed you too. 

The tale of the boy and the girl with flowers in their chests may be over, but it will forever live within my heart, and you will be there too, sitting in a field of lovely blooms. So if you have any questions regarding this story, whether it be about something that happened before the flowers in their chests sprung out, or after they withered away, please leave them on this paragraph. And I will answer them in any way that I can. I promise.  

Thank you, thank you thank you.

You planted flowers in my chest, and they are the most beautiful I have ever seen.

All the love. K