Dear Love,
It took to long to find the right words to say, can't believe you've been gone a month. It feels like just yesterday you kissed me for the first time. I miss you every day. Sometimes I think I hear your voice and it eases the pain of knowing you're not here. I hope to see you soon.
Love you always,
Your darling
Dear Darling,
I should be home soon, maybe just a few more days. Spending time apart will only make seeing you again that much more of a reward. How are you? I've been missing you like crazy. The other night I swore I saw you in the trees.
See you soon,
Your love
Dear Love,
I'm always tired lately. The dreams came back last week. I don't sleep easy without you here. I have to go now, I have an appointment. I'll write you soon.
Love you always,
Your darling
Dear Darling,
I'll be home in six days. I can't wait to see you. What was your appointment for? I hope you're okay. I love you.
See you soon,
Your love
Dear Love,
I've been sick for a while now. I won't send this letter. I wish I could write the words but I don't know how. Please come home soon. I want to see you...
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Love you always,
Your darling
Dressed in a black suit with tear streaked cheeks and bloodshot eyes, a blond man walked to the podium in front of a closed coffin.
He slowly unfolded a piece of paper, that was new yet worn. "Um, so. I don't know what to say to make this easier on us, because Anna was a huge part of all our lives and now that she's gone, I can hardly think." He coughs awkwardly and looks at the smooth, glossy wood of the coffin. "But I wrote a letter that I wanted Anna to hear..."
"Dear Darling Anna,
It's been three days, seventeen hours, and fifty two minutes since you closed your eyes for just a moment, and that moment turned into forever. Three days, seventeen hours, and fifty two minutes since I forgot how to think and how to breathe properly. Darling Anna, you were my world. From the moment we crashed into each other in the tiled halls of the base, I was a goner. You've always had my heart, so keep it safe for me while we're separated.
Three days, eighteen hours, and thirty six minutes ago, you layed your head on my shoulder to nap for just a moment. Sleep had been evading you for a while, nightmares returned in my absence, but I was there to chase them away while you rested. Three days. Eighteen hours. Twelve minutes ago, you stopped breathing in my arms. I held you as you finally found the peace that evaded you as a child.
Shadow Walkers are mysterious beings, with lifespans that can't be predicted. Some live to be one hundred, some only two. You were somewhere in between. The very shadows you manipulated, drained you of your essence. The shadows you created, stole a piece of my heart.
Three days, eighteen hours, and twenty seven minutes ago, you succumbed to a sickness very few can catch. Shadow sickness, the silent killer of a silent race of beings, has stolen my heart away from me. Darling Anna, it had been only three days, eighteen hours, and thirty minutes since you left me, but it feels like an eternity. I can't begin to imagine what the next three days will be like. And the next three days after. And every day until we're reuinited.
I hope you're sleeping well, my darling, and I hope the shadows listen now.
I'll see you soon,
Your Love."
His head is bowed, and tears smear the ink that composes the words he scribbled. "Four days, two hours, and eight minutes have passed since Anna died. To all of us, it's been an eternity. Dying is peaceful to those who leave, but painful to those who are left behind. Anna died knowing that she'd never get to see our baby girl grow up, get married, and become a mother. But she died knowing that she wouldn't be in pain anymore. More than anything in the world, Anna wanted to be remembered as the girl who always smiled and was always there when everyone else had left. She'd never leave anyone alone, and that's what makes her death so jarring. Everyone could rely on Anna, could count on her to be the one to stand and support them when nobody else would. She wanted to make the world a better place. And I think she did."
There wasn't a dry eye in the room as Steve stepped away from the podium, turned toward his best friend and brother-in-law with a weak smile that did nothing to hide his pain.
And every day, he wrote a letter to his love, Annabelle, and every day he put the letters in a box that held the reminders of her.
