Her eyes grow. “You do?”
“Yes. But she didn’t write it for me—I mean, she did, but she wrote it for you, too.” I hand her the envelope, and she turns it over, taking in the words written on the back.
For when you fall in love.
“I’d like to read it to you.”
She gives a small nod. “I’d like that, too.”
I pull the letter I’ve read a couple hundred times out of the envelope and unfold it. I glance at Dia, wishing I could blink and have my eyes take a picture of her. I want to remember what she looked like the day I asked her to be my forever.
“You ready?” I ask.
“I’m ready,” she confirms.
Then I start to read.
Dear Finley,
I hope you never read this letter…
Not because it’s not important, but because it’s too important to be shared through ink and paper. This is the kind of conversation I want to have with you in person. I want to sit you down one day when you’re older and explain to you why love is the most important thing in the world.
But if you’re reading this letter, it means I didn’t get that chance. If you’re reading my words right now, it means you never got to roll your eyes at me and say “Momm!” in an attempt to spare yourself my speech.
If that’s the case, I hope you’ll read this letter and pretend I’m telling you these things face-to-face.
Whether you’re reading this once you’re married, engaged, or once you just got your first girlfriend, I want you to know that I love you. More than I ever thought possible.
I know I’ve always been overprotective of you and your brother. I tell you not to play with fire because I’m afraid of seeing you get hurt. I so desperately want to protect you from the world that I sometimes forget that you have to live in it.
And I don’t want you to live in a world you fear.
I want you to find the things worth suffering for.
Not every painful thing is meant to burn you, Finley. In fact, some of the most painful things have the potential to be the most beautiful ones.
Like love, for example. Love can kill you or make you feel alive. It can destroy you, but it can also build you up. Loving is hard, Finley, but running away from love is harder.
So, when you find someone you want to spend the rest of your life running toward, I beg you not to turn the other way. I beg you to accept the possibility of pain for the sake of your happiness. I beg you to try again, even if things don’t always end well.
Now, for this part, I need you to give this letter to your significant other. (Fair warning, I might come back to haunt her if she breaks your heart)
To my boy’s forever…
I don’t know who you are, but I’m willing to bet that you have a heart of gold, and it is for that reason that I ask you…
Please fight for him.
There will come a time when he will need someone but will refuse to admit it. A moment where he wants to give up on himself, but you can’t let him.
Not now.
Not ever.
Promise me to help him forgive himself for the things he couldn’t control. And always, always remind him that…
It’s okay to let yourself hurt.