September 12th: A Dip into the Past—Adrian’s Letter to Olivia

                                           The Kiss (Italian: Il bacio) 1859, Francesco Hayez

Adrian once thought he understood the world. He had his routine, his friends, and a quiet confidence that everything was as it should be. Then Olivia entered his life, unpredictable and different, and everything changed. At first, he didn’t know what to make of it. Adrian was naive, unaware of what love truly meant, believing it was just something poets talked about, not for someone like him. But Olivia, with her smile that lit up the room, made everything feel significant.

Now, six years later, Adrian has learned what it means to lose something precious. He’s no longer the same naive boy. Life’s lessons have been painful, but they’ve helped him discover who he really is. Time strips away illusions and reveals truths we often try to ignore.

September 12th, 2024

Dear Olivia,

It’s strange, isn't it, how the days seem to stay with you even after all this time? As I sit here, I find myself looking back to this day, six years ago—the day we first met. A strange sort of magic seemed to settle into my life that September, and now, every year when it rolls around, I can't help but think of you. Of us. Of what we were, and what we never fully became.

Over the years, I’ve lived my life. I've let others into my heart, allowed myself to love, to be loved in return. I’ve let go of the weight of the past, each day adding to the story I’m still writing. Yet September, like an old friend, knocks softly on my door. It reminds me of our first encounter, a memory that’s stubbornly rooted in my soul, unshakable and ever present.

I suppose the question you might ask is: why now? Why reach out after so long? You might not even recall the significance of this day as I do, but something in me needed to write. I needed to ask, to wonder, if I ever left an imprint on you the way you did on me.

Maybe that sounds foolish. Maybe it is. But, Olivia, I often wonder if, in the quiet moments of your own life, you remember me. Not with bitterness or regret, but with a soft fondness, the way we used to laugh about the simplest things—how we used to dream up silly futures, making jokes at the expense of stars who probably don’t deserve it. Remember when we used to laugh about how Taylor Swift would somehow become a space traveler, her fame reaching intergalactic levels? No offense to her, of course, but it still brings a smile to my face.

So, why am I reaching out now, like this, all these years later? Maybe it’s a simple longing for something left behind, a wish to know that, despite everything, I made a difference in your life. Maybe I want to hear that I was more than just a fleeting chapter. I don't need to be unforgettable, but I hope that when you think back on those days, you find a moment where I made you feel something real, something good.

This isn’t easy for me, Olivia. Texting you after all this time—it's a reckless impulse, a part of me that needed to see if you would remember. Would you? Would you pause in your busy life and think back to the days we spent together? Would you, if by some twist of fate, cross paths with me one day on the street, offer a warm embrace? Would you let the world fall away, even for a moment, and entertain the idea that maybe we could have found something more, something beautiful in the mess of our lives?

Maybe I’m just being sentimental. But every now and then, I think of you, and I smile. You were, for a time, someone who brought joy into my world. And I hope, wherever you are, that you’re finding that joy in your life too. I wish for you all the happiness in the world, in your relationships, in your career, in your heart. Just as I am learning to love myself again, to rediscover who I am outside of what we were.

Take care, Olivia. No matter what, you will always be a cherished chapter in my life.

Yours,

Adrian

As Adrian presses send, the weight of years, of unspoken words and unhealed wounds, settles on his shoulders. He doesn’t know what he expects from this letter. Perhaps nothing at all. But in that quiet moment, as the letter leaves his hands, there’s a sense of release—a recognition that sometimes, the things we hold onto are the very things we need to let go of. He has learned to live without her, to move forward, but the past remains a quiet companion, always there when he least expects it. Whether or not Olivia ever reads these words, Adrian now knows that his journey toward closure begins not with her response, but with his own acceptance of the lessons learned along the way.

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