Letter 05
It’s a new year with plenty of new stories to unfold! The fifth anonymous letter has been opened and it aptly explores a sense of new beginnings…
Text:
“When I was 11 I had a best friend I’d known for years. I also had another friend who could be pushy, but I liked her. She often whispered that my best friend talked behind my back and that she wasn’t a good friend to me. Slowly, I began to believe her.
One day, in a mix of hurt and confusion and probably some stubborn pride, I wrote my best friend a letter. I told her she was no longer my friend- and that I actually didn’t need her as a friend at all. I remember the words feeling sharp, almost satisfying, as if the letter could somehow protect me by hurting her first.
When I gave it to her, she burst into tears. She didn’t understand where this had come from and insisted she had never spoken badly of me. For a few days she avoided me, those days felt like months. We were forced to sit next to each other in maths class, and at one point, I pointed out how the teacher looked like Elvis. We both laughed and it felt like the tension had cracked.
After school, we went into town and talked. Bit by bit the truth came out. The pushy friend had been telling her the exact same lies as she had told me. We worked everything out. If one of us was hurt or annoyed we would tell the other and work it out.
Now at 40, she is still my closest friend. By coincidence we even work together and also meet monthly for lunch and catch up. Looking back, it is laughable that such a silly teenage argument occurred. But I carried shame for that letter for a long time. I had written it to hurt her, to lash out in response to my own hurt.
And yet, somehow that letter strengthened our friendship. It forced us to speak openly and resolve things in a better way. That became the foundation of a friendship that has lasted decades- one that is built on honesty, forgiveness and understanding.”
