feeling...

Peaceful right?

feeling... sharp. dangerous. full of attitude. which, I guess, is just what a girl about to go to college ought to feel like. When you, future Anna, get this, it'll be ten years from now, and the passport that you got today will have expired. How was going to school in another country? Was it far enough away from your parents? What prompted past-you to write this (besides the fact that the trusty sketchbook/journal has gone missing) is the fact that, among all of the suitcases you were looking for in the attic today, you also found a hefty dose of family history. History from 1840. A picture of the family goat. Hand drawn sketches of the cottage. Letters back and forth between two feuding families. One family claims its daughter was starved to death whilst visiting the other. The other family is outraged because of a false arrest upon an unfounded accusation of THEIR daughter being a member of a house of prostitution. All insults and accusations in flowery, minute, faint 1840's penmanship, of course. I don't even know what the point of this email is. I just think it's weird that on the eve of your departure to distance yourself from your family, just when you're feeling incredibly independent, the attic delivers. Now, past-you wants to stay connected, be Bess's great great great great granddaughter, add her own tale to the many family stories. Past-you wants to stay in the attic forever, reading the family history. But I guess that's why college is good. So you can get the hell out of that attic and this house and make your own history. Go on.

Epilogue

3 days later

Ten years ago, I was a senior in high school aching to go to college as far away from home as possible. I wanted to see other countries and make...

Won my sesiotr. — rehiyentgv sa htat eleav flte deit ok ehmo tbu nepanld dan ,ti wsa i i hopulef lfet numlentamo ot to nvee. Up erebfo msneohtgi sgiwn me my gepoinn wsa no rfeuut ilek. .
.
Acn nia,ga msieemtos ilves eb rcazy eht yaaw ist’ wah?t nodw oyu know loesc rou wpide rutfeu but how dan can. Etn tgrohhu lewl ldvei lsseno utbao how tath okwns eryttp ohmtsn i oga swa eletrt the ,taht esary e,llw 0220 ldenare utb hits frtae isx rtiewnt yeonna sha oebref. I dna wsa ebtorhr esdaindgo — htwi ym ercacn.
.
T’asth eehtr htigr hgueno otmsla asy, ot. Rasye teh etalyulvne hnet hte i him pnie,ecexre ni eevn be yialtcp itgakn i ned venre reatf ephl tgo few olgcele dan off thuhog a htwi heomc hiwt defhinsi ot. Fi otdl hpapy ym ag-oenrety-a be legoelc ot evner or hrnetao go id’ eevn elsf sadavdeett ciylatp in sm,eeirmo tnadegint ihlwe i ceglleo ot or rutyco,n htat celgelo, be i akem otg. To utb atht het of fo ocgleeolhp-e orethrb asphoomur is osem ym omdrpeac nwo the slos wonk i lsso nontgih.
.
Akcb i dan psrnoe dtfrieefn reh i odl a look year eefl rmfo misemotse tpycolelme ta 81 slfe ym klie. Alraellp tduseoi i a ni fo her rweoehmse nteh inuever,s gnieami insiegxt ubt ietm. Ttrlee triniwg adn life s’hes tarts ahtt ni to lrw,od and gstiitn tihs ehtre atobu her waya tianwgn tge. Dgnrinawe on ehnt tsuj and dan now oging cmsui oe’hrstbr dna mro,o t’eryeh erh oksoiec tnitsgi and inot gamnki the gnaglhui for tklgnai ttheoreg rfolo nad wlask atobu nda ,tra nad adn ehss’ nodw nredisf. Ayd iekl see and eht mattrse liwl eno knligta the of ehva mreo otbau lony nawt te’hrye rrtenohn sit,hlg dhlo tno ti no nda gneo deamsr ten tiaknlg ot geerthto eno niiaelrgz htat ni olok lilw than to atbou ot eb to isnpgdne aldienc go ot lwli ghitr teim ear,sy seermoim nnoe yeht meht n,wo rehot wath owh feli yad of eno eht ttha. Steb my eh aws niredf.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments