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...

Own estosir ym. Tbu atht sa ot eitd adn ftle wsa i oehm ot ltfe gnriehtvye ok polhefu i lpnaedn aevel even ltnnemmuoa ti, —. Sniwg klie pngoein ym aws up oferbe em rutfeu on ngstohmei. .
.
You ania,g idwep eislv euftur osmismtee utb cayrz nad nwod w?hat nca ruo nokw ist’ scoel teh can be hwo yawa. Ryesa ihst hte atht eorbfe was utoba xis wlle hughrot 0202 ash a,tth eidlv artfe mtnhso eslnso oswkn i rtniwet utb ,lwle woh ynonea alndere tne etlrte ago tpyter. Itwh wsa orhtrbe — adn my acnrce dedgsoina i.
.
Eugnoh thirg ehert ,ays oatmsl to hts’at. Licpyta ghhuot got ecmoh i a gakitn eenv enieepxc,er verne lltuyvneae tenh easry wiht nad ot eplh ni olelecg ftrea eb i wtih eht teh mhi off wef hiedfnsi edn. Be og haypp ot or nadtetngi to if ni evrne ym eglocel yrctu,no eecgllo, ro be evne ctaypil d’i i otld dedaatstev fsle mseei,rom tnareoh ahtt i meak got tee-gayaron- gllceeo lhiwe. I thta slso nwko tub dpoceram fo eht robther ngitnho to hmsouparo ym of wno si oce-egolhple moes het sosl.
.
Sepnor ryae okol mrof a i 81 i elfs nda dlo ikel at my copmeytlel motsemise eefl erh bcak eefntirdf. A in plllreaa miet gsxitnei niemaig i of rhe ethn ubt howeremes otdisue r,vuseien. Dna reh r,lodw ahtt iefl igtrwni tge to tntgiis anwnigt yawa isht and bouta ’essh hteer ttasr ni rletet. Noit dna nwo aubot nngiwarde roflo fro ogtheert o,mro stju ehr kwsal dan ggino eidfnsr and sickoeo and nikmga teh no iumsc nda hrsebot’r uignlgah nad dan etnh eshs’ gstinti ailngkt nwod ht’erey and t,ar. Og ees anwt adn of ot one none eth ikle omre be yda fo llwi ahwt esorimem lfei bouta one asdrem neog ktlinga ertheotg aclneid ahtn to kloo no sarmtet ont it etn ahtt heort ni wlil tehm adn boatu the irhtg n,ow ilwl ahtt ree’tyh ady nneidgps otnnrhre woh ,asery imte yeht alitnkg to eno hdlo shglti, have nzarlgiie nlyo ot ot eth. He ifrend ym steb aws.

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