The Dreamer ✓

Letter 14

NO.14; A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU DRIFTED AWAY FROM

FEBRUARY 14th, 2014

Dear Evelyn,

William Somerset Maugham said, "The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love." It got me thinking about you. About us. About how close we used to be when we were younger. It made me wonder if that was us now. If we had forgotten any reason to love each other and replaced them with reasons why we should hate one other instead.

It's gotten to the point where we can't be in the same room without getting into some kind of argument and I'm worried our poison will spill onto Ariel. She's not stupid, she's beginning to notice the way we treat each other, like we're strangers unfortunately tied together by blood. A bond we would do anything to sever. We may not have the best relationship but I think we do try to show Ariel we love her.

I've seen you brushing her hair or teaching her how to cook some of your favourite dishes. You helped her make her fairy costume for her school play, I mean, you were the whole reason she even got that part. You gave her the confidence to get on stage and sing. You were the first person to rise up out of your seat and clap for her. There was so much pride in your smile that day and Ariel stood on stage with the poise of someone who'd just conquered the world. Ariel adores you and I can tell by the way your eyes light up when she shows you a new dance she learnt that you love her too.

I like to watch movies with her (particularly movies from the early 2000s like Mean Girls, About A Boy, and The Princess Diaries) and I introduced her to the world of literature, to books that made me feel wild and free. You can learn so much about the world and yourself with books. As Lisa Kleypas once wrote, "A well-read woman is a dangerous creature." My greatest achievement so far is that I finally got her to start reading the Harry Potter series. When she finished The Chamber of Secrets yesterday, she barged into my room and asked me with an excited squeal where the third book was. 

I told her I would give her the third book if she'd let you tuck her into bed for the next week. You used to do that all the time when she was a baby but ever since she turned ten a few weeks ago, Ariel's been wanting to tuck herself in. You'd chuckled and rolled your eyes but I could see the disappointment in the set of your shoulders and the faint grimace on your lips.

I heard from Nadia Tawfeek that you and Sean Neumann broke up. The reasons are unknown but rumour has it (by rumour I mean Nadia Tawfeek) he ended it because you were frigid. For two weeks you were cold and harsh and you locked yourself in your room. When you're hurt, Evelyn, you make sure everyone else is hurting too. You're the type of person who would set the world of fire if it meant you weren't the only one burning. I thought if you ever broke it would be the most satisfying thing I'd ever seen but if anything, it was tragic.

I remember finding you in the kitchen, you were staring at your mobile with a forlorn look.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and when your dark eyes flashed to mine, cold and unforgiving, I knew I shouldn't have said anything.

Your lips opened in a snarl, "Why the fuck do you care?"

"I...I heard you and Sean–"

"Mind your own fucking business, Morgana," you snapped.

I took a step back, "Evelyn, I'm just trying to–"

"To what?"

I frowned, "I don't know, I just thought you needed someone to talk to you."