findapenpal.com

getting to know him

days had passed since dream sent the letter, but he wasn't that worried. he lives in the uk, that takes a long time, right? he didn't think about it too much. it's not like he stayed in his living room at the same time everyday, waiting for the mailman to come or anything.

he'd either be in the living room, or in his bedroom. all he could do was wait, which is so agonizingly painful. he wanted to make a new friend, try something new. maybe this was his sign to stay the same, to not change anything.

he still had himself convinced that it's only because it's coming from the uk. as if he couldn't get more insane. he didn't want to admit that this penpal thing was a failure. he couldn't let himself give up so easily. he knew better than that. 

all he had to do was wait, this was the first letter. he couldn't be upset, he knows it isn't his penpal's fault. the only things he did was lay in bed, spend hours on his phone. he scrolled through social media, he watched videos, he even played minecraft when he had enough energy. 

he'd been eating unhealthily, not a care in the world. he's been care-free, it's almost alarming. don't even start with hygiene, it's horrendous. he thought this would make him more open to trying new things, but it's been doing the opposite.

today he chose to not be so unproductive, to actually do something worthwhile. he got up as usual, going to take a shower that he's needed for quite some time. he needed to wash away all the disappointment, all the shame. he felt guilty that he couldn't do more.

he got out feeling no different than before. he wasn't exactly looking forward to getting mail today, nothing good came from it. he dried himself off, changing briefly. he went outside to check the mail, sighing. he opened his mailbox, an assortment of mail inside. he grabbed them all and walked back inside.

he looked through them, not seeing the letter. he's about to throw the mail on he counter before he realizes there's a brown envelope with his name handwritten on it. his eyes widen, snatching the envelope and running straight to his bedroom. was this the letter he'd been expecting this whole time? 

dream felt very anxious, he didn't want to have high expectations but he couldn't help himself. the handwriting was pretty, and there was cute doodles and puppy stickers scattered across. he smiled, even if it wasn't the letter even though the stickers and doodles confirmed it, he liked how pretty it was.

he opened the envelope carefully, not wanting to tear nor rip it. this delicacy is something he wants to cherish, his first envelope. his hands were becoming clammy, but he ignored it as he continues opening it. he finally gets it open, no tears, and peeks at the contents inside.

he saw two brown tinted sheets of paper, so he pulled it out cautiously. he attentively inspects it, not wanting to miss a single detail. after doing so, he let out a deep breath, opening the letter. it read, 

to my penpal dream,

hello, I hope you're doing well i'm also fine to answer all your questions, ask away if you'd like. you can form your opinions of me from this but i'll try to answer as honest as I can.

do I have any pets? I have 2 pets! I have a cat and a dog! I attached photos of them both, they're adorable! (I also thought your cat was pretty cute)

the second question was, what's life like in the uk? my life is pretty normal, just like yours, but it's always quite boring haha.

next question, do I have any boundaries? no, I don't. I find that letting a stranger know everything about you is quite therapeutic, you should try it (only if you're comfortable, of course)

last question for me was, am I very social? and do I have a lot of friends? well for one, i'm not very social. i'm actually very shy and lonely in person, which is quite sad. I have no friends, secondly. I can only wish to find people that don't think i'm weird, but that's lame. I enjoy being by myself so I don't really need anyone else's presence, if that makes sense.

anyways, I have a couple questions as well. I am very blunt on paper, so I apologize for that in advance but the questions are, 

one, where in the us do you reside in?

two, why did you decide to find a penpal?

three, are you a softy or a more blunt type of guy? (I like to think i'm a mixture of both though haha)

four, do you have any boundaries? 

i'll feel bad if you do and I make you uncomfortable. I also write a lot, I can write endlessly, so if you prefer shorter letters, i'll respect your wishes. trust me, when you first start writing, it's hard coming up with things to write but once you get comfortable with the person, it's so much easier, I promise.

I hope we can be friends, i'd like that a lot. i've ever only gotten creeps as penpals so this is quite a different experience for me. also, if you aren't okay showing your face or anything, that's fine! I am okay with it so if you want to know what I look like, just let me know. i'm really bad with figuring out the intent of a question or statement, so if I take something the wrong way please correct me. now, please go to the second sheet now, thank you.

he chuckles, but doing as the letter tells him. he finds this guy intriguing, writing ten times more than he did. he thought this is cool, maybe he should write more as well.

I see you're now on the second page, nice. but what I was saying before was, you can pretty much ask me anything about any topic. nothing is off limits, except my phone number. I know we can just text but this is better, I prefer this more. i'm sorry if this was more than you expected, you don't have to write me back if you choose not to! that's fine. i'm glad to have been able to write back, that's always a pleasure. I really liked the way you decorated your envelope and letter, it made me want to do it too so yeah haha. you seemed very polite in your letter though, so I appreciate that.

I think this could be the start of something incredible, you seem pretty chill. you can also just call me george, no need to put penpal in front. I only did it so you wouldn't be caught off guard. you don't have to stress out over a letter, you can send it at any time. i'll accept it with open arms if you let me. but, one tip when it comes to writing...also make sure you know why you're writing. if there's no reason, maybe it isn't for you.

thank you for writing to me, I am glad I was able to give your first penpal experience. I shall try my best to make this the best experience yet. I hope to make this a comfortable to express your feelings, everything you write is safe with me. I know this is so long and dumb, but I want to let you know that i'm just a regular guy who's looking for something fun to do.

(p.s. I hope you check out my pets hehe)

(p.p.s make sure to write everything you want because it'll take a couple of days for it to reach me, which is why mine was so long. sorry.)

with a smile, george! :)

this was a such a sweet letter, dream's heart was warmed. he didn't expect such this, he was honestly surprised. he knew it was worth sticking around for this long, he appreciated every word written on the pages. he held the sheets of paper close to him, he felt appreciated. 

he checked the envelope to see two polaroid photos of both of his penpal's pets. he smiled brightly, he thought they both were extremely cute. there was also something else, he smiled even harder when he noticed what it was. it was a cute dog sticker. 

dream let out a hearty laugh, how cute was it that his penpal who's so shy sent him a sticker? he thought it was really heartwarming. he couldn't believe someone like this existed, how...adorable? he shook his head, bringing his attention to the letter again.

he reread the letter a couple of times, taking it all in. he thought about everything in it, laughing at some parts. dream needed to make sure he understood everything before even thinking about writing back. he was so jittery just thinking about his penpal spending so much time writing this just for him. this was so kind of him, he's been wanting this more than he thought.