Lives Intertwined

Dear Dany, Love Dany

Dear Dany,

I'm writing this because I don't want to forget a single thing. In class, we talked about memories and how they often fade away with time. I won't let that happen. I want to remember everything, from the way the light drifted through my curtains, waking me up in the morning or the sound of Mom cooking breakfast on Sundays, humming old songs to herself. It's the little moments that I'm most afraid of losing. I'll miss the sounds of skates scratching against the ice and the feeling of a nice cup of hot chocolate when it starts evaporating over your face. It's the smell of the local diner downtime and the way my locker would click when I put in the right combination.

I'm outside the school, sitting under the giant oak. I'm putting a leaf in this page so hopefully it'll bring back some memories. Leaves are getting stuck in my boots and my hair keeps blowing in my face. I wish I could just stay in this moment forever.

But I can't. And I won't.

Sophomore year was amazing. Viserys was away at a boarding school and I hardly saw him when he came home. He was gone during the summer between freshman and sophomore year and he was away for almost the entirety of sophomore year. With my internship at the law firm, my class load, extracurricular activities and just time to be free, I didn't have a ton of extra time. My sleep schedule is getting worse by the week.

Dad was off in Boston, something about a training that he needed to lead. And so, right before the end of the summer before sophomore year, Dad packed up a suitcase, pat me on the head and bid his farewells. He calls occasionally. I can tell that he misses us. He misses Mom's food and the way the sky looked as the sun set over Winterfell. He talks about the snow from time to time. In Boston, giant plows clean up the snow in hours. With sheets of sand and salt thrown on the ground, the delicate clouds of white quickly turn to slush. He's doing well. Mom says he will probably get promoted. I'm happy for him.

When he left, it felt like a weight lifted off Mom's shoulders. She started singing more. Mom and Rhaegar always had the musical genes that weren't passed down to me and Viserys. Well, at least that's what Jon thinks. I don't know if I believe him on this.

I worked at the law firm during the summer between freshman and sophomore year. That's the same time Jon was working at the animal shelter. Remember how you almost convinced him to let you take home that precious little animal. You wanted to call him Rhaegal after Rhaegar, but Jon wouldn't hear of it.

"That's no name for a dog," he said. I'd rather have Rhaegal than something generic like Ghost. Yeah, that was a direct hit. What's Jon going to do about it now? No, I love that fluffy white goofball, though he always seems to lie down on my legs and I have to scoot him off when I lose circulation.

I still work at the law firm now. Luckily, I was moved up from filing to coffee and then from coffee to highlighting. Now, I'm the lucky employee who gets to man the phones. Some people are just too rude when they call. Where'd they learn their manners? Well, the one time I snapped at someone, the person on the other line was actually calling the wrong number. That was definitely a miscommunication. I hope she never calls back.

Mom tells me to go to law school, well first undergraduate, but then law school. I used to tell her no and stomp off to my room, convinced that I could make a living out on a beach in Greece, soaking in the sun and leading tourists around as a way to make some extra cash. That dream was dashed. I'm happy about the prospects of law school, even though I'll never tell Mom that. She would just be too smug.

I joined Interact Club with Missandei and I fell in love with it. I don't know exactly where life will lead me, but I'd be happy to serve the underrepresented and under supported in any way I could.