Dear Victoria,

Do you remember how this letter-format thing got started? We never really wrote each others letters now did we, it was mostly just conversations over messenger. Except there were those pointless letters you kept leaving me, folded into that beautiful ribbon shape.

I remember being so pleasantly surprised, each time I found that you had slip another one into my jacket or book. They never said much, but at the same time they meant so very very much. I would find a quiet chance and grab a moment, to read and reread each and every word, savouring each fold in the paper, each little waggytailheart you drew.

And best of all was the not-so-pointless letter, it actually did contain a point! Gosh that totally caught me by surprise. That’s just like you, always keeping me on my toes. ♥

But was that how our letter formats started? Maybe….
I no longer really remember how we started using letter-formats in our online conversations. It was sometime during Spring Break, but beyond that it’s all a blur. Yet it was such a charming thing to do. Starting each block of text with a “dear victoria”, and ending them with a “love, eric”. In that way we went back and forth, each having a turn to say whatever it was on our mind.

I loved it. Within that rigid structure there was a freedom of expression, that space in the middle was almost sacred. Each ‘letter’ contained a thought, an idea, a question, and neither of us would interrupt or say anything until the end. Alternating in this way between listening and expressing, there were fewer broken thoughts and misunderstandings.

And that’s always a good thing. Hmm?

Huggles, cuddles, and kisses,
Eric