Dearly, #LetterToYouContest

Dearly,

Every time I write "Dearly" at the top of a sheet of stationery, I am reminded of you, who once sent me a letter that read "Dearly, omitted, sincerely." Do you remember what I wrote in reply?

It is said that the "Dearly" written at the beginning of a letter means that the seasonal greeting is being omitted. To apologize for that discourtesy, one writes "sincerely" at the end. But the letters I received from you always started with "Dearly" and never had a "sincerely." In your letters, the part omitted by "Dearly" contained not a greeting, but the most important thing. The things that went unwritten as a result of being omitted were contained within those two characters. Your "Dearly" was not an omission, but an expression. Therefore, it was not a discourtesy, and there was no need to apologize. I interpreted it as a statement that "sincerely" was unnecessary. In your letters, the unwritten parts were the main substance, and the body of the text was merely like its shadow. It was a letter like the Angel Leliel, where the shadow was the true form.

I have kept all the letters from you. They are in the left drawer of this desk. I still read them over and over, but I still don't understand. You never once wrote what you wanted to tell me in your letters. You once wrote, "What I truly want to convey is always outside the text." Our correspondence never really aligned. I would receive a letter from you where I couldn't tell what you wanted to convey, and I would try my best to interpret it and send a reply that was like a question. But you wouldn't answer it, and instead, you would write about something completely unrelated. What you wanted to convey was not written here.

Eventually, I began to pay attention to the "Dearly" written at the beginning. The answers to my questions, and everything you wanted to tell me, were all contained there. Dearly. Two characters used to place important things outside the letter and to convey the fact that there are things that exist outside. Before I knew it, my letters also began with "Dearly" and lacked a "sincerely."

What did you do with the letters from me? Did you keep them somewhere? Or did you burn them or throw them away?

The letters from you gradually contained fewer words, until they finally became "Dearly, omitted, sincerely." Then, a blank sheet of stationery arrived, and eventually, nothing arrived at all. Now, your letters have had the fact that they are letters omitted, and have become nothing. The waste has been stripped away, and surely, only what you wanted to convey remains.

Even so, I continue to write letters. Letters addressed to you. I place "Dearly" at the top of the stationery and write content that is not what I want to convey. I leave it on the desk. Since it is gone the next day, you must be receiving them. Are you reading them? Are you imagining what is inside the "Dearly"?

I can feel that you, who are riding in this same body, still exist. But no reply from you arrives. I feel like I understand you a little better now, even though I didn't know what kind of person you were even when I received your letters.

You and I are connected within the "Dearly."

If you feel like it, please send me another shadow-like letter.

Suzume Reon
October 31, 2021, 9:30 PM
For the #LetterToYouContest just before the deadline


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This work is an entry for the private project #LetterToYouContest.