May 11, 1974
To Amore,
I am so happy that I got a chance to meet you. After waiting for you for a couple of hours, I thought that you will not come. It is your choice anyway but I'm glad that you chose the other one. You told me that your mother saw my letter and thought that I was not a real deal. Good thing she told you about my letter then, in the end, let you decide. Though she was looking at us from afar, it is still better than nothing, right?
It was like a dream come true for me. Even though you said that letters and sweet words are not your cups of tea, I'm glad that you still kept my letter anyway. At the end of the day, knowing that you have read it was just like reading another chapter of my life. You also said that you will keep it since it was your first time to receive a letter from a guy. Did I just see you blush after you said that, didn't I?
You look beautiful in your white dress by the way. And even though you don't like how your curly hair keeps on coming on your mouth when you talk, I find it amusing and entertaining to watch. You are like a walking canvass in front of my very eyes. Just like how a picture becomes a movie in a piece, it envelops my mind until tonight. It makes me feel puzzled that you are just thirteen years old. How did you grow up like that? While I, on the other hand, aside from having more pimples and having a weird growing beard, nothing from puberty worked well for me.
All of my preparations and efforts seem nothing on what you gave for me today- your smile. I'm a bit sad that I didn't gather up all my courage to confess to you before. Now, I'm going to leave and gonna wait another year before I can see you again. Talking and looking at you today was very different in how I imagine it would be. It was a lot better than I expected.
I enjoyed your company so much. Thank you for allowing me today. I hope that you liked Mr. Lee's cookies. He was the head butler of the house. It was my favorite and I could give you more next time. What I mean is next year. Sorry. I am also glad that you would like to try reading "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I brought romance novels as well but you chose this one because you said that you find the cover interesting. I did not understand how you liked that cover, but it's alright. The book was good though. It's one of my favorites.
You said that you don't like to read but because you were amazed at my letter to you, you would give it a try. I don't know if its a compliment or you were just trying to be nice. But either way, I like how you want to be friends with me. You told me that your parents just let you finish your elementary schooling and now, you need to help in providing for your family's finances. I'm a bit sad about it. You are intelligent and beautiful. I hope they will change their mind.
Anyway, I hope you can tell me what you've learned in that book when I came back here. And I will try to write more letters to update you. If you will not receive anything, I will make sure that you will read all of my adventures next time when we see each other again. I will also tell Butler Lee to give you more books if you want. Just go to my grandfather's house and look for him. I will leave him that instruction. And don't be shy to ask for cookies as well.
Amore, this is not goodbye. I hope you can wait for me and also keep in mind all of your amazing adventures here. I would really love to hear what happened to you for the whole year. Keep your beautiful soul.
"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."
-The Great Gatsby
Your friend,
Chris
This is the third letter I've read in my father's box. I arranged all of the letters by the date my father wrote it. I realized that there are tons of them. A hundred or less. It took me hours to finish arranging them. My mistake was that I didn't ask for help from others. At some point, I want to do it alone since it's also about me. I can feel it.
As I looked outside and think about the third letter, I can't help but smile at how my father adores this woman he called "Amore". I suddenly wished that my father could be here right now so that I can ask about the questions running in my mind. But for now, I would savor all the things I can imagine in this letter. And how I can imagine my father having his heart jumped in joy because of such a woman.
" Papa, I miss you, " I whispered in the air. Believing he can hear it as the wind gently touched my face.