June 27th, 2011 Dearest XXXXX, It has been quite a long time since I have seen you last. Other than the time I saw you downtown in XXXX, I haven't seen you in about 15 years. I'm writing this letter to you because over the last few years I have come to look back on my life and I have found that the single thing I regret the most is leaving you. Saying sorry to you the last time I saw you is not enough, and it doesn't explain why I did what I did. I abandoned you when you needed me the most, and I can understand if you are still angry or if you can't forgive me. I think back and try to understand why I stopped talking to you, and the only explanation I have is that I was scared, and I ran away. You see, when I was about 10 or 11, my mother had an aortic aneurysm and almost died. They replaced part of her aorta with a plastic tube that remains to this day. She wasn't herself for a very long time, for at least 5 years. She would temporarily forget where she was or who she was and she had emotional problems and it was very difficult to deal with as a teenager. So when I heard that your mother had had a stroke, I remembered how difficult it was for me to deal with, and I took the easy way out and left so I wouldn't have to deal with it all over again. It was very selfish of me, and instead of leaving, I should have been there for you, to support you through your difficult time. I never found out how your mother was, but I truly hope that she recovered fully from her stroke. Hopefully now you understand why I did what I did, and all I can say is I truly regret it. The times I spent with you were some of the best times of my life and I count myself lucky to have been with a wonderful woman like you. So here I am, and I am asking you to forgive me, and give me another chance. I was just a foolish kid then, and I'm not nearly so foolish anymore. I recognize now how much I had when I was with you, and I truly miss you. Do you still think of me? When I think of you it hurts to know what I have lost and that I may never see you again. How have you been over the years? I heard that you went to school at XXX. Did you get your degree? What have you been doing all this time? I would really like to hear from you, whether you hate me or whether you don't even think of me anymore. It is important to me that this letter reaches you, so please reply so that I know you have received it. It would mean the world to me to hear your response. Sincerely with Love, Edgar P.S. I enclosed a copy of a picture taken of us at Prom from the '95-'96 school year. Please don't forget me, or the good times that we had together. P.P.S I also enclosed something I wrote one night when I came home after being with you. Please think of us when you read it. July 5th, 2011 Dear XXXXX, You are a difficult woman to track down. I keep trying to find a current address for you so I can send this letter to you. I keep ending up with disconnected phone numbers and nobody answers the other numbers I have. My heart sinks when I think I may never be able to give this letter to you. It's important that I make things right with you, because you are important to me and if I don't try to fix things between us I will never forgive myself. I know it's been a long time since we were together, and I know you have your own life to live now, but if there's a chance that we could start over and make something new then I have to take it or I will regret it forever. Whether we can be friends or whether we can be more than that again is unknown to me, but I want to get to know you again, and I want you to be a part of my life whether we are together or apart. I know it may be hard to believe, but after 15 years apart, I am still in love with you. We had something very special together. We had passion, we had love, we accepted each other for who we were, and we trusted each other without question. I can't express in words how much I regret betraying your trust and I will do whatever I can to make it up to you. I went to see the XXXX fireworks on the 3rd of July, and they were pretty great even though all the trees on the XXXX block some of the view. They started off with a barrage of loud and bright fireworks all exploding together one after the other. After that they moved on to the main part of the show where they usually launched two at a time. There were starbursts of blue and red, and purple and green. Some of my favorites were ones that turned into bright golden streamers and sparkled. There were also some nice bright silver / white fireworks that shimmered and glowed. When they got to the finale, I don't think I've ever seen so many fireworks going off at the same time. It was really great. Did you go to see any fireworks where you are? This is probably a lot for you to absorb at once, so I'll stop here. I hope that we can start over and keep in touch this time. Please write me back. I want to know what you are feeling, and I want to know how you are doing. With Love, Edgar P.S. I enclosed some pictures I took of flowers growing here that I thought you might like. The orange flowers are tiger lilies and the white flowers are from a 'snow ball' bush. They're very pretty, but not as beautiful as you were in that silver dress on Prom night. I'll never forget you, XXXXX. July 6th, 2011 Dear XXXXX, After some extensive searching, I came across the information I hoped I would never find. It looks like you are married to someone named XXXXXX. I must admit, I am quite jealous of him. He has the life I wished I had had. I wished that we had never parted ways, that we had stayed together, and that we had gotten married and built a life together. I guess that will never happen now, and I will have to try to find a way to deal with that. I wish life hadn't passed me by and prevented us from being together. I hope that you two are happy together, and that he always treats you with the love and respect you deserve. I understand if you don't want to reply to me, but I still wouldn't mind hearing how your life has been since we were together, so write me back if you like, I would welcome it still. Love always, Edgar