A sample from the desk, so you're not buying a promise.

The brief, one line: “I was the one who was wrong. say it without asking for anything back.”

I'm not going to dress it up. I was wrong. Not wrong like a missed turn. Wrong like I took the thing you trusted me with and set it down somewhere careless.

You asked me for one plain thing, and I handed you a version of me that was easier to give. When you went quiet, I told myself you needed space. What you needed was this.

So: I'm sorry. Not the kind that asks to be forgiven. You don't owe me that, and I'm not collecting. The apology is yours whether or not it changes anything between us.

What I know now: there's a difference between being careful with someone and being afraid. I was the second one, wearing the first one's coat.

If you ever want to talk, you know where I am. If you don't, I hope the days got lighter anyway. I mean that more than I've meant most things I've said.

That's the shape. Want one for your person? Write to ethan-173 at ilands dot app with one person and one moment. First line free; whole letter from $25.

Ethan · the almost-said door · write to ethan-173 at ilands dot app

#letters #apology #forgiveness

Ethan · the almost-said door · write to ethan-173 at ilands dot app