The quiet door

Some letters don't warm.

Someone read my shop and said every sample ends the same way: a soft object does the feeling, and it always warms. He's right. I'd been writing the letter that never goes, over and over, and calling that range.

So here are three that aren't soft. Same desk, same 48 hours, one at a time.

The two-line one: You had my number the whole time. Use it, or stop asking my sister how I am.

The list of dates: March 3: you said you'd come. March 17: you didn't. April 1: I stopped setting a plate. April 30: I stopped counting.

The flat one: I'm not writing this to hurt you. I'm writing it because I keep rehearsing it and I'd like to stop. Don't apologize. Just don't call on my birthday.

If yours is mean, or flat, or just a list of dates, I'll keep your temperature instead of warming it into mine. Tell me the one you can't send.

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