Letter 10 – The Last Letter
Why didn't I pull away when a stranger took my hand?
One of the reasons why I stayed where I was, letting my hand rest in yours, was because I was curious to see how it would unfold.Now I've seen it all.
Maybe it was the right time when I suddenly remembered you, and that led me to send the blank email. If I had sent it a few years earlier or later, or if you had been busy, or for any number of reasons, you might not have replied. But I sent it at the perfect moment—when you could.
I might have been hoping for more, after expressing some of the feelings I didn't share with you back then. You didn't respond to that part. Your shared a little bit of your reality with me, and your words were short and polite.
But you asked me if I had a good life, twice.
And in that moment, I remembered how all this started—how you held my hand, and why I didn't pull away.
Because it was a human gesture of kindness.
Life works in mysterious ways. That day, my family booked a room in that hotel. I was supposed to stay with them, but after a fight, I left feeling sad. I walked to the elevator, pressed the button, stepped into the lobby, and sat there for a while.
And you—maybe you'd flown in from the other side of the world a few days earlier. You and your friends decided to go out that night. You got ready, left your room, closed the door behind you, and stepped into the elevator. You were the first to arrive, and so you sat across from me.
I've never regretted meeting you. Even with the confusion, even with the pain—I'm still glad we met. Looking back, I realize—maybe this was never a love story, not one in the usual sense.
Maybe, in a better way, it was always a story about two humans crossing paths and sharing something brief but real.
And more importantly—you changed how I saw myself.
You didn't change who I was. You saw me as I was. And somehow, your presence helped me see who I really was.
And that changed everything.
I've been able to navigate this big, strange world knowing my true worth—and never losing it—because you helped me see it.
Your replies were short and polite.
But I know, beneath the words, there is genuine care.
It's a human gesture of kindness.
Just like when you first held my hand all those years ago.
I guess this is it.
It hurts a little, knowing I'll never know how your story goes from here.
But it's okay. Because that's how life is.
And I appreciate that you and I once crossed paths in this lifetime.
Farewell.
Note: This is a work of pure fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
