I Found a 1991 Letter from My First Love That I’d Never Seen Before Sometimes the past stays quiet — until it doesn’t.
I Found a 1991 Letter from My First Love That I’d Never Seen Before Sometimes the past stays quiet — until it doesn’t. Last December, while searching my attic for Christmas decorations, a thin, yellowed envelope slipped from an old yearbook and landed at my feet. My full name was written on it in a familiar, slanted handwriting. I stopped breathing. It was hers. My name is Mark. I’m 59 years old now. And when I was in my 20s, I lost the woman I thought I’d grow old with. Her name was Susan — Sue to everyone who knew her. We met sophomore year of college. She dropped her pen. I picked it up. That was the beginning. We were inseparable — the kind of couple people rolled their eyes at because we were so obviously right for each other. But after graduation, life pulled us apart. My father’s health declined, and I moved back home to help my mother. Sue had just landed her dream job with a nonprofit. We promised it was temporary. ...