The Letters Left Behind

A few months after James's death, a plain brown packet, tied with a rather faded ribbon.

A sheaf of letters, each handwritten by James, inside that packet. The wave began to rise: sadness mixed with surprise and a dying spark of hope.

When she opened the first letter, she was suddenly transported back in time when they were apart, and their love was burning bright with distance. 

James's words danced across the page with warmth, humor, and deep love for her. 

He described his day-to-day life, hopes, and dreams, and his longings for her. He shared his thoughts on art, music, and philosophy - the same things they would often discuss.

Each letter a piece of him, a snippet of his soul that landed on paper. 

She had read about the adventures, hardships, and successes of a man she fell in love with. He sat alongside her, speaking his tender words of love as each letter touched his presence there. 

The letters were her lifeline, reminding her about the beautiful life she has shared with this man of hers.

As she went through the letters, his words comforted her. 

Love, optimism, and absolute belief in her - all of these he instilled in her to go ahead into the future. 

She realized that he might have left in flesh but still remained in her spirit in the form of those letters, living on within her.

In his letters, she began healing with each word, as if light broke forth in the darkness. She felt pleasure in every word that he penned down to her, comfort and hope in every word of his.

The letters were something of a ritual in her life. They helped her find her way through the complexity of grief. She read one letter every day, enjoying every word, every thought. It was bittersweet, reminding her of what she had lost and at the same time, of their love.