'Ed,

I hope that you find this one day, when you return home – happy at fulfilling your dreams. I wish you the best, and you know that. You have no idea how much I miss you and Al. But that is irrelevant.

When you come home, whole and complete, please look in the trunk I've left in your room. It contains all the automail you broke, every handiwork of mine that will be worthless when your quest ends. Please keep it. I know being happy that you need automail is completely selfish, but I am and I have been. It's given me a purpose – to help you, Ed. Help you in a way that I can because in everything else, for every other goal, I am a liability.

And when Al is whole again, I would love to see his face. I would love to see him smile, laugh and run around with no care in the world. Yet I won't be there to see that. Ed, you know when you told me of what's going on in Ishbal? I was shocked. I was horrified. And then I realized – that is where my parents went. That is where they died. They had a purpose, Ed. Like you. My purpose so far has been helping you two in every way I can.

You don't need my help anymore. You don't have to deny it, I can clearly see that. Ed, I'm going to Ishbal. Maybe I'll come back one day and we'll live like we did before. Maybe I'll help the Ishbalans for years and then experience the same fate as my parents. I don't know anymore. But I can't stay here.

It hurts. I love you so much, Ed. I love Al so much too… you are more than brothers to me. And that is why I cry every time you leave, because I can never be sure if you're coming back again. So I need to distance myself, before the pain becomes too intense to bear.

Goodbye, Ed. I hope you've satisfied your dreams and I hope that I'm still alive, helping people somewhere when you read this. Maybe in some years I will see you again and we will smile and joke about our lives. Like old times. But maybe that will never happen and you will remember me as the girl waiting for you to come home. The twist is: I am not waiting for you anymore.

All the best,

Winry.'