Things Emma Will Never Say

My Dearest Gia:

I want you to know that I've been wanting to write this letter to you for a long time. Oh, who the heck am I kidding? I'm never giving you this letter, because I'm too scared to do so. But if I don't at least write this down, if I don't put my words somewhere outside of my soul, then...

Gia, please, just hear me out. I need to tell you some things. I've been keeping these thoughts in my head for years, and every day I don't say them out loud, I feel them eating away at me. It's just five things, so don't worry, I won't bore you to death with a wall of text.

First off, something I think you've suspected a long time now. I love you, Gia Moran. And I've loved you for a long, long time. I think I've loved you since we first met, way back when we were little kids. Remember that? How you used to share your juice with me? I don't think you ever noticed, but I always drank from the same straw as you, as a way to indirectly kiss you.

The second thing I wanted to tell you was my reason for loving you. Or, maybe I should say reasons, plural. It's not just that you're the most awesome, most beautiful girl in the world. You're not just the smartest girl, or the most vivacious, or the most perfect human being to have ever existed. You're also the kindest, the sweetest, most angelic person ever. You're my angel, Gia.

But I guess it's not meant to be. Gia, the third thing I want to tell you is how I feel whenever you're with Jake. If being with just you is Heaven, then seeing you with him is Hell. Every little kiss you share, every hug, every glance you give each other is like a knife to my chest.

The fourth thing I want to tell you is how glad I feel when I see you so happy, but how awful I feel knowing that someone else is responsible for that smile. I want you to know that all I want is for you to be happy, even if it's without me. And yeah, it kills me that I may never be the one to hold you during the night, to be there when you first wake up in the morning, to make you breakfast, to kiss you goodbye. But it's OK, because you found someone who will do that, too.

The fifth thing is the hardest thing for me to say. Gia, I give up on you. I know, beyond a doubt, that you and I will never be. I know it's a stupid dream of mine, and I know you see me as just a friend. Heck, you might not even be into girls! So, why risk it? Why dream an impossible dream, wishing for something I know I'll never have? So, I give up. I surrender.

I know I'll never find someone like you, Gia. But, maybe I can find someone who sees me as I see you? I'd love that.

Love, Emma.

And so Emma folds her letter, puts it into an envelope, and lays it down on the table in front of her. She wipes away her tears, thinking for a moment what she should do. She picks up the letter, gets up, heads to the stove, turns it on, and burns the letter. Tears running down her face, a smile on her lips, Emma watches as her letter turns to cinders. Afterwards, she puts on her shoes, her coat, and steps outside.

A new day is upon her. And somewhere, out there, there's someone who will look upon Emma and see the most perfect human being ever born. And up in the sky, Cupid is waiting, arrow at the ready, for when these two will meet.

The End