John.
I do not deserve your forgiveness. Therefore, I will not ask for it. No human that has ever graced this earth could ever possibly be made so selfish to ask for such an undeserved mercy.
I know that the very sight of my words are painful to see, so for your sake, I will be brief, and afterwards, I will never be so selfish to bother you again.
All of the sorrow in the world could never fill these next words with the sufficient dignity that you deserve, and therefore, I will only say it once. I am, always, and forever will be, sorry. About Mary. For Mary. With Mary. I'm sorry for the day when you and I first met. It should never have happened. Your friendship with me has caused you enough trouble. Molly Hooper told me what you said to her, should I ever reach out to you or lend a hand.
And for that, if this is truly what you want, I accept this with all of the power living inside of me.
I hereby cease being your best friend.
I do this with wholehearted devotion to the greatest gift of which you have ever given me, that being your friendship. As short-lived as it was. It meant unimaginable depths to me.
I don't imagine that you'd ever want anything to do with me again. However, should you ever by some unexplained circumstance, need anyone's help, I will always hold fast to my Vow. Even as you wonder where its worth has gone now, I can assure you, it will always stand. Since that is by definition, what a vow is.
I wish you all the best.
Forever,
—Sherlock Holmes
