Dear Almanzo

Dear Almanzo,

I love you.

I love you more than anybody else in the world realizes. I have had feelings for you ever since the day we met. You were so nice to me when you did not have to be. I grew to love you more and more with each passing day. Every time you smiled at me, my day brightened. Every time you laughed with me, my world got better. Every time you took my hand, I fell more in love for you. I have this feeling inside of my heart that keeps saying we were meant to be together. We were meant to find each other. We were meant to love each other.

I wish I could tell you all these things out loud. I wish I could say those three special words to you without hesitation. I wish you would come to realize that you love me too. Someday, I will have the courage to say everything I mean to say. I will walk up to you, say 'I love you, Almanzo Wilder' and we will live happily ever after.

Why does the world not want us together? The difference in our ages should not matter. The fact that I am still in school should not matter. Even if my own pa does not want me to be with you, that should not matter. The only thing that should matter is our love. Love brings people together and I love you, so be with me.

I want to be the girl you take to the circus. I want to be the one you ride out late at night to see. I want to be the one to cook for you, and I mean real food, not revenge food. I want to be yours and yours alone. And I want you to be mine and mine alone. I want to marry you. I want to live with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

But what do I know? I am not even sixteen yet.

I know that I love you. I know that love is a strong and powerful world, and I really mean it. I mean it everyday when I say that I love my family, and I mean it everyday when I say to myself 'I love Almanzo Wilder even more than I did yesterday.'

You are becoming the center of my world. Now when can I become the center of your's? When will you see me as a woman? When will you have feelings for me? When will you say 'I love you, Beth'? When will you get down on your knees and propose to me?

Manly, I love you. Will you say you love me too?

Forever Yours,

Laura

"What are you reading, Beth?"

Laura snapped back into reality when she heard her husband call to her. "Oh, nothing. Just some old papers I never got around to throwing away."

"Anything interesting?" Almanzo asked, slightly intrigued at what caused his wife to fall into such a deep daydream.

Laura shock her head and folded up the never-sent letter. "They are just some of my old papers from school. Why I kept them, I will never know. Still, it is funny to read through what I wrote when I was younger." Laura began to smile. "Boy, the things I would tell that little girl."

Almanzo walked up besides Laura. "Well, you can't talk to your younger-self, but there is another little girl you should go see."

"Uh." Laura turned to face him.

Almanzo smiled and chuckled slightly. "Rose, silly. I think today is the day she going to start walking. I just saw her trying to stand up all by herself."

"Manly, why didn't you tell me?" Laura stood up from her chair, and the two ran into the other room to watch their daughter take her first steps.