There was a box that sat in their closet gathering dust for many years. Michelle had asked Tony what was in it, but every time she did he'd simply say, "A couple has to have secrets, it makes life interesting." Michelle didn't find that answer very amusing but she didn't push it and soon forgot about the box and its contents.
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6 years later…
Rain battered down on the roof of their small house. Thunder clattered, making the windows rattle. Lightening lit up the night, illuminating the stormy sky. Michelle rolled over, trying not to wake the snoring outline of her husband. She left the security of her blankets and walked over to the window, and watched the rain ricochet of the ground. Michelle had loved always loved storms, but there was something about this one that made her uneasy. She walked over to her closet, groping in the dark for a sweater. Her hands, instead, met a small cardboard box. Pulling the box down from the shelf, she set it down on the dresser. Recognition washed over her. It was the box that she had always wondered about. Glancing over at Tony to make sure he was fully asleep, she swooped the box into her arms and carried it into the kitchen.
Michelle sat it down on the table and wondered if she really should. One peak wouldn't hurt anything she thought. Slipping down into a chair, she gingerly removed the lid.
Three tattered and yellowing pieces of paper met her eyes. "What's this?" she thought, carefully unfolding one of them. Two words met her eyes. "Dear Sweetheart," Michelle felt her eyes going blurry as she read the scrabbled writing. "Did I ever tell you that I loved you since the moment I met you? Because I did." The tears fell lightly, wetting the letter. "The day we kissed for the first time was the best day of my life." Michelle remembered that day clearly. Tears had continued, dripping into her mouth, salty and corrosive and sweet. "More than anything I want to see your face, touch your cheeks, feel your lips on mine. I ask you again not to give up on me." Her cheeks were felt sticky as she sobbed. "I love you, Tony" She folded the paper up lightly, and unfolded the other two as if they were her most prized possessions.
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Michelle shuffled slowly back into the doorway of their bedroom. There he was, a look of peace of his face, oblivious to the pounding rain outside. She slipped gently back into the covers and carefully wrapped his arm around her. She nestled into him, and shut her still watery eyes.