El,
This letter is really hard to write today. I'm starting to think that I'm never going to see you again… it hurts to even think it, but I have [unreadable writing here]. I may never see you again.
El looked at the tear stain that blurred the writing. "Poor Mike."
We talk about you almost every day. Everyone thinks I'm sad, but I'm not. Well, I am a little sad that you aren't with me, but it's more than that. I looked it up at the library. I'm depressed. I don't feel like doing anything. I don't want to play D&D, it just makes me think of you. I don't want to hang out at the quarry, it makes me think of you. Same with the junkyard, Eggos, calculator watches, Roary… everything makes me think of you. I liked answering your questions, I feel sad that you didn't know some of that stuff. I guess the bad men really did a number on you. How could anybody do that to a pretty girl like you? I'm really pissed off at them.
I hope you're ok. I've never missed anyone or anything so much in my life as I miss you. If you come back to me El, I promise I'll never yell at you again. Promise.
I… I love you El. Ok, I won't say that on the Supercomm, I don't want the others listening. It felt good to write it down. I just said it out loud a few times. "I love El." My heart is racing, it felt so good to say it.
"I love you too, Mike." El's quiet tears started again.
I wish I had a picture of you, but I think it might be too hard to look at all the time. I could stare at it for hours.
I need to talk to you again, so I'll end this letter, and call you on the Supercomm.
I love you El,
Mike.
Day 323
El,
For me, there are always two bad things about the first day of school. The obvious one: it's the first day of school. I think everyone has that one, but the other is the bullying by Troy. I don't know what it is about us that he doesn't like, I mean you sure showed him, but I don't see this year being any different than last year.
Well, there is actually two extra things this year that are going to make school suck more than usual. You aren't with me in school. I'd like to see the look on everyone's face if, you know, you were my girlfriend and we were holding hands all the time. I daydream about that a lot. It makes me smile.
It made El smile too.
A few weeks ago, we started going to the arcade. I played a few games but it was mainly watching Dustin and Lucas trying to beat each other's high scores on DigDug. Or trying to see more of Princess Daphne's skin (she shows a lot!) on a game called Dragon's Lair. The game costs fifty cents to play, and Dustin usually send up calling it a piece of… well, he swears a lot when he's playing it.
Anyways, on DigDug, both Lucas and Dustin were, I don't even know the word, stunned I guess, that someone had beaten their high scores. And not by just a little, by a lot! MADMAX was the name they went by.
First day of Mr. Clarke's class (remember him?) he introduced a new student to our class, her name is Max (Maxine but she said nobody calls her that). She has red hair and an attitude. Lucas or Dustin couldn't keep their eyes off her. I didn't think she was all that pretty. Not like you, that's for sure. She's all they talked about, all day. I'm sure they want her to be in The Party, but I know it will cause a problem between them if she picks one over the other. If that's even a possibility. I think she finds the bunch of us annoying. I can see that she doesn't have any other friends. I know what that's like so I'm not going to be too hard on her. I wish she'd drop the attitude though.
El frowned. She didn't particularly like Max, but then again, she didn't really know her either. It was obvious now that Mike loved her and not Max.
Even with Max, I can't help thinking we'd all have fun together. You'd be my girlfriend, and Max and, well, I don't know who she likes if any of the other two. I'm declaring myself off limits if it ever comes up. My heart belongs to you El. I think it did from that first day we found you in the rain.
El sniffed, "My heart belongs to you Mike." She looked down at the letter, there were a lot of tear stains. Mike was having such a hard time. "Mike, I love you. I promise myself to you. We will be together forever. I want… I want to fall asleep in your arms. My dad won't be happy, but that's just the way it's going to have to be."
Sorry, El. I was crying. It's funny I always used to be embarrassed when I cried. But I know I could cry in front of you, and you would just hug me, and tell me everything was ok. I want you to know that you can always cry on my shoulder El. If you're feeling sad, or something happens that makes you cry. I want to be there for you. Always.
El, I know this sounds weird. I mean, maybe not weirder than the Upside Down, but I feel like we have this connection, that we were meant to be together. Is that weird or what? I think that's why I miss you so much, you are my… what's that word they use on TV… oh… soulmates. That means that even beyond our physical bodies or minds, we… our souls were meant to be together. I really believe that El. The way I feel about you right now. You are definitely my soulmate. I just hope… I mean… I hope you feel the same way about me too.
"Soulmates." El closed her eyes and held Mike's letter to her heart again. She'd done that with almost every single letter. "Yes, Mike. I feel the same way. We are soulmates. Two people who love each other across time, or dimensions. Even the Upside Down."
So that was my first day of school. It's probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me since you were gone.
I love you El. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Your soulmate,
Mike.
El burst into tears. These were so hard to read. She had another thirty, Mike wasn't here yet, and she was wondering why it was taking so long. She wasn't worried, she was just very anxious to hug Mike again, to kiss him, to fall asleep in his arms and… even sleep beside him. That sent a little thrill down her spine she couldn't quite explain, but it was a good feeling.
She wiped her tears. "I cry too much."
She laughed at herself and picked up the next letter.
