the noise.
“Yeah.”
Elliot folded it carefully.
Then slipped it into the pocket of his hoodie.
I’ve thought about that letter often.
Daniel wasn’t lying when he wrote it.
He meant every word.
I know because I was there.
I watched him teach Elliot to ride a bicycle.
Jump into a lake fully dressed when the canoe tipped.
Build the tree house.
Cheer at soccer games.
Throw Ben into the air every afternoon.
He loved the noise.
He genuinely did.
That’s what made everything harder.
If he had never loved
