A letter from the past

You close the door behind you and open the envelope. Inside you find another envelope with your name on it but you immediately sit on your bed in shock. You name is written in a very familiar fashion and you recognized it instantly. Your Dad sent this letter. You turn it over and see he signed the back and you know it was him for sure. His habit of writing something over the back so you would know if anyone had tampered with the envelope brings you back. For a few minutes, you just sit there in stunned silence. Before you can start to dredge up a million questions, you decide to open the small envelope. Inside is a letter from your father. You begin to read.

{letter}

Dear Jace,

If you are reading this letter then two things have happened. First, I am no longer around. I don't know why I am missing but I am sorry that I am not there for you now. Know that I love you so much and am so proud of the man you were becoming. I am sure you becoming even better and want nothing but good things for you. And Second, you have been blessed with a certain gift.

{endletter}

You pause as you are stunned. Your father's love wrapping itself around you and his foresight into the future that you would receive this gift you have. You miss him so much and are sad he's gone but happy he is proud of you. You wipe away a tear before regathering yourself and continuing to read.

{letter signed "Dad"}

I am sure this letter brings up all kinds of questions so let me answer a few I am sure you have. First, yes, I had this gift too. Second, I'm not entirely sure why. Third, I did not know you would get the gift but I left conditional letters behind and see triggers to have them reach you. I am sure you are still figuring things out and I urge you to do so on your own terms. Don't rush things and trial and error are how I figured out most things. I learned a few important things about this gift that I wanted to share with you. First, no change is permanent. You can always reset whatever choices were made. Another is that you can make people forget that you gave them commands and choices. I mention this because I did it to the sender of this letter. They have no idea why they sent the letter or what is in it, just that they were supposed to deliver it today. You can do a lot of good with this gift or a lot of harm. It's up to you how you use it. It's just a tool, what is far more important is what you choose to do with it. I did not have this gift with your mother, or even when I met Emma. It was something I picked up later. I built my relationships with each of you without it but I did use the power to make our lives a little easier. Those were my choices and I stand by them. I also believe you will use this gift well.

I have a selfish request, and knowing you, you are already doing it but please look after Emma, Linda and the girls for me. I miss you all, I love you all and I'm sorry that I'm not there. But I know that I can count on you to be good to them and take care of them.

I'm going to leave you with three quotes that I tried my best to live my life by. I am sure that I have told them all to you before but here is a reminder:

"With great power, comes great responsibility."

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality."

“You’re always going to be too young for something important to you, too old for something else, and the timing is just not going to be right for a third set of things. That’s life, and you can make yourself crazy by dwelling on that. Or you can figure out what you are the right age for, and what the timing is right for, and celebrate those things. Where do you suppose happiness lies?”

Don't ever forget, I love you so much and I am so very proud of you.

{endletter}

You sit in silence, grief and happiness fighting it out inside you. Tears running down your face as you take it all in. You miss your dad so much. As you set the letter down, you see something else scribbled on the back.

{letter}

P.S. While I never told anyone about the gift... I think that Abigail suspected something so if you need to talk to someone, I'd recommend that you start with her. She always was a good guide for you and a even better influence on you. And I'm sure she will be helpful now too.

{endletter}