Page 69 of When We Meet Again

I refuse to look at him, but I see him rustling around. “Here’s my number.” He stands and I bring my eyes to meet his. He reallyishandsome, just not right now. So I take the slip of paper with the blue marker from his hand.

“I know I most likely won’t hear from you, but if you ever just need to talk…” He glances down at my cup. “Everly…” A smile threatens to escape me at the barista’s mistake. “I can lend a good ear.” With that, he turns and leaves.

That maybe could have led somewhere great, but unless your last name is Huxley, I don’t think it’s in the cards for us. But I tuck the paper in my bag anyway, you know, in case pigs start to fly. Never hurts to have a back-up.

Ugh. I don’t even like the way that sounded. I need a hot bath.

Several minutes later, I’m home with my excitement in tow. I have yet to call anybody and tell them about my finalized business agreement.

“This is the type of day the windows need to be open. Release the murky energy, and allow the breeze to cleanse the air.” Great. Now I’m talking to myself like a hippie. But I open the windows anyway, and do exactly that. I stand still in the living room, welcoming the gentle coastal cross breeze. Nothing is more peaceful.

A rustle of paper comes from the kitchen table lying next to an envelope with a daisy attached.

W–

My parents and Patrick have decided to throw me a 25th birthday party at their house on the lake. I insisted we do something else, like a nice dinner or quiet day fishing, but they refuse.

I would love if you could join us. There will be a ton of people, so it won’t be too intimate. You can bring a friend if you’d like.

imy.

–R

“Imy.” A text we would send each other randomly over the early years of this friendship. I thought he forgot about it. It usually meant “I need to vent.” But something about these letters doesn’t feel like it packs the same meaning. It feels loaded—with feelings. Like an actual “I miss you.”

August twelfth. His birthday. A day that I never forgot, even when he disappeared from my life. A day that I’ve hated for three years. But now that he’s back, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Dearest Waverly,

I’m sure the news you received from your ex-fiancé was hard to swallow. I’m not here to condone or condemn what he has done.

“Someone must risk returning injury with kindness, or hostility will never turn to goodwill.” -Lao-tzu

Resentment comes from one’s unwillingness to end the altercation with love, kindness, or authentic forgiveness. Once you master overcoming your ego and tuck aside your attitude, ask yourself “How can I serve?” The universe will respond with happiness and joy that you are finally acting as if the universe itself is.

“To the giver comes the fullness of life; to the taker, just an empty hand.” -Lao-tzu

Although you resent Patrick now for his actions, no matter if he is your partner or not, be a giver. ‘Bring love to hate and light to darkness.’

Before I leave you, know that time is simply an illusion. It’s irrelevant and distracts us with side questions. It’s an attempt to create an abstract notion out of observations of which are concrete. Changesare happening, but nothing that we can say exists in “pure” time. Release the chain of mirages that hold us back: Time, Space, etc. Once we are cut free of them, we are free to be one with the earth…in life or in death.

If this is the last letter you receive, know that my words came from years of reading Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

When you can’t contact me, you will find my words through him.

Much love,

Tom

CHAPTER 37

ROMAN

A crystal blue ocean can sit like glass in one location and be a hurricane in another. Water is a mystery. I dip my hand in the chilled sea and grip with all my strength, only to lose it all. It’s elusive until I let my hand relax, turn soft, and let it sit in the water. The only way togetwater is by letting it go. The more I try, the more I lose it. It’s the opposite of what we’re taught and conditioned to believe in life.

Try harder and you will succeed.

It seems like we can overpower water, but it will forever return to its form. Ideally unaffected by the destruction.

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