Letters: Emily to Liam 2

Response to Liam’s second letter.

Dear Liam,

Thank you for your letter. I’m glad I didn’t scare you away with my questions. It sounds funny when I say that; I doubt some girl is going to ever scare you.

It’s so cool that you guys have a code of honour. I’m sad that you guys have to sometimes hide in fear of exploitation. People do things and think along lines I can’t really follow a lot of the times. Evil, too selfish lines. I try my best not to do that. I’m glad I’ve got people around me who have helped me grow up into a good person. At least I want to think I’m good.

Thank you for answering my questions. I really tried imagining what forever is like, and then I got stuck on that thought for a long while. It’s not the first time I’ve tried to imagine forever, really. I can get a century, but even several centuries feel really long and difficult to fathom. And a century is nothing compared to forever, I know. Actually, just this decade and a half I’ve been alive feel like… well, a lifetime. But that’s how lifetime always feels, I guess. I actually had to stop writing this letter for a couple of days to really think about the things you said.

I visited my mum. Her grave, I mean. I walked to the graveyard after school when the weather was nice and warm. Except the graveyard is always chillier somehow. Like the ghosts that might lurk there make things colder.

There’s a cherry blossom tree in the middle of the graveyard here. It looks out of place, especially now when it’s blooming. All the other trees are green and then there’s this pink one right in the middle of them. My mind started to wander. It’s really good at wandering. I thought about Japan and how cherry blossoms are a really important symbol there. Hope and beauty and the shortness of life and all that. Or at least that’s what I’ve read.

I don’t know if you guessed from my profile picture, but I’m actually Japanese. Well, half Japanese. I was born in SimNation; my grandparents and my mum moved here when mum was little. My grandparents had wanted to move to SimNation for a long time before they did that, so they gave my mum a SimNative name. Erica. Me and my new family visited Japan once. We went to Tokyo and even visited Kyoto. The usual tourist spots. We also visited the town where my grandparents used to live. My new parents said it was good for me to know where my family comes from, and good for all of us to have an adventure. I loved it, and it was certainly an adventure. There was really good tea and the buildings were really pretty. But you know, I thought I’d feel something different there. I don’t know what. Some kind of connection, maybe. But I was just another tourist there. There were no mysterious feelings in my blood that would tie me there. I wanted to be more rooted to that awesome country, but I wasn’t.

I guess blood-roots don’t matter when I’ve got rooted to the life I do have. Because I have a family here where I am. And a life and friends. And there, in the graveyard with that out of place cherry blossom tree and with thoughts of forever and death on my mind, I thought about how great it was to belong somewhere. To have people around who care. And how lost I’d be without them.

I thought about what you said about loved ones fading away, breaking down. You do have some friends who aren’t immortal, right? How do you deal with them passing away? How would you deal with life if you didn’t have any other immortals around you? Or if you just knew some other immortals in passing but could never properly connect with them? Would you have any advice for a lonely person who was also immortal?

I’m sorry, this letter got really depressing really quick. But that’s what I get for asking so much about death, I guess.

Your death sounds nice. I’m sorry, that sounds like an awful thing to say. I mean, I’m glad you were able to come back to life and to your family, but I’m also glad that during the time you did have to go, it was peaceful. I know that it isn’t always as nice as just slipping away quickly and quietly. Still, it really sounds like your family has gone through a lot. I’m glad you’ve managed to get through all that hardship. From what I hear, things are going really well for your family now. That’s so great.

Ugh, this letter is still being pretty melancholic. Um… Ireland sounds really nice! I’ve been looking up pictures of Ireland, and it really does look gorgeous and magical. It’s so green! I also listened to some Irish folk music, and it sounds really cheery and nice. And you asked me about books too! I love reading! My favourite genre is fantasy. I also like funny books, especially silly comic books. My favourite book right now is Raymundo the Dragon by Leslie Chui. It’s a fantasy adventure, and the main character – Raymundo, of course – is so lovely. I’d love to have him as a friend. Do you know any dragons in real life? Your granddaughter told me that she writes books too. Those are now on my reading list, and I already looked for them at the local library. They’re all checked out right now, but I’ll be ready to snatch them when they’re returned. Sometimes I raid my brother’s bookshelf for some mystery books too. He also has lots of sci-fi books, but those aren’t really my thing. How about you? What kinds of books do you like?

Thank you for writing again. I’m looking forward to getting more letters from you. I hope you’ll keep having lovely days.

Regards,
Emily

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