Letter to the Character

Dear Alma,

I appreciate your desire to help your mother, but she clearly doesn't want it. It took you long enough to recognize this, but when you finally did, I was very glad. Your decision to focus on discovering who Alma Meriminski is, the woman you are named after from The History of Love, is a much better (and less risky) endeavor. No one ever said it would be easy, but that didn’t stop you. It did hurt my heart that even your best friend, Misha, whom you were developing a relationship with, didn’t support you. But I guess that puts you in good company of the other characters. They, too, have dealt with their fair share of love, loss, and sacrifice. Stay strong! As for your journey of finding Alma, don’t see it as an end. Just because she is no longer alive, doesn’t mean there aren’t still answers for you out there. As you go in search of them, promise me you won’t leave your brother, Bird, behind. He looks us to you. Remember when you read his journal and saw that he took your advice about how he should try to be normal to heart? He needs you to guide him and listen to him and not blow him off when he talks about God. He truly believes he is a figure of Christ, and he has the injuries on his hands and wrists to prove it. Also, don't lie to him about memories of your Dad, it is only a matter of time before the truth becomes revealed.

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Dear Zvi,

You are dead, so this letter won’t really do much, but I am going to keep writing anyways. I still cannot believe you plagiarized your childhood friend’s paper. Leo trusted you with it to keep it safe and you turned around and published it. I need not belabor this point, though, because you suffered enough with the amount of guilt you felt each day. I just want you to know that Leo did not actually die like you thought he did. He is still alive and frantically trying to find his book and whether or not it got published. Another thing I want you tell you is that your wife, Rosa, knew all along. Remember the flood in your house? She started it. She put Leo’s manuscript on the floor. She kept your copy dry and safe. In part, I blame her for its publication. Yet, she had good intentions. She wanted you to feel proud of a piece and good about yourself. In many ways, I guess, you had good intentions too. You wanted this piece of work to be able to be read by the world, as you thought Leo would not be around to publish it. With that in mind, I hope you are now able to rest in peace without the burdensome guilt you once carried around.

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Dear Leo,

To some people you might come off as being crazy. After all, you practically stalk your own son, disclose unnecessary details about your bodily issues, and make embarrassing public disruptions. However, to me you are just a lonely, old man who desperately wants to love and be loved. I look past your quirks and see the hurt that lies beneath. I wish I could fix your loneliness. In a way, Bruno provides you with this fulfillment, but yet, I have to ask, is he real? Your downstairs neighbor mentioned to a friend of yours how you live on the top floor and you always say Bruno lives upstairs. Also, you have to order for him at Dunkin Donuts. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I find that a bit odd. Anyways, I also wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. Though you two were not formally acquainted, I know he meant a lot to you. You demonstrated this in how you picked the lock to his house, then proceeded to clean his house and try on his clothing. To some this would again seem crazy. To me it wasn’t the least bit crazy, you simply wanted to feel close to your son in a way that his living presence never allowed. Well, to end this on a happier note, I would like to inform you that your book has been published! Yes, you are more than just an author of children’s picture books. The credit just has not yet been given where it is due.

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Do you remember how I mentioned talking to characters during my first blog post? Well, this is what my imaginary dialogue consisted of during the past few chapters. Hopefully you were able to piece together what took place as well as get some ideas about further character development and my reactions to it all through this quick update. I plan to do a “part 2” to this post soon, so check back for a follow-up analysis.