Annie
Don't look at a sunset unless you think of me. Do you remember them Bryce? Do you remember everyone we watched together before you had to leave? Sometimes I fear I have forgotten a few, because I am forgetting you. It was you that made them special then. It is your memory that makes them special now, a memory that is quickly fading into the dust of forgotten time. Their beauty is being lost, because I am losing you.
I was young when I met you, not more than ten. We went to school together for moths before I noticed you. You pulled my hair on the playground and I punched you in the nose. The teacher put us in detention together and by the end of the hour, we were fast friends. I could have had many other friends, but for some reason, you were the only one I ever wanted. You were the first boy I met who didn't have cooties. You told me about Sunset Hill, a place where. . .
Bryce
. . .the sunsets are beyond compare. I remember how surprised you were when you found out I liked sunsets. I was probably the only boy in school who would admit it. I had my reasons.
My father was running away from the law. He never had any time for me, unless he wanted me to help him with one of his dirty jobs. I was NOT part of the robbery on your house, I swear.
I was the youngest of seven children and the odd one out. You would think that in a family that large, I would have at least one real friend., but I didn't. Even my mother didn't really like me. She had her favorites all picked out long before I was born. This shouldn't surprise you. You knew I could get away with almost anything. Sometimes, I wished my parents would punish me, at least then I would know they cared.
I watched the sunsets. Their beauty made me forget my loneliness. Nothing else ever did that until I met you. That was why I felt you were the one I could share them with. You were two years younger than me and the boys in my class thought I should have avoided you like the plague, but we understood each other. I couldn't give that up. You were just like my kid sister. . .then. I told you all my secrets, about my dad and how much I hated to be dishonest. You promised that you would never tell. Did you? Even after I left?
Dad told me what he planned to do that night. I wanted to warn you, but it was too late. I didn't help him steal. I wouldn't do that to you, you were my only friend. I left you a letter, saying goodbye. When you came home. . .
Annie
. . .the house was ransacked. I couldn't believe you had done it, but then I found the letter and I knew you had been there. The pearls I got from my grandma when she died were gone. I wondered if you had taken them, knowing how much I loved them. I feel so guilty now for not trusting you but I thought it was your fault for letting it happen. I cried a lot and I was so angry at you.
I realize now that you only came along so you could say goodbye. You knew you could not trust your father to deliver your letter for you. He would never leave a clue that would prove he had been there. I don't even care about the pearls anymore. I just wish you were still here with me. All the friends I had were never as close to me as you were.
I wanted to scream at you and your father after it happened. I ran as fast as I could to reach your house before you could run away, but you were gone when I got there. Your house was dark and empty. The sun had already set. Now, I often wonder. . .
Bryce
. . .where you are. Do you still live in the big, white mansion at the top of the hill? Do you live in a grand palace in Europe? Was your father's fortune ruined when my father robbed him? Do you live in a hovel because of my failure to warn you? Do you still go every night to Sunset Hill or have you banished me forever from your mind and heart? I hope not. I still meant what I told you in that letter. I love you. I am coming back to Sunset Hill tonight and I will not be empty-handed. I found your grandmother's pearls. They were in my mother's jewelry box. They were the one beautiful thing my father ever gave her. She died when I turned sixteen. She knew how I felt about you and told me to look in her jewelry box before she died. It was her one last act of compassion toward me, perhaps the only one. I found the pearls and I ran. My father was greedy and I know he would want those pearls back for the money they would bring.
I am living an honest life now. I promise I will never become the man my father was. I don't make a lot of money, but it is earned with honest sweat. I give you that. I will also give you this letter, my side of the story, and maybe. . .
Annie
. . .you will forgive me. I have been to Sunset Hill nearly every night since you left. Those I missed filled me with a frantic worry that you had been there and I had missed you.
I wish I could say I will always wait for you there, but I can't. Tonight is the last night I will ever sit on Sunset Hill. My parents are taking me away to Paris for a new experience. They want to educate me. I think they want me to meet someone who will drive away all the thoughts and dreams I have had of you. I leave in the morning, unless I can find a good reason not to go. It saddens me that this is the final night. Even if you never came, I always felt closer to you there.
I did believe you, you know, that night you told me you loved me. I was ready to return that love. I still love you now, in spite of your father. I would love you in spite of everything. Even if we had to live in a shack, I wouldn't mind, because you would be there.
I will leave this letter on top of Sunset Hill, in the place we used to sit together. If you never read it. . .well, I will just have faith that you will.
With all the love I could never give you.
Annie
Bryce
P.S. Don't look at a sunset, unless you think of me.
Bryce