sat down like my bones were suddenly too heavy to hold me up.
Then I unfolded the letter.
THE LETTER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
It started with my name.
Not “Dear Son.”
Not “To whom it may concern.”
Just:
Eli.
That was how my father wrote when something mattered.
My hands trembled as I read.
Eli,
If you’re reading this, I’m gone. I’m sorry you’re learning it this way. I didn’t want your first day free to be another prison.
I’ve been sick a long time. Not the kind of sick
