The Letter in the Tree

You must have watched me climb that tree at least a thousand times. You must have watched from some hiding place beyond the garden wall, and in retrospect, it should make me die of embarrassment and self-consciousness -- the idea you watched me the first few times when I climbed it as if I was climbing a cliff's side and those sturdy branches were like rocks that might shift and let me fall. And you heard me sing as I climbed it with ease to sit upon my branch and gaze out at the world and the sunsets and the snowfalls and the first rain of autumn. You watched me climb it methodically as my shoulders shook from the tears I couldn't smother underneath the surface. And you had seen those tears.

But your words, the letter -- I felt as though you were as familiar to me as the tree or the tree was as familiar to you as it is to me. You must have climbed it once to tuck the letter where I would find it, but did you climb it more? Was your branch the same as mine? I wouldn't mind if it is. Just don't forget it's my tree.

How'd you know I'd show up before the wind blew the paper and the words away? Or the rain came and made your words swim? Did you wait to see me coming before you scaled over the wall and left me the gift of your letter? The imprint of your kindness into the corner of my lonely world? Why'd you leave it for me?

Were my thoughts really so loud as I swung my legs back and forth below my branch? Did you just watch me in those shared moments? How many hours were we together when I was unaware of you? Why didn't you ever let me know you were there?

We must have sat in companionable silence a hundred times or more, and you never once spoke, but maybe I knew you were there all along because I never felt alone out on my branch in my tree. I went in loneliness, in the times I couldn't breathe, and then...and then I was alright.

Why did you wait so long?

***

When I first started blogging many years ago, it was mostly just because and mostly random and every which way. I'd start blogs on a whim, too. One of the blogs I started was called 'The Lockbox'. It housed a story I started. A story in second-person. Up till then I hadn't really shared my writing (for so many good reasons), but I did, and The Lockbox story ended up being one of the first pieces of writing I was...happy with. I felt there was something beautiful in it (it's debatable whether or not that was actually true). It's also my first grammatically half-correct piece of writing. Second-person story writing is...yeah...an undertaking, but back then I didn't realize it. 

Nowadays with poetry, I do a lot of second-person writing, and there's a mystery to it I've grown to like. Anyway, this past week I did some free writing to escape the editing monster and all its dark henchmen, and I came up with this (though, it's been an idea floating around in my mind for awhile. I've wanted to write a children's story or something to highlight a friendship through letters since that's something I've experienced). Have you guys ever tried to write anything in second-person? What do you think of it? 

Lastly, I did find out how I could access my old blogs. So I have a lot of lovely, totally not embarrassing, blog posts to share on my blogiversary post. Before this post comes into existence, do you have questions you'd like me to answer if I do a question and answer thing? 

Favorite movies? Favorite books? Most inspiring individuals? Favorite food? Favorite album of all-time? First CD I ever got? Favorite childhood memory? Things that annoy me the most? What it's like to be the youngest (or did you guys even know that about me?)? I really don't know so, please, help. Shower me with questions in the comments!