Dear Ashley,

I never told you this, but I appreciate your endurance. I wanted to write this letter to thank you for showing me that heartache and pain doesn’t last forever. Back then, he took away our innocence and caused us to be in a dark place. He left us unprotected, alone and afraid. For years we looked over our shoulders and hid from our nightmares, afraid that the boogeyman would come back for us. Somehow, one day, the nightmares faded until they disappeared. Each day since then, you showed me how the pieces of our life should fit again. I remember the fear and terror in our eyes, but it has been replaced with the glimmer of hope shining through.
Thank you for teaching me how to fly. When the heat is rising, all we have to do is spread our wings and fly above the fire. I won’t burn because of you and my scars have healed because you learned how to overcome it. The song that’s written in my heart can flow freely.
Thank you for liberating my mind so I am no longer a slave to the prison of my imaginations. I can exist in a space of wholeness and peace. There is hope here, and fear cannot abide.
I’ll wrap this up by saying thank you for giving life a chance, when the opportunity came to give up and end it all, you pressed through and gave us another chance. Thank you for enduring until our last breath.

Sincerely,
Me