text: August 15th, 2023 Dear Martin, I’m sure you’ll be surprised by this card; you probably think it’s an incredibly cheesy one, but I just wanted to thank you for these two incredible weeks together. I’m glad this year you’ve been a camp counsellor with me - it’s been way easier and more fun to put up with the teens! Especially since half of the girls had a crush on you, haha! I thought they were going to kill me when you asked me to dance with you on that last night at the camp. Anyhow, I do hope it’s not the end of our friendship and that you will visit my place; you need to meet my husband, Stephen, he’ll totally adore you, I’m sure of that! Right, but it’s supposed to be a thank you card, after all, that’s why I picked this one with these incredibly shiny, exaggerated gold letters on the card ;P So, really, Martin, all jokes aside, I wanted to thank you for every single conversation we had - for the short ones and all those long ones as well. You’re a really good listener, did you know that? What you said to me the other day, you know, when we sat in the evening on the pier, and you said that I should pursue my dream career and that you were sure I could do it... Your words meant the world to me, thank you! To many people, those might have been empty words, but to me, it’s been something I desperately wanted to hear. My family has always been down-to-earth, including my husband, so I’m really grateful. Thanks! PS Did you know that my blouse from the dance night still smells of your perfume? Told you that you oversprayed yourself that night! Love, Rachel ----------------------------- September 30th, 2023 Dearest Martin, I’d like to thank you once again for coming to my birthday party! That was a fantastic surprise, and the gift... I wanted to thank you properly, but you disappeared without saying goodbye... not sure why. But anyhow, thank you very much for the book, I’ll definitely read something on the power of attitude, I guess you’re right - we can be whatever we have the strength to fight for. Will I see you again? Love, Rachel ---------------------------------- October 20th, 2023 Dearest Martin, I know you told me to stop sending you “Thank You” cards, but well... you know how much I love all kinds of cards (you could send me one too! Just kidding! Or am I?) So, anyhow, thank you for accepting my invitation for the double date; I wasn’t sure you would, haha. I really enjoyed the evening, and so did Stephen. Though, I’m truly sorry that your date stood you up, as a comforting thing I can tell you that you looked deadly handsome that evening, so this is her loss! I do hope my words cheer you up a bit. I saw your mood was clearly subdued at the meeting, I mean, I could see that something was really wrong, I just hope it wasn’t anything more serious. Also, taking this opportunity, I would like to thank you for supporting my ideas when Stephen was skeptical. Look at both of us, Martin, we’re still a good team as we were at the camp! Super glad to have you in my life, Rachel ---------------------------------- November 20th, 2023 Dearest Martin, It’s me again - your Thank You card. Thank you for your last message that I received a month ago. Exactly 30 days ago. I’m getting worried; you haven’t been answering my messages. Is everything OK? Yours, Rachel ---------------------------------- December 18th, 2023 Martin, I’m sorry for slapping your face. And thank you for your honesty, I appreciate the fact that you wanted to protect me, but what you told me about Stephen... Christmas is coming; I cannot think about that right now. But thanks for worrying about me, anyway. Take care, Rachel ---------------------------------- December 28th, 2023 Dear Martin, Thank you for escorting me home. I feel bad about interrupting your time with your friends at the bar, but seriously, who would have thought we would run into each other in the same bar in such a big city? Anyhow, I know I was really drunk that night; I must’ve looked miserable sitting alone at the bar, but well, you can imagine that I needed that. I remember you escorted me home in that pouring rain, even though I protested heavily. I think I was even nasty towards you at some point. Sorry. But I also remember that I felt great to have you around me. Especially when you tried to keep your jacket over my head so I wouldn’t get wet, that was nice... So, in this clumsy way, I want to say that I’m still grateful for having you in my life, despite our recent disagreements. Take care, Rachel -------------------------------- March 20th, 2024 Dearest Martin, I miss you terribly. I’d like to tell you how endlessly grateful I am that our paths have crossed and I had a chance to meet you. And I’ve got so much to tell you... So many things I’m grateful for. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have discovered that my husband is your cousin’s boyfriend... I know I was awful to you when you told me that. I know. And yet you stood by me. And your push for me to pursue my dream career, it was priceless, thank you. Now, in hindsight, I see and understand so many things. And yet I cannot tell you all of that, I can only write it here, in a Thank You card. I’m so furious with myself that I didn’t kiss you back when you kissed me on that street. I’m so sorry, I had to run away from you because I was overwhelmed with Stephen’s infidelity and everything... Now, I would give everything to come back to that day and kiss you back because then you wouldn’t have run after me and that awful car wouldn’t have hit you. It's been two months now since the accident, and you’re still in a coma. The doctors say there’s a slight chance you will wake up, but I refuse to believe that. I believe you will come back. And when you do, maybe we will start over and you will see how much you’ve changed my life. I’m done being this scared, stifled girl, and I no longer will be. Time to get my life. Thank you, Martin, for appearing in my life and making it way better even though I didn’t want it. PS I still have that blouse that smells of you... Always yours, Rachel