I did exist. I was real, you can’t deny it. Though no one but you ever knew my name, I had people that loved me, cared for me, respected me. I had needs and hopes and desires. I had dreams. You never thought about that did you? When you abandoned me for better things, you thought I would just fade away. Of course I didn’t, I am a person. People don’t just disappear.
Oh I know it’s easier with him. You don’t have to think so much with him, he is simple, relatable, he makes it all so easy. You just “get” him, don’t you? No need to work at uncovering his layers, work out his motivations, what makes him tick. He is an open book to you, not like I was. He doesn’t confuse you or deceive you or challenge the way you see the world or your place in it. I understand all that. He was the easier option. I was making things too complicated, with him it just flows.
I didn’t just stop existing when you stopped caring you know. You brought me to life; shaped my personality. Without you I never would have known how much I love banana ice cream, or what joy I could get from reading obscure Russian poetry. Without you I wouldn’t have danced to electro punk into the small hours, or sang 80s power ballads at the top of my lungs when I thought no one was watching. We will always be a part of each other, you and I.
You can move on, try to forget me, but I will always be there. Like it or not, I shaped you almost as much as you shaped me. All those endless nights you lay in your bed, thinking of me, the dimple in my cheek when I smile, the scent I wear, the hidden pain behind my eyes. Sure you can move on, but those nights will always be mine. I might never get the ending I need to be free, but I will always have all those hours you spent dreaming of me, imagining my touch, trying to get inside my head. There was a time when I occupied your every waking thought, invaded your sleeping mind, resided in your dreams and visited your nightmares. You couldn’t read the newspaper without wondering what i would think of the article. You couldn’t watch TV without asking yourself if i would enjoy the show with you or sit there picking plot holes until you changed channel. Do you do that with him now? Does he occupy your very soul like I once did? Was it something I did, that made you leave me alone in the dark? Or are you just that fickle, your head easily turned by something more fun?
Maybe one day he will be in my position, left abruptly to dwell in the back of your mind just as he thought you were getting along so well. Or maybe he will be the lucky one, who gets a proper ending and is freed, released into the world to be loved by many. Maybe one day you will pick me back up and we will sing and dance and love one another again. I can but hope.
Now I am powerless, the cards are all in your hands. You are the author after all, I’m just a character. I’ve got no choice but to stay here, frozen in this moment, in an unfinished draft until you decide to complete my story.
Please don’t forget me. Please write my ending.
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