Dear Sara by Zary Fakete

*click*

The screen glows.

Another day. Twenty-four hours. Another moment of watching the sun touch the tops of the trees.

But this day is slightly different. Just a bit. It’s been another year.

I boot up the browser and navigate to the right tab. A blinking cursor stares up at me from the messages menu. They’re all one-sided. Year after year. Never any response.

No surprise either. Late night over drinks. She was untangling her past. Letting me in for a glimpse. I can still hear her words.

I was seven…maybe eight… The church just two blocks away… Fucking priest…

She’d never been so open. She told me she felt seen when we talked. So, what happened?

I look back down at the one-way messages. They start in similar ways:

Hi, Sara! How are you?

Dear Sara!! It’s been so…

Hey Sara :) Long time…

The cursor below blinks. Ready for another attempt. Why do I bother? It’s been ten years.

At first, I wrote more often. In fact, right after it happened, I wrote constantly. Trying to apologize, trying to pull back what I had said. I didn’t even realize what I’d done until I received her one and only message.

I flick the mouse pad and scroll up. There it is.

Her words stare up at me with hard-eyed accusation. In fact, the feelings are so fresh I can’t bring myself to read the whole thing. I just scan through bits and pieces…

You must not know… how utterly heartless… after knowing what happened to me… It’s taken me awhile… respect my privacy and not…

And then the final line: Please don’t respond to this message. I won’t write back.

And she hasn’t.

So instead, I’m left with my own thoughts and the hazy memories from over ten years ago when we last were together. Just down the street, in fact. At the coffeeshop. When she asked me why I believe what I believe. And I told her. And she asked where I thought that left her. And I told her.

I even remember thinking my words sounded loving. Sara, some day perhaps you’ll believe. And I hope so. Because I want you to be there with me.

Zary Fekete grew up in Hungary. He has a debut novella (Words on the Page) out with DarkWinter Lit Press and a short story collection (To Accept the Things I Cannot Change: Writing My Way Out of Addiction) out with Creative Texts. He enjoys books, podcasts, and many many many films. Twitter and Instagram: @ZaryFekete Bluesky:zaryfekete.bsky.social