Saying a Lot with a Little

Story Submitted by Donnell:

In high school, Emma and I were introduced online by a mutual friend.  She and I hit it off immediately, and would often spend long hours talking online or over the phone.

I liked everything that I heard about her, and I think it was clear to both of us that we had something special.

We met in person, had lunch, went back to my place, made out for hours, and, from my point of view, it went very, very well.

I noticed that something was wrong when I wrote her an e-mail after that first meeting.  She was usually very quick to respond, although the fact that she didn't reply quickly wasn't what worried me.

I had written her four sentences, which basically boiled down to: "I had a great time, you're terrific, I can't wait to see you again, and thank you."

I didn't hear from her until two days later.  An e-mail arrived with the following:

"Thanks."

Something was definitely wrong, and I wrote her back, asking her if everything was okay.

She took another two days to write back:

"Not really."

I liked her a hell of a lot, but a game like this was disrespectful and rude.  I wrote her one more message, a very short one, that essentially said, "Let me know if you want to talk, and be well."

I was half-expecting to not hear from her at all.

She wrote back an hour later, paragraphs and paragraphs bemoaning how possessive and obsessive I was, how I was suffocating her, and how she was going back to an ex-boyfriend.

I read it over a few times, incensed.  I started about a dozen long e-mails to her, all of which were variations on the "You're a bitch" theme.  When I realized that, I took a minute, took a deep breath, and wrote:

"Be happy."

And sent it.

No response, as I figured.

Eight years later, a friend request arrived from her on Facebook.  She was a single mom with three kids.

Denied.