365 Days

Chapter 1

"Do you mind if I go look for some of his stuff? In the attic?" I ask my boyfriend's darling mother, Marilyn.

"Why of course, dear. I wouldn't mind a bit. Help yourself!" She smiles sadly at me.

I make my way up the ladder I pulled down from the ceiling. As I start exploring the attic, I begin to think of my sweet boyfriend, Caleb. His smile, his eyes, the way he treats his mother with such respect. His parents most definitely raised him well.

I find an old bed in the corner of the attic. Creepy...but what the heck, why not? I look under the bed and see nothing. "Hm..that's odd. Nothing?" I think to myself. I decide to look again. Something catches my eye this time. It's a box. A big, black box.

My curiosity gets to me, so I decide to get it out. I have to get halfway under the bed for my fingertips to reach the edge, but I finally manage to pull it out. I set it on top of the bed and take a deep breath. I open the box and the first thing I find is a small blanket with Caleb's name embroidered onto it. "How adorable," I whisper to myself.

As I continue looking through the box, I find all sorts of things. Books, sketches, old pictures..and then I find something that confuses me. I find a plain, brown shoe box....with my name on it. "What in the world?"

I open the box, slowly, and take a look inside. On top, I find some pictures of our first year together and find myself getting tears in my eyes. I was looking through the pictures when I run into a picture from last year's Tacky Christmas party. I quickly find myself laughing as I look through all the silly pictures we took. We're a crazy pair, that's for sure! I set the pictures down on the bed and continue searching this mysterious box that apparently belongs to me..?

The next thing I find surprises me. Filling up the entire box are a bunch of letters. The first one is addressed to me.."Should I open it? I never got his permission.....but what the heck? It's mine anyways, right?" I quickly debate to myself before I gently rip open the envelope. I begin to read the note, and tears quickly come to my eyes..

To: Summer McCaron

From: Caleb Johnson

Summer,

I love you so much. You are an amazing best friend and girlfriend. I don't want anyone else but you. As cheesy and cliche as this sounds, I truly believe God gave me you. You know, for the ups and downs. Hahahahaha, not funny? That was so funny. Anyways, today is December 31, 2013. Today is a very special day. Today is the day I wrote my very last letter to you. Well, not my very last. I'm sure I'll write more. But, today is my last 365-day letter to you. If that makes any sense? Oh blah. I'm not speaking clearly. Let me start again.

I have an assignment for you. Here it goes.

In this box are 365 letters. These letters are yours. The first one was written on January 1, 2013. The last one was written on December 31, 2013. I have written a letter every single day this year. You are to read one letter a day, according to the date it was written. I hope you have tons and tons of fun! Don't forget, BE PATIENT!

Love you sweetheart,

Caleb

I found myself sobbing by the time I was done. I never knew he was doing this. These are so sweet. I set the box in my lap and start looking for today's letter, January 1. It's the first envelope. I bite my lip and slowly open it. I start reading, taking in every word and every little detail. I smile.

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