The Letter I Never Sent

Last spring, I was packing up my old bedroom at my parents' house.

去年春天，我在爸媽家整理我以前的房間。

At the bottom of a box, I found an envelope in my handwriting.

在一個箱子底部，我找到一個寫著我字跡的信封。

Wait... it was addressed to Hannah, my best friend from school!

等等……收件人竟然是Hannah，我求學時最好的朋友！

And it was never sent... not even stamped.

而且它從來沒寄出去……連郵票都沒貼。

When we were nineteen, Hannah and I had a huge fight.

我們十九歲那年，我和Hannah大吵了一架。

She moved to Scotland for university, and I felt left behind.

她去蘇格蘭念大學，我覺得自己被丟下了。

Honestly, I said some really horrible things to her.

老實說，我對她說了很多很過分的話。

She called me again and again, but I never picked up.

她一次又一次打給我，可是我從來沒接。

So, I wrote this letter to say sorry,

所以，我寫了這封信想道歉，

but I was too proud to post it.

但我太愛面子，一直沒寄出去。

I sat on the floor and read it for the first time in eleven years.

我坐在地上，十一年來第一次讀了它。

Oh, it was so silly, so dramatic, so nineteen!

哎呀，寫得好幼稚、好誇張，完全就是十九歲！

But at the end, I'd written... you're the sister I never had.

可是在信的最後，我寫著……妳就是我從來沒有過的姊妹。

And I started crying, right there between the boxes.

然後我就在那堆箱子中間哭了起來。

Well... I didn't even know if she still lived in Edinburgh.

不過……我連她是不是還住在Edinburgh都不知道。

So, I asked her mum, who still lives on our street.

於是我去問她媽媽，她還住在我們那條街上。

I bought a stamp, wrote a short note, and posted the old letter.

我買了郵票，寫了張小紙條，把那封舊信寄了出去。

Then I waited. One week... two weeks... nothing.

然後我等啊等。一個禮拜……兩個禮拜……什麼都沒有。

What if she was still angry? What if she'd forgotten me?

萬一她還在生氣呢？萬一她早就忘了我呢？

Then one morning, guess what was on my doormat?

然後有一天早上，你猜我家門口的腳踏墊上有什麼？

A letter from Hannah! I opened it with shaking hands.

是Hannah寄來的信！我雙手發抖地拆開它。

Inside was a photo of us at sixteen, laughing on a beach.

裡面是我們十六歲時在海灘上大笑的照片。

And she'd written, I kept this. I knew you'd write one day.

她寫著：這張我一直留著。我就知道妳總有一天會寫信來。

Wow, I laughed and cried at the same time!

哇，我又哭又笑！

We talked on the phone for three hours that night.

那天晚上，我們講了三個小時的電話。

And next month, I'm flying to Scotland to see her!

下個月，我就要飛去蘇格蘭見她了！

So, if there's a letter you never sent... maybe it's not too late.

所以，如果你也有一封從沒寄出的信……也許還不算太晚。

Write it, post it, and see what happens.

寫下來，寄出去，看看會發生什麼。