“Am I allowed to feel both?” he asked.

“You can feel as many things as you feel.”

We left the envelope up on the shelf.

Over the following weeks, Brandi wrote again.

Some of her letters were thoughtful; some were clumsy.

One had a drawing of the big oak tree out behind the house.

Finn took that one down and looked at it for a long time.

He didn’t ask to hear the words.