Prose by Kaylie Harley

Edited by Brandon Lo

“A ‘Love’ Letter From No One” March 24, 2019 

Dear…You, 

Hey! We’ve met before, remember? Well actually, you probably don’t remember, or don’t think you do. I haven’t, after all, told you who’s the author of this letter. I just wanted to tell you something: I love you. 

Actually, that’s a lie. I don’t love you, but I hope I can one day. No. That’s a lie as well.

I hope I never fall in love with you. 

Not that nobody would ever fall in love with you! Noo no no. You’re absolutely lovely in every possible way. 

What I meant by not wanting to love you is that you would never want me to love you. I’m not exactly the most lovable of people. You’d run away screaming if I actually loved you. 

I don’t love you for you. I’m basically protecting you! 

Now, that’s not to say that I don’t like you. I like you very much, and in many different ways. 

I like you as a friend. I like you as a person. I like you as a human being…wait, those are basically the same things. 

Anyways! I guess to recap: I don’t love you. 

Sorry. 

Love, 

No 

Like, 

No One 

~~~~ 

“A ‘Hate’ Letter From No One” March 25, 2019 

Hey You! 

What the hell was that about? Don’t act like you don’t know. I saw what you did back there.

I’m sorry I said I didn’t love you. I thought that would make you happier! 

You might’ve been upset, but you didn’t have to crumple my letter up and trash it the way you did!

I spent a long time carefully planning out that letter! …Okay, actually I just wrote it all in one go and pressed it through your locker door. 

But that’s not the point! 

The point is, I don’t understand why you’re upset! 

Is it because I said I didn’t love you? Or that I didn’t tell you who wrote the letter? 

Oh. 

Yeah, maybe I should’ve told you who I was. 

But then you’d know who said “I don’t love you” and then you’d have a face to hate and not just words on a paper. 

Okay. I miiight have overreacted a bit at the beginning of this letter. 

Sorry. 

But this is why you should be glad my love isn’t being forced upon you. 

I’m being super cryptic. Is it creepy? I hope it’s not creepy. It’s probably creepy. I hate creepy. Anyways, sorry for overreacting. I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Love, 

Ha! I did it again!

Like, 

No One 

~~~~ 

“A ‘Suicide’ Letter From No One” August 10, 2019 

Dear You,

The energy it requires to carry these memories of us.

These feelings.

These lies.

Have become too much, and I feel like killing them is my only defense.  

I don’t want us to die. I’m just at a stage where if we did, it would be the most beautifully selfish thing I ever did for myself. 

I let you do this to me because I was being selfless, and looking out for you. I didn’t want this to happen to me, but I suggested you do it … so you could get better. 

But what if I’m selfish? What if these emotions that tie me to you were gone?

What could you possibly do to me then? 

Doing what you did to me might have been what was best for you, but did you ever consider what was best for me? 

No. 

Now I’m alone. 

Again. 

And life is meaningless again. 

I hope you’re fucking happy now. 

Fuck you Like, 

No One 

~~~~ 

“A ‘Dull’ Letter From No One” November 4, 2019 

Dear You, 

I think this’ll be the last letter I’ll ever write to you. 

We haven’t talked in a while, which is what I had always feared in the beginning. But… 

It doesn’t upset me. At least, not anymore.

I used to be terrified of losing you, but now… 

I’m almost relieved. 

The romantic love I had for you is long gone. But I’ll still cherish our memories.

I hope you know that I could never hate you, not in a million years. 

But you hurt me, deeply. I was happy to be with you, but I was damaged by our relationship as well. I know you didn’t mean to. But you did. 

I forgive you, even if you haven’t apologized for it. 

This letter is my closure for those three months of my life. 

I hope you’re doing well. I hope you’re happy with whatever you are doing in your life. I’m not asking you to think of me, or worry about me. I’m doing just fine now. Just know that the end of us was the best thing for us. It was our time to disband and drift apart. I am healthier, I am happier, and I am wiser. 

Thank you for the time we got to spend together. 

This might seem harsh but … I hope we never speak to each other again. It would only make things worse. 

Goodbye, 

Some One

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Artist Statement: Letters from No One is a series of semi-fictionalized letters written back in my high school years that detail the naivety of childhood love and its failings. The letters were written very conversationally, and spacing was used to represent pauses in flow and moments of hesitation. Each letter was actually written on the timestamps offered, and reflect a person before and after experiencing a toxic relationship. The first two letters are entirely fictional, but the second two were written as a cathartic exercise after a grueling breakup. In allowing the writer to become “Some One” by the end of the series, I hope to convey that a person can move on even if some part of them has been left behind, and that it’s okay to not be completely “one” yet.