Warning: This work has been rated 16+ for language.
Summer, 2015
Dear Perdu,
You aren't dead; you can't be. There is no way you died at the beginning of all this, and I didn't. Before the apocalypse, you were working out and going for runs. You had prepared for this disaster. Jesus, you even had survival kits. How am I alive and you aren't? At the start, you told me to keep going and not stop to help others. Now I'm hearing that you sacrificed yourself. You did the one thing you told me not to do. There is no way you were dumb enough to do that. You knew I needed you, and you sacrificed yourself for Jacob? Jacob, of all people, Perdu? You had to save that asshole. I know he was your best friend, but I am your fiancee! You have to be alive. There is no way you died before seeing me again. Come back to me, Perdu. I know you are out there.
Yours, Ayla
End of chapter
Continue to next chapter Letter Three. Perdu's POVPoints:
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137,435 Literary Works • 672,020 Reviews
I'm sorry it's not my best work!
Hihi!!! Hop here with a revieww! So I am not the best at reviewing but we are just gonna ignore that... Please give me some grace though... So yeah, thank you! Now, onto my review~~~
So… this second letter kind of got me. I don’t know how to explain it but it felt really heavy in a way that made me stop and reread a few parts. Ayla’s voice is so strong and emotional and you can tell she’s just trying to hold herself together. The way she’s convincing herself that Perdu has to be alive—it was heartbreaking but also kind of brave? Like she’s refusing to give up even though everything feels impossible.
The part about Perdu being prepared and telling her not to stop for others, and then apparently sacrificing himself anyway… that was such a painful twist. It made me feel like everything she thought she could rely on is just falling apart. And then the Jacob part... yeah. That was a lot. You could feel how angry and confused she was and it made sense. She’s grieving and trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense and it’s just all tangled up.
Also the ending…
“Come back to me, Perdu.”
That line was so soft and desperate and it kind of broke me a little. It felt like she was trying to reach through the page and pull him back. I don’t know, it just hit me.
I really liked how consistent Ayla’s voice was. It felt like she was talking directly to him and it made everything feel more personal. You did such a good job showing how grief isn’t just sadness. it’s anger and confusion and love and hope all mixed together.
Anyway I really liked this and I’m kind of shy about saying too much but I’m really glad I got to read it. I’m curious to see what happens next and I hope you keep going with it. Please continue writing more and stay amazing!!!!!!
Love,
Hopelessly
Hop
Thank you so much for your review! Do not be shy about speaking out. I enjoy people critiquing my writing and finding the deep meaning I am putting into it.
Thank you lol! I just feel like people are going to silently judge my review... Bit thank you for being so kind!
Of course! I loved your review and hope you will review more of my work! No judgement in my workspace.
Hi there! Happy Review Day. It's a shame this has sat for so long because I like this piece. Let's hope in to a couple of thoughts.
A thought: changing the semicolons with a period would hit so hard. "You can't be" begins to put us in a realm of doubt that argues against "you arent dead.". I think that putting "you aren't dead" spaced as it's own line with a period shows the denial of the writer. Again, just an idea, but I think it would speak volumes.
I would appreciate a second paragraph to break up such a big lump of text some where in this region
I love the anger and frustration over Jacpb, whoever kn earth that is. You can hear the raw emotion and not.holding back that matches the apocalypse setting. Honestly, this whole.thing feels like finding a letter in The Last of Us or some other such video game. Just a tiny, very personal look that deals with the humanity rather than the big world events.
I think this.would also work well as a single line to emphatically come full circle.
There's a lot told in,what's not said here. Fiancee implies that whatever catastrophic event happened with between the time.of engagement and before marriage which would put things into perspective. One minute planning a wedding, the next just surviving.
It also seems to imply that they haven't been together, and thar writing these letters is Ayla's attempt to stay in touch. Perhaps she's even alone and this is what keeps her sane.
I think I'll go back and read Letter One at some point because I quite liked this.
-Messy
Hey Walker, Happy Review Day!
I remember reading the first letter and I'm happy to see you published another one! Sorry it's taken me so long to read and review this one </3
Survivor's guilt kicking in! Since we aren't 100% sure that Perdu is actually dead (we only know that Ayla "heard" he was dead), I'm wondering if this is a little teaser. Against all odds, what if he is still alive, and was able to use his advanced apocalypse survival skills to get out of a sticky situation? Perhaps someone observed what happened from afar and thought for sure he'd been bitten, and they passed on that information until it reached Ayla.
That "someone" could absolutely be Jacob:
I love this extra layer that Ayla doesn't even like him.
There's not a whole lot else for me to comment on with this letter being so short. I'm intrigued by the extra details that were added here, and hope that you'll find your way back to YWS and share some more letters with us! I need to know what really happened to Purdu!
Great job, Walker!
Wolfi
I just posted a third chapter.
Oooh amazing! I'll check it out
It's not about it being the best work, although I think it pretty good. This has so much emotion. What is the background behind this, how did this person die. This seems so dad. I think it is interesting that she is mad that Perdu sacrificing herself for Jacob.
This is the 2nd chapter. So if you continue reading you will know how he died! I'm really excited to write the next chapter!