The Last Letter

Write one last letter. That's what fifteen-year-old Amelia's psychologist says when she tells him about her time capsule-a My Little Pony lunchbox she's buried in the backyard garden after listening to the preacher on the corner shout about the end of times. One last chance to leave her mark when the world's been shaken to its core by a national tragedy not even the preacher sees coming. One last story of humanity's ability to endure, like in all those historical disasters her mother recites like fairytales. One last reminder of her existence, when her illness has turned her into such a ghost of her former self, one more exhale is all it will take before she disappears completely. One last letter to tell the world how she's lived and who she's loved and what she's trying to survive.