The Drawer Where You Keep the Notes

A story for fall.
On what we keep, even when we don’t know why.

You meant to sort through it—once.
Just a few things:
a thank-you card,
a letter you didn’t expect to keep,
or a saved voicemail from someone who’s gone.

But the drawer filled.
Then filled again.

You don’t look in it often.
But you don’t clean it out, either.

Because every now and then,
you need to remember—
who saw you.
Who you were becoming.
What mattered more than you knew.
What stayed with you, even if you didn’t realize it.

It’s not just paper or a message.
It’s a place that remembers you,
even when you forget.