It had been ten days since his parents had taken his phone; he was getting desperate. He hadn’t done anything too bad after all. If the teacher asks the question “What is love?” to a bunch of middle-schoolers, she’d better expect *someone* to yell “Baby don’t hurt me, baby don’t hurt me no more!” They just didn’t get it. Who cares about this stupid lovey-dovey stuff anyway? That was just put in movies to make parents be embarrassing. He was fifteen; he didn’t have time for that! That was besides the point though. The only thing that mattered to him now was finding his phone. He entered his parent’s bedroom. He crawled underneath the bed, only to find his father’s dusty old gun-case. His… gun case? That’d be a perfect place to hide something! He squirmed underneath the bed, hiding from his parents whilst simultaneously rushing over toward his prize. It must be in there, it just had to be! He hastily grabbed the case and rubbed the locked chest, but something was off. The case was open, and there certainly wasn’t any sort of gun, only stupid papers. Maybe he’d find his phone sandwiched in between some musty, despicable papers? He threw out paper after paper until nothing was left, well, nothing but an envelope with his name on it. What were they hiding from him? This was his letter; he had a right to know what was inside! He ripped open the envelope and began to read.

Dear Travis,

I’m writing you this letter just in case we ever pass away before you do. My father suddenly left me; I didn’t have anything. I’m not going to let you suffer the same fate. Son, as I’m writing this, you’ve just celebrated your tenth birthday. I’m so excited to see the man you’re becoming, if I am allowed to. I just want you to know that I love you, I love you with all of my heart, but I don’t think you know what love is yet. You’re too young right now, too young to understand what love truly is. Love isn’t a feeling I have for you, it isn’t the pride I feel when you show me your test when you walk in the door. It’s something much more than that. Love isn’t the kinship I feel with you, even though I enjoy how close we were able to get. Son, I love you, and nothing could ever change that. There’s not a thing you could do on this earth that would take my love away. That’s what my love is: unconditional. It’s not a feeling, it’s deeper than any bond you could ever think of. I’m so glad I’ve got to laugh with you, smile with you, even cry with you. When you hurt, I hurt. When you feel you’ve conquered the world, I feel the same. I would do anything for you. I know I’ve been a strict parent at times, but I truly want you to thrive; you already are. You’re becoming such a great man. I love you, son.

Love,

Dad

Travis just laid there for a second; he didn’t know how to process that amount of emotion. He didn’t think his dad the feeling type, yet his hands held his father’s raw emotion put onto paper. Did he really tear open a document like this just because he was bored? Because he couldn’t find his phone? He was so stupid. He’d torn up that envelope so much that it was irreparable! He had to do it: he had to fess up. Tears in his eyes, he slowly crawled from under the bed, walked into the living room, and gently put the paper in his father’s hands. He was so stupid; he deserved just what was coming to—

His father hugged him. Tears streaming down his father’s face, he hugged Travis. Their embrace was warmer than any fire, warmer than any shallow attraction. His father loved him, and now, he finally understood what that meant.