we’re all different people all through our lives, but that’s okay, as long as you remember all the people you used to be.
From: Miranda Stewart (mirawho@messagemail.com)
To: Kin Stewart (chefkstew@messagemail.com)
Subject: RE: Brace Yourself
I miss Mom. I wish she was here to meet him. They could argue about sci-fi together. It’s not fair, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with what we have but nothing is the same without her.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t move forward with things. Because it’s not right that life is happening without her. But I keep telling myself that she would want us to change and move forward. She’d say an awesome quote and it’d make it all right.
So I’m nervous because of how I feel. But I’m also nervous because it’s like this big life thing without Mom and I wonder how can it really be me without her. But then I remember that we’re all different people all through our lives, but that’s okay, as long as you remember all the people you used to be.
The maturity in Miranda’s message felt impossible for her age, so much so that Kin checked the time stamps to make sure he didn’t mistakenly email a much older, much wiser version of his daughter. Yet it came from her teenage brain, and a surge of pride radiated through his chest. That’s a really good attitude, he wrote, and I think if you can keep up that kind of approach, you’re pretty much set for the rest of your life. I’m so proud of you. Mom is, too, I know it. Her reply came back in an instant.
From: Miranda Stewart (mirawho@messagemail.com)
To: Kin Stewart (chefkstew@messagemail.com)
Subject: RE: Brace Yourself
I wish I could tell you that I was some, like, brilliant Zen master or that it was something my counselor told me but I actually just borrowed that from a Doctor Who episode. See, I really am my mother’s daughter.
Kin thought back to that afternoon months ago when Miranda tried to convince him that he might like Doctor Who because of the supposedly fake world he’d crafted in his journal. He dodged the question then, shutting it down as quickly as possible. But maybe she knew him better than he knew himself. Well, then, he wrote, maybe you were right when you said I might like it. I already have a list of quotes like that from your mom. So in a way, she’s still with us.
