That's so lovely - most of the way through this whole story, that was precisely how I felt.allegrita wrote:I'm not a visual person, but I've told you before that I can see Mick writing these letters. Picture him silhouetted against the afternoon light slanting in through the windows, writing to Beth every day, pouring out his soul, counting down the year one envelope at a time. I just want to hug him.
allegrita wrote:They are like a piece of his soul, folded neatly and served up individually in 365 envelopes. They show her the year from his side.
PNWgal - teary-eyed? Seriously? Wow.
High praise indeed. And you know that, like you, I am an absolute sucker for the whole "strong man in pain" theme. A total sucker. No wonder I fell so hard for Mick.lorig, thanks so much, my faithful reader.
Aw, GA, have a
. Mick is so overcome with his own sorrow, and then joy, that he really doesn't think about the potential cost - and I also think he invests Josef with more power than he really has and, on some level, thinks he will have been able to just fix everything and they can all carry on regardless.Then my work is done. Thank you so much for your beautiful comments all the way through this story - I really appreciate them (and you!).GuardianAngel wrote:In that last line you have made me believe that Josef had the right of it - their love was worth any sacrifice.
Wow, dsr. What an amazing set of comments - I'm so very touched. Thank you.
I've written quite a lot about Mick's father (mostly in Anniversary) because it's a relationship that intrigues me. Even after so long apart, I think that a lot of the man Mick is, his "code", must have come from his family - only something that deep and close could have survived everything that Mick has lived through. And even present-day Mick strikes me as someone who needs his father more than ever.darkstarrising wrote:His reminiscing about his father, about being a good husband was utterly beautiful. His fear about what his father would think of him now, heartbreaking.
I love that the thoughts about marriage, Coraline, Beth, rang true. It's such a complex part of Mick and I always love to imagine him having those conversations honestly with Beth.
Mick was never short on introspection; the thing I enjoyed most about writing these was that they gave me the chance to have Mick express all the things he could never put into words - a self-accounting indeed. Again, thank you.darkstarrising wrote:But the final letter did me in - Day 364- a self accounting of a man who saw himself a lesser man without the woman that makes him complete, a man who said he wouldn't lose faith, and didn't.
janicevictoria, that's very lovely. Thank you.
francis, a roller-coaster; how perfect. And little does Mick know the ultimate price - but for know, he has his pure joy. And that was lovely to write.
coco,
yeah it was a bumper crop this time. The letters started out as part of my writing process - if I was going to refer to them, I had to write them. But they became more than that for me - they were a chance to get my own thoughts clear on how Mick was feeling so that it would come out as I hoped in the story itself. Plus, I just loved writing them. They appeal to the romantic in me. 
It was a pleasure to post them here and I'm delighted you enjoyed them.Albra, thank you for reading and commenting.
sabazzz, have a hankie, sweetie.
I do love to tug on those heartstrings. But where Mick is concerned, he just does that anyway.And a final thank you to Moonlighter. Without her encouragement I would never have posted these.
Red
Day 364 did me in completely!! 
