Punk 57

“We were perfect together. Until we met.” I still smile when I read her letters. She misses me. It started in fifth grade — a pen pal assignment gone wrong. My teacher thought Ryen was a boy. Hers thought Misha was a girl. By the time we figured it out, it was too late. We were already hooked. Seven years of black paper and silver ink. Seven years of arguments, confessions, and inside jokes. No photos. No calls. No social media. Just words — honest, unfiltered, ours. She’s the only one who ever saw me. The only one who made me feel like I wasn’t drowning. Until one night, I find a photo online. A girl named Ryen. Loves Gallo’s pizza. Worships her iPhone. It has to be her. I break the rules. I find her. But the girl behind the letters isn’t who I expected. And the second I meet her… I start to hate her as much as I ever loved her.