"Dear Iwanako,"
 
"How has life been treating you? How is your new school?
Life here hasn't really changed much, but people here miss
you. I never knew you had so many friends. They keep asking
me about you from time to time. Isn't that strange?"
 
"Even though nothing has changed, I can't help but feel
kind of nostalgic. I must have looked really a year or
two ago. Or maybe I still look dumb."
 
"Time has really flown by. We're both seniors now, we're
almost done with school. What will you be doing when
you're done? I'm still not sure myself. Maybe something
involving medicine."
 
"I'm writing this letter because I think that some
important things have been left unsaid. Maybe it's
too late to say them, but I won't accept that."
 
"I visited you as often as I could because I thought
that's what you needed from me. Even when my visits
went on in complete silence, I felt that I was still
helping simply with my presence. I'm not so sure anymore.."
 
"Even though I was there with you, asking about your day
and telling you about mine, It was as if I wasn't there at
all. You only became more distant, and maybe I did too. I
think that's my fault."
 
"The truth is, I think I just wanted to spend time with
you, even if that time wasn't what I wanted it to be.
I was waiting for you to finish that sentence. Maybe your
time in the hospital  gave you time to re-think what you
wanted to say. Maybe you felt like it was too late."
 
"I'm sorry for not being more, Iwanako. I'm sorry if
I made you uncomfortable, or if you just wanted me to leave.
I hope your new life treats you well, and that you find
happiness that I couldn't help you find."
 
"Sincerely, Hisao."
 
...
 
 His words are filled with guilt and self-loathing. I let our friendship dissolve, and he blames himself.
 
 A feel a pit churn in my stomach. I've done something horrible to a person, and there's nothing I can do to fix it.
 
 I want to write him back, but I know that this isn't the kind of letter that you should respond to. He wrote it to bring closure to himself, to get past this whole thing. It would be selfish to write him back.
 
 "I'm sorry, Hisao."