A Thousand Boy Kisses(99)

I hope you know this now too.

In the box there will be another large envelope. Please open it now, then I will explain.



My heart raced as I gently placed Poppy’s letter on my bed. With shaking hands, I reached into the box and pulled out the large envelope. Needing to see what she had done, I quickly broke the seal. Reaching inside, I pulled out a letter. My eyebrows pulled down in confusion, then I saw the letterhead, and my heart completely stopped:

New York University. Tisch School of the Arts.

My eyes scanned down the page, and I read:

Mr. Kristiansen, On behalf of the admissions committee, it is my honor and privilege to share with you that you have been admitted to our Photography & Imaging program…

I read the entire letter. I read it twice.

Not understanding what was happening, I scrambled to find Poppy’s letter and read on.



Congratulations!

I know that right now you will be confused. Those dark-blond eyebrows I adore so much will be pulled down and that scowl that you wear so well will be etched on your face.

But it’s okay.

I expect you to be shocked. I expect you to resist at first. But, Rune. You won’t. This school has been your dream since we were kids, and just because I am no longer there to live my dream alongside you, it does not mean that you should sacrifice yours.

Because I know you so well, I also know that in my final weeks, you will have abandoned everything to stay by my side. I love you for that more than you will ever understand. The way you cared for me, protected me … the way you held me in your arms and kissed me so sweetly.

There is nothing I would change.

But I know that your love would sacrifice your future.

I couldn’t let that happen. You were born to capture those magical moments, Rune Kristiansen. I have never seen a talent like yours. I have also never seen someone so passionate about anything. You are meant to do this.

I had to make sure it happened.

This time, I had to carry you.

Before I ask you to look at something else, I want you to know that it was your pappa who helped me assemble your portfolio to secure your place. He has also paid for the first semester’s tuition as well as your dorms. Even when you continued to hurt him, he did this so selflessly it brought me to tears. He did this with so much pride in his eyes that it floored me.

He loves you.

You are loved beyond measure.

Now, please open box number one.



Swallowing back fraying nerves, I took hold of the labeled box and pulled it open. Inside was a portfolio. I flicked through the pages. Poppy and my pappa had pulled together picture after picture of landscapes, sunrises, sunsets. In truth, the work I was most proud of.

But then, when I reached the last page, I stilled. It was Poppy. It was the picture of Poppy on the beach with me all those months ago. The one where she had turned to me at the most perfect moment, allowing me to capture her on film—a picture that spoke to her beauty and grace more than any words could do.

My favorite photo of all time.

Chasing back the tears from my eyes, I ran my finger over her face.

She was so perfect to me.

Slowly setting the portfolio down, I picked her letter back up and continued.



Impressive, hey? You are gifted beyond words, Rune. I knew when we sent in your work that you would be accepted. I may be no expert on photography, but even I could see how you manage to capture images no one else could. How you have a style that is so completely unique.

So special … as special as special can be.

The picture at the end is my favorite. Not because it is of me, but because I knew the passion that picture reignited. I saw, that day on the beach, the fire inside spark back to life.

It was the first day that I knew you would be okay when I was gone. Because I started to see the Rune I know and love breaking back through. The boy who will live a life for us both. The boy now healed.



Glancing back at Poppy’s face, looking up at me from the picture, I couldn’t help but think of the exhibition at NYU. She must have already known that day that I had been accepted.

Then I thought of the final picture. Esther. The picture that the patron had exhibited as the final piece. The picture of his late wife who died too young. The picture that didn’t change the world, but showed the woman who had changed his.

Nothing described this picture, currently staring back at me, more than this explanation. Poppy Litchfield was just a seventeen-year-old girl from a small town in Georgia. Yet, from the day I had met her, she tipped my world on its head. And even now, after her death, she was still changing my world. Enriching and filling it with a selfless beauty that would never be rivaled.

Picking the letter back up, I read:



This brings me to my final box, Rune. The one I know you will protest about most, but the one that you must follow through.

I know right now you are confused, but before I let you go, I need you to know something.

Being loved by you was the biggest accomplishment of my life. I didn’t have long and I had nowhere near enough time to be with you how I wanted. But in those years, in my final months, I knew what real love was. You showed me that. You brought smiles to my heart and light to my soul.

But best of all, you brought me your kisses.

As I write this and reflect on the past several months since you came back into my life, I can’t be bitter. I can’t be sad that our time is limited. I can’t be sad that I won’t get to live out my life by your side. Because I had you for as long as I could, and that was perfect. To be loved so fiercely, so intensely, once again, was enough.