Welcome. You know who you are.

To my pen pal,

You have arrived. Contained within are thoughts, stories, words, and emotions that, despite being published on the Internet, have been intentionally shared with almost no other humans. I apologize for the other men who will certainly appear in these writings and for the emotions that are evident in a lot of them - I know you, like me, shy away from the vulnerability of feeling (or admitting to feeling).

There's something terrifyingly intimate about you reading my words. It strips me down to a nakedness that's much more profound than the kind where you can see all my tattoos and scars. But here they are and here you are. Tread carefully.

-A.