To my most beloved reader:

 

I’ve started writing stories way back as a kid. I can still remember the first time I’ve ever written one. It was not really a story, but more of a recap of an anime that I’ve watched that day: Akazukin Chacha, or Little Red Riding Hood Chacha. The episode I’ve watched that day, I would write it down, line by line, exactly as how the tagalog dubbers said and delivered their lines. And then the following day, I would lend it to my friends and classmates to read. Though it may not be my own story, I was happy that something I wrote brought them joy.

 

I didn’t stop there. For every anime I watched during primetime anime time on tv, I wrote down it down line by line. Sometimes I would forget what they’ve said, but then I’d just improvise. And then from my improvs and impromptu writing, I developed this love of writing and most of the time, I would daydream. I would imagine that I’m part of the animes that I watched or the games that my brothers played. Sometimes, I would make an entirely new world on my own where I can play different roles, though most of the time, I would be the heroine. Writing made my happy and my imagination was boundless. I can be anyone and do anything that I want!

 

I have some friends who enjoyed reading what I wrote. Although as years passed, their numbers dwindled down, and I was left with only a few people to read. Did that stop me from writing? No. But I admit that sometimes, I would get discouraged. By the time I reached high school, I could only count the number of audiences I had with one hand. But I kept on going. I love writing after all.

 

Then I moved to the United States. I didn’t have my friends, nor did I have any new friends. Yes, technology boomed during those times and I was able to send some friends bits of stories that I wrote during that time. But it wasn’t the same as before. Sometimes, it would take weeks before I could talk to them and ask for feedbacks about the story. I’ve always wanted to receive feedbacks from people who’ve read my stories because I want to learn and grow and enhance my skills. After all, writing is the only talent I have. Or a least, that’s what I believed in.

 

Until the day came that I had no one to read my stories.

 

That was the time that I was on the verge of giving up my passion for writing. I know I’ve become rusty during those years that I was so busy growing up and “adulting”, as they call it. It might also be one of the reasons why I didn’t have any readers left to read. Perhaps just like me, they’ve been busy as well. Yes, I understand that, but it was just depressing to think that no one wanted to read whatever I wrote anymore.

 

And then, I told myself. I’m not writing to be famous or, so it can be read by a lot of people. I was writing for myself. Writing makes me happy, right? Writing allows me to express myself and to escape the confines of the real world.

 

But… it wasn’t enough to keep me going. I wanted more. I wanted someone to validate my work. I wanted someone to tell me that I’m good or at least tell me that whatever I’m writing has some worth to it. That it wasn’t a complete waste of my time.

 

I almost lost it.

 

I stumbled into one blog post by Christian Mihai. On his blog, he wrote down that if you want to win more readers, you should first understand one reader. Just one. Crazy, right? That’s what I thought at first, but I continued reading.

 

As I read through his post, I thought of you: my most beloved and number one fan. Thinking of you has reignited my passion for writing. I may not have a lot of readers now, but I know now that I have one person who I’m certain that will read all my stories, regardless of how good or bad they are. Someone who will travel with me to my world of illusions.

 

I know someday, I’ll get to meet you. And when I imagine the smile on your face as you read through each one of my stories, it fills my heart with such joy that I can’t contain my happiness. When I imagine you filled with different emotions as you journey to all the different worlds I’ve created in my head, I feel like bursting and crying with tears of joy. Yes, I may be imagining right now. But imagining you, my little one?

 

I will not lose heart.

 

I will not give up.

 

I will continue to write for you.

 

From this day on, everything that I’ll write will be dedicated entirely to you.

 

I love you and I can’t wait to meet you. 😊