To the girl with a bloody birthmark,

My heart has bled to admit these secrets, but it has survived the same tempests, sea storms and hurricanes that you know so well. The sea of time is hard to cross, but you only know the way forward. I am so grateful and envious of that.

I know your ship's wheel is broken. The precious souvenir from Cuba is a reminder of better times, when your mother taught you the difference between getting lost and wandering without direction. So I won't ask you to go on a grand adventure, not when you are on the verge of scattering like a flock of seagulls. You need an anchor.

Slamming doors and shattered goods assault you, wild like lightning, as constant as the drumming of rain. There's no map to lead you to paradise. But you have your mother, and she is your compass as much as you are hers. So my first favour to ask, is to reach deep within yourself and find love. Find love for yourself and your mother. Be her anchor, and you won't find yourself adrift.

My second favour to ask you is to persevere. You won't mend the souvenir. I know that. Crazy glue won't fix your heart as easily as it does a wooden carving. For now, learn the craft of art projects and expressing yourself through other means. Tape it to the wall, because I know you will. Once you can tell your hands apart from the masterpieces you create, then you'll know how to steer your emotions into calmer seas.

In your future, there is hope cresting the waves as you sail among pirate friends. I see you writing the destinies of others, having found your own. Remember that the pair of dolphins carved in the middle of the ship's wheel will protect you, and though the ship's wheel is broken, it does not diminish the hope you had when you purchased it with your mom.

Some things will fade, like the bloody birthmark that had puzzled your family and friends for years. But it's not an omen. You can change and find direction. Let love bloom strong instead of lulling back to sleep. I know that it'll get better, because after all, I am you, and currently I am learning how to use a drawing tablet and also cook with mom.

We shall weather this storm, if only to see the horizon at the end.

Love,

The girl with Wi-Fi and an old ship's wheel