byler "Faded Memories"

The year is 2005. Mike and Will are thirty-three or thirty-four years old.

Jane survived, and Mike married her many years ago. Their marriage gradually became a routine: they rarely spoke deeply, rarely spent time together, and mostly just existed together. Mike increasingly worked late, just to stay home longer. He hated this life, even though on the surface he had everything one could dream of.

Mike became a writer. His books sold well, he wore glasses, and his dark hair reached his ears. But success didn't bring him happiness. Every evening, he was alone, wondering where exactly he had gone wrong.

Will moved to New York right after high school. They barely spoke on the phone, and over time, their messages became infrequent. Over the years, Will had changed a lot: he became open and confident, often went clubbing with his girlfriends, and was no longer afraid to be himself.

Mike, however, found himself recalling the past more and more often. He remembered Will's feelings and now understood what he hadn't wanted to acknowledge in his youth. Perhaps Will was the only person with whom Mike had ever felt truly happy.

One night Mike sat down at his laptop and wrote him a letter:

"Will, I don't know why I'm writing to you after all these years. I guess it's because I can't pretend like everything is okay anymore.

I'm married, I have a house, a job, and a life I once thought was right. But I'm unhappy. And the older I get, the more I realize it's not Jane or even my current life that's the problem. I've simply been running from myself for too long.

I remember that you loved me. Then I didn't know what to do with it. Now it seems to me that I loved you too, I just realized it too late.

I don't know if you even want to hear this from me. But I miss you. And I'm sorry I let us become strangers. "

The setting is Hawkins and New York City, 2005. About fifteen years have passed since high school graduation. The world of Stranger Things remains free of supernatural events—it's a story about adults, their choices, regrets, and feelings that don't always fade with time.

Mike lives in Hawkins with Jane. His house is quiet and cozy, but Mike has long felt it more like a cage than a place he wants to return to. He works on his books during the day, and in the evenings he's alone with his thoughts.

Will lives in New York. Unlike Mike, he's managed to build a life he's truly happy with: he has a wide circle of friends, a vibrant social life, favorite spots in the city, and the freedom to be himself. He and Mike are separated by hundreds of kilometers and nearly fifteen years of virtually complete silence.

The story revolves around Mike's letter, which becomes his first real confession in years. Now everything depends on how Will feels after reading it.