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 turned into a habit: they hardly ever had heart-to-heart conversations, rarely spent time together, and mostly just existed side by side. Mike stayed late at work more and more often, just to avoid returning home for as long as possible. He hated this life, even though from the outside 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 brought him no happiness. Every evening, he was left alone with thoughts of exactly where he had taken a wrong turn.

Will moved to New York immediately after high school. They almost stopped calling each other, and over time, their messages became rare. Over the years, Will had changed significantly: he became open, confident, often went to clubs with female friends, and was no longer afraid to be himself.

Mike, however, found himself remembering the past more and more. He remembered Will's feelings and now understood what he hadn't wanted to notice in his youth. Perhaps Will was the only person in whose presence 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. Probably because I can't pretend everything is okay anymore.

I'm married, I have a house, a job, and a life that I once thought was right. But I'm unhappy. And the older I get, the more I realize that the reason isn't Jane, or even my life right now. I've just been running away from myself for too long.

I remember that you loved me. Back then, I didn't know what to do with that. 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 that 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.