The Correspondent

Daan writes to Sybil for the first time in decades the day after her birthday. He tells her how he can only imagine her in their old house and how he often thinks of it. He affirms he will not live much longer. He holds cynicism against the idea of “fighting” against cancer, given that he is more inclined to surrender to it. The sight of his parents’ graves now gives him comfort, as he thinks he will see them and Gilbert again. He tells Sybil how much he admired her, how he fell in love with her intelligence, and how he still holds her in his life. He addresses Gilbert’s death and how he felt like he’d been acting the part of a father after he died because he had to, and he recognizes that both he and Sybil needed a haven from their despair. Perhaps they could have tried more, but it was not enough to hold them together. He takes the blame for how awful things became between them because he knows now that she was not at fault and that accidents happen. He asks for her forgiveness, as he sees the world differently now that he is dying.