Bad lines.
Good intentions.
Meet Fernando
One message, nine drafts
He’s been working on that one all week
He sends almost none of them. There is a drawer of drafts he never posted, and a smaller drawer of ones he did, which is somehow worse. Everything on this site argues for sending it before it is perfect; Fernando is what happens when you do not.
Draft 1
Dear you, I hope this letter finds you well and that I am not intruding by writing it, as I appreciate you may be very busy, but I wanted to say that I have been thinking about you rather a lot lately and I hope that is acceptable to mention.
Too long. Also nobody says 'acceptable to mention'.
Draft 3
I hope you do not mind me writing. I have been thinking about you, in a way I would describe as significant, and I wanted to put that on paper in case it was useful information.
'Useful information'. Fernando.
Draft 6
I think about you often and I did not want to keep that to myself any longer.
Better. Still sounds like a resignation letter.
Draft 9
I walked past the coffee shop you said you liked and thought of texting you.
That one. Send that one.
Draft nine is not a nicer version of draft one. It is a smaller one. Every pass took something out, and what was left was the only part that was ever true.
The story so far
Fernando, in six cards
- 01
This is Fernando. He writes love letters.
- 02
He sends almost none of them. There is a drawer.
- 03
Forty minutes choosing between lovely and wonderful.
- 04
His lines are bad. He knows. He says them anyway.
- 05
Because the alternative is saying nothing.
- 06
And Fernando has never once chosen saying nothing.
- Ask him for a lineHe has a drawer full.
The smaller drawer
Ones he sent
Written for a crush, which is the only situation Fernando has ever been in. Each of these started longer.
You still have the hummus container in the office fridge, I’ll bring chips tomorrow.
14 words
I walked past the coffee shop you said you liked and thought of texting you.
15 words
I can’t stop smiling at the bus stop thinking about your message earlier.
13 words
Your blue scarf is on my chair and it makes me hope you’ll drop by again.
16 words
I’ve been replaying how you laughed in the break room and it keeps me warm.
15 words
If you want, I can pick up your jacket from the coat rack before I leave.
16 words
Every mood he has
Fernando, in eight
Hello
Rehearsed. Still nervous.
Writing
Draft nine. It was fine at draft two.
Thinking
Forty minutes on one word.
Handing it over
The hard part.
Blushing
She said thank you.
In love
Obviously.
Cool
He is not cool. Let him have this.
Fernando
Bad lines. Good intentions.
Not smooth. Just sincere.
Fernando always sends the letter.