Victoria L. Thurman
“Jeremy’s in jail. You should write to him.” Susie’s words were surprising. I hadn’t seen Jeremy in more than a decade, back when Susie and I worked at a catering company. Her 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy, liked to hang around the kitchen. I knew he had, I thought. But a week later, I felt a sudden urge to write to him. “I don’t know if you remember me,” I wrote, “but I always thought you were a great kid, and I know you have a good heart. I’m thinking of you.” Jeremy’s reply came within a few days. “I thought you’d forgotten all about me,” he wrote. I continued to write to Jeremy every day for seven months, until he was released. During that time, Jeremy revealed that he’d just been placed in isolation for getting into a fight and was feeling as if no one in the world cared for him when my first letter arrived. I’m grateful for the heavenly nudge that allowed me to help an old friend.
