Letter Challenge Day 28 — Someone Who Changed My Life
Dear Timothy,
Ooo, formality! It appears letter writing makes me speak like a well bred lady of the upper crust! We shall see how long it lasts…
It didn’t take me long to decide on the recipient of this letter. I can think of one glaring way my life has been changed by you and it is that I will write about. But first to the back story!
Quite long ago, when I was but a mere child in mentality as well as looks–though my birth certificate boasted five and ten years to my experience–I was part of a curiously new online experience that combined the care of virtual pets with quests and avatars and guilds and chatboards.
This was Neopets, and as they say in the themed guilds, “Elen síla lumenn’ omentielvo.”*
[Sung to Sexy Thing]
I met Tim on Neopets, yeah!!
Both of us had lost previous accounts, whether by being scammed or hacked I’m not sure (the lines are still pretty blurred in some cases) and it was that loss of accounts that brought us together on some fated Neopian board.
We fast became friends through a guild we both were part of. Our similar responses and simultaneous remarks had us nicknamed “the twins” and boy, do I remember pwning Zach with our asterisk wars! xP
But it didn’t end on the boards! Soon we were messaging through Neopets, and when the word limit prevented us from our deep theological discussions, we broke the sacred rule of the virtual world and exchanged email addresses. It was then you first discovered my name was not in fact Byrd, but Bethany. Yet to you I remain Byrd.
Not long after that, you asked if I would read a story you’d written. I heartily acquiesced, and from then on my fate was sealed.
I decided I should try my hand at writing. You were having such fun creating your story that I figured there was no harm in me giving it a shot.
Six years later, the state of my 65+ (rough estimate) Word documents aren’t sure whether to bless or curse you. 
But in any case, you’ve been a constant encouragement to this writer’s heart from the very beginning. If it wasn’t for you, I probably never would have discovered this great love. I would have muddled through life wondering if I was ever going to find something to be good at. And yet here I am, juggling three stories this very afternoon with the intent on finishing a 30-something chapter novel before the end of the year.
We’ve made each other laugh and weep and rage over stories. We’ve complained about the state of the world, our circumstances, and the difficulty of character development. We’ve rejoiced at a song well sung, a word well written, and confided boy troubles and girl troubles when the occasion required. In all this you’ve been a wonderful friend and I thank God for the silliness of Neopets that led us to find one another.
But most of all, I thank him for your writerly understanding. Your initial enthusiasm that pushed me to start this great adventure. Now wherever my writing takes me, I know in part it’s thanks to you that I became a scribbler of words in the first place.
It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
…and giving, and giving, and giving, and giving…
And that, dear lad, is how you’ve changed my life.
*hobbit slide dwarf-flip tackle punch high-five with wizard fireworks*
-Byrd
*A star shines on the hour of our meeting.
The other chipmunk there is Mosie. I love her.
