The Unsent Message
It was still sitting in my drafts, that message I never sent. I’d typed it out one evening, after scrolling through Brianna’s latest photos, wondering what would’ve happened if things had been different. If we had tried a little harder, held on a little longer. But I never hit send.
We all have one of those messages, don’t we? The ones that sit in our inboxes or journals, frozen in time, filled with words we couldn’t bring ourselves to say. It’s easier to leave them unsent, easier to avoid the vulnerability of putting those feelings out there, especially when the moment feels too late.
Brianna and I used to talk about everything — life, dreams, where we wanted to be in ten years. We’d spend hours just laughing, planning our futures like we had all the time in the world. But somewhere along the way, life happened. We got busy, we stopped checking in as often, and slowly, the conversations faded.
I found myself thinking about her one night, months after our last conversation. I had so much I wanted to say, so much that I wished I’d said back when we still talked regularly. So, I sat down, opened my phone, and typed it all out:
“I miss you. I don’t know what happened between us, or why we stopped talking, but I think about you more than you probably know. I hope you’re doing okay. Let’s catch up soon. I miss the way things used to be.”
I stared at the words on the screen, my thumb hovering over the send button. But I didn’t press it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was fear, or pride, or the thought that she had already moved on, and my message would just reopen old wounds.
Days passed. Then weeks. Eventually, I forgot about the message, tucked away in my drafts like a secret I was too afraid to share. Life went on. Brianna and I continued living separate lives, never crossing paths, never finding our way back to each other.
Then, one morning, I woke up to the news that Brianna was gone. It didn’t feel real at first. How could someone so full of life be gone just like that? I wanted to deny it, to convince myself it was a mistake. But as the reality sank in, I found myself back on my phone, staring at that unsent message.
It’s strange, isn’t it? The way we hold back from reaching out, assuming we’ll have another chance, another day, another moment. But now, I couldn’t send it. The words I had been too scared to say, the message I thought I had time to deliver — it was too late.
I kept rereading the message, wondering how things might’ve been different if I’d just sent it. Would we have reconnected? Would she have laughed, told me she missed me too? Or maybe she wouldn’t have replied at all. I’ll never know.
But what I do know is this: life is too short to leave things unsaid. We spend so much time second-guessing, holding back, waiting for the “right” moment. But the truth is, the right moment might never come. And in the end, we’re left with words we can’t say, messages we can’t send, and people we can never talk to again.
I never got to tell Brianna that I missed her. I never got to have that conversation we both needed. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s to say what needs to be said, while you still can.
So if you’re reading this and thinking about someone — someone you’ve lost touch with, someone you haven’t talked to in a while — don’t wait. Send the message. Make the call. Say the words. Because you never know when the chance to say them might slip away.
Have you ever held back from reaching out to someone, only to regret it later? Or maybe you’re holding onto a message you’ve been too afraid to send? Share your story in the comments, and let’s talk about how we can all be a little braver in love, life, and connection. 👏🏽💬
