December 15, 2010
Dear Rosie,

I remember when you were just a regular 14 year-old girl, long brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes and tall. My older sister--so talkative and social with tons of friends. You would always say that all that mattered to you was to graduate high school. I remember how our parents use to tell you that what they told you was for your own good and they wanted the best for you.I find it amazing how a person who had so much going for her, changed the course of her life the way you did...

You were walking right next to your best friend Ruby; white skinned and blond dyed hair, when you passed by a guy that you didn't know. He was dark skinned, tall, and had curly black hair. Ruby suddenly stopped you brusquely and introduced you to him.

She said, ”Oh look, this is Albert, Albert this is Rosie.”

You were a little nervous, therefore you just said, “Hi, it’s very nice to meet you.”

You took his big hand with a huge smile on your face. He held yours very tight as if he didn't want to let go. At that moment, you felt as if nothing in the world mattered, just getting this Albert guy for yourself. From this point on, you started talking to Albert and he would stare at you as if you were the most delicate flower ever. Whenever you were near him, your heart would beat faster than usual and you couldn’t stop smiling.

Months after you had turned fifteen, you were in your room when you received a call from an unknown number. You answered anyways.

“Who is this?” you asked.

The person answered, “Albert.”

You felt your heart skip a beat and you began talking as if you knew each other for a long time. Suddenly, Albert was quiet for almost a minute and when he began to talk again he sounded as if he were frightened.

He began, ”I called you because I wanted to know if you would like to be my girlfriend.”

You could tell that he was agitated and thought he was cute but you still responded no. A week later, Albert asked you again, you realized that he wasn't going to give up therefore you replied yes. You thought it was just going to be just another relationship that you would soon forget about--but you were very wrong.

Albert and you had been together for five months already. You decided to make it official and talked to our parents about it but they weren't happy about this. I remember the long conversation they had with you.

They began, ”You are too young to have a serious relationship and we don’t agree with this. We think you should end it before you get more involved.”

“But I like him a lot and we’re never going to get separated.”

After hearing your disagreement with our parents I remember asking you why you were going out with him.I thought that the fact that you had a boyfriend, was nasty. I told you that I would never ever, have a boyfriend.

Time passed and Albert would be in our house from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Our parents started to grasp the idea that there was no way that they were going to change your mind about this. They decided to help you in any way possible and were very supportive.

You and Albert celebrated your first year anniversary by going to a restaurant and you two looked extremely happy. You would fantasize that you were going to have a huge white dress on your wedding and that you would have three kids. Albert and you even came up with names for your kids. You would talk about everything from silly things like how you would name your dogs, to serious topics about how successful you wanted to be in life and the path that would lead to your dream job.

It kept going like this and before you knew it you were celebrating your three year anniversary. Albert got you a huge Winnie-the-Pooh and a gold necklace. You and Albert made a notebook with all your thoughts and how you guys felt about everything. You would go out with him everywhere; you wouldn't have minded that you were in a junk yard, as long as you were with him you were happy. I remember my parents once again talked with you.

“Are you sure you want to keep going with this? You’ve been with him for three years and you never know, you guys might end up breaking up.”

You started screaming, “I’m happy with him, I already told you. Stop telling me what to do! It’s my life, my choice;I get to live however I want to! Just stop bugging me!”


“We’re not telling you what to do. We are just trying to help you. And there’s no such thing as never breaking up!” My mom yelled back angrily. I remember feeling scared at this point because I had never seen you or my parents screaming. You stomped away and slammed your door angrily.


For a period of time, my mom would tell you things like, “Be careful with him” or “Are you sure you want this?” You would just say, ”Yes I know mom” with an annoyed voice.

Three months after you had turned 18, something totally unexpected happened. It was a rainy night in winter, when I was awakened by my mom’s voice. I wondered, “What is my mom doing up at this time?”I looked at the clock and it read 3:00AM.I got up sleepily and I opened my door. I saw you standing next to your room with my mom in front of you. I started walking towards you with a frown on my face. I rubbed my droopy eyes and started looking more carefully, I saw Albert standing in your room and my mom started yelling at you.


“What is he doing here!”My mom yelled shocked.


“Ummmm I don’t know he just came and we were here in my room.”Your voice, scared.


“Couldn’t he come in the morning? We’re going to call your parents right now!” My mom yelled sternly. I remember seeing Albert’s terrified face when my mom said this because his step-dad was very strict.


“No! If you do they’re going to be extremely mad at me.”


“Well you should have thought of that before you came in here.” My mom answered calmly but still mad.


“Please, please don’t call them. I’ll leave right now.” My mom reached for the phone and gave it to him. Albert tried begging once more but my mom’s mind was made up. He started dialing with a scared look on his face. He handed the phone to my mom and she waited.


“Hi, I’m really sorry to bother you at this hour but I was wondering, where is your son?”


Albert’s step-dad answered, “In his room sleeping, why?”


“Are you sure?”My mom answered.


“Yes,” He responded questioningly.


“No, Albert is here in my house. I found him in my daughter’s room,” my mom answered.


“What!” he yelled. “I’m going to take his clothes over right now.”


“What no!” My mom yelled shocked. “I just want you to talk to him.”


“Well they already spend so much time together, so he might as well live with her.”


“I don’t want him to live here. He’s your son, he’s your responsibility.” They kept going like this for about ten minutes and then my mom hung up on him. Afterward my mom started talking to you.


“Why did you do this?”


“I don’t know; it’s because we were mad and he just wanted to come over and talk.”


“This could have waited till the morning when we were all awake.”


“If you’re going to make a huge deal out of this I’m just going to leave!” You started packing your things and Albert was wearing a “What’s going on” face. When your things were all packed up, you told Albert that you were leaving with him.


“No you’re not!” My mom yelled. She grabbed you roughly, to stop you from leaving.


“Let go! I’m leaving with him whether you like it or not!” You screamed angrily.


“You’re not thinking clearly and if you leave right now...” She replied calmly.


“I will start working; so will Albert. We will live together and have our own family.”


“Yeah and you think that raising a family is easy? Well it’s not!” My mom screamed.


“I don’t care, I’m leaving anyways.” You whispered, your eyes filling up with tears. You were making your way to the door and my mom yanked you back. You stared into her eyes, your eyes full with anger.I felt helpless while you and my mom and an inner argument. I looked over to Albert and his eyes were wide open with fear and they met mine for a second.


“Rosie please just stay here with your mom.” He mumbled all of a sudden.


Your eyes widened with horror. “What are you saying?”


“Your mom is right. It can’t be easy raising a family, especially at our age.”He responded trying to calm you down.


“Just leave!” You screamed while making your way to your room. That night we all went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. My mom woke you up early the next morning and started talking with you.


“Why did you do this? I never expected this from you.”My mom asked concerned.


“I don’t know. It’s because we were arguing and he wanted to come talk to me.”


“But this could have waited until the morning.”


“I know it was a stupid move. I’m so sorry.” you mumbled, disappointment in your voice.


“As long as you understand that it was wrong.” My mom said as if she were proud of you.


About six months after this happened you went to your high school ONO(One Night Only) prom with Albert. You where ecstatic and felt that nothing in the world could ruin your night. Three months after this you started talking to one of your ex-boyfriends and Albert asked you to stop but you didn’t listen. My mom found out about this...


“You should stop talking to this guy. Albert could get mad and break up with you.” My mom suggested.


“He won’t break up with me. He trusts me with anything.” You responded reassuringly. My mom didn’t tell you anything else but one afternoon, you were coming back from school, you burst through the front door with tears in your eyes. Albert was in back of you with a broken face. You went into your room and started throwing things all over the place. I walked into your room feeling scared. I could feel that my eyes were wide with shock.


“What’s going on?”I asked softly, scared that if I talked loud you would get mad at me.


“Albert and I are breaking up.” You whispered, your voice cracking.


“Why?” I asked feeling shocked.


“Just ‘cause of a dumb little thing. Don’t worry about it though; I’m so done with this.” I didn’t tell you anything else and just sat on your bed watching you. You were really busy flying back and forth across your room but I knew that even though you said you were over this, your heart was getting crushed inside. You took out so many things that you filled a huge bag. Inside were purses, plush toys, clothes, jewelry, bed covers, prom pictures, you name it. Anything that reminded you of him went into the bag as if the bag was a black hole that will help you erase him.


Albert left with all his stuff and you walked back into your room and curled into a ball as if you were going to fall to pieces. You cried days and days for him. Especially when you found out that just three months after your horrible break up, he got together with another girl. You would cry yourself to sleep knowing that all those fantasies, dreams and most important of all; his love, will never be yours again.I felt helpless seeing you like this, you felt as if there where no point in life.


It’s been two years after the break up. I’m extremely grateful for having you as a sister. You have become my role model in many different ways. Whenever I am causing trouble to our parents, you talk to me like a mother talks to her rebelled child and I feel that I have two moms instead of one. You’ve taught me a lot, like how you always have to listen to older people because they’re always going to have more knowledge. You’ve taught me that it is never a good idea to fall in love too young because people have the tendency to change the way they think as they mature.


To this day, I still wonder what would have been if you would have left with Albert that night. Would you have kids already? Would I still talk yo you? These questions fill my head every so often but I’m extremely glad that I don’t have to go through it.


Now you’re 21 and focused on your studies. You think carefully of your choices and always follow our parents’ advice. You tell me that you wish you could go back and change many mistakes that you did when you were with Albert. We always go back to when I used to say that I would never have a boyfriend, but now I come to you with boy troubles. You are there for me in the way you would have wanted a big sister to be there for you. You always think twice about guys because you never want to go through that horrible feeling of heart break again.

It hasn’t gone very great with Albert; he goes from girl to girl not caring for their feelings. He has no job and does not go to school. He’s always without money and barely has enough to eat. He has become addicted to drugs and alcohol use. You still talk to him every so often and when I see the way he looks at you; I feel that deep down he still has feelings for you but you know that you will never go back with him after all he did to make you suffer. Our parents still ask for him every so often and whenever his name comes up, you feel guilty for not listening. You hate to admit it, but they had been right all along.







With love,







Your sister