I returned my father’s letters unopened

Dear Delyara, My father, who abused me throughout childhood, began sending apology letters after entering a treatment programme. For years, I opened each one and lost days to the memories they stirred. My therapist helped me understand that forgiveness, contact, and healing were separate decisions. I asked him to stop writing. He continued. This month, when another letter arrived, I did not open it. I wrote “Return to sender” and placed it back in the post. My hands shook afterward, and guilt followed immediately. Then something else came: quiet. I had always believed healing required reading every apology to prove I was fair. Today, healing meant refusing another invitation into pain simply because the envelope used the language of remorse. My father may have changed. I do not have to test that change with my nervous system.