this is a letter that I havent yet gotten up the courage to send
Dear _____________,
before I tell you what I have to, I want you to know that I love you. Even after everything thats happened, I still think of you as the happy innocent girl I once knew. This past year has been a very hard one for you. Your family situation was not so great and yet you told no one. You kept it to yourself and maybe thats why you did what you did. Maybe thats why you made the friends you did. I watched as you kept slipping further and farther away from those who truly cared about you. I cried for you and davened for you as I watched you change. Your skirts became shorter, your necklines lower and your overall attitude was indifferent. Me and your other friends could do nothing but watch you slip away.Maybe I’m being overdramatic but this is how i felt. We tried to pretend that everything was okay but it really was not.
The situation kept on getting worse, yet we did nothing. One day I was shopping with you. You told me you wanted to quickly check the shoe section so I went to try things on. When I cam out of the dressing room, you were done with the shoes and you went to try things on. After I had paid and we left the store, I noticed that you had taken something without paying for it and you were trying to hide it from me. It was impossible that you had done it by mistake but just to make sure I asked if there was anything you liked in the store and you said no.I said nothing. I went home that night and cried myself to sleep. I thought that maybe the situation would get better by itself so I still did nothing. Then you got involved with guys and things just got worse. But I didnt know what to do or say so I just kept quiet. Baruch hashem (to make a long letter short) someone in the community found out and tried to help you. Today you are doing way better and only your close friends know what you went through. The thing is, you still dont know that we know what went on so we have never talked about it.
It’s before Yon Kippur now and i feel that I have to ask you for mechilah. What happened to you was partly my fault. If only I would have said something sooner, maybe everything could have been avoided. So I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything you went through. I’m sorry you had to do it on your own. I’m sorry I was too scared to say something. I’m sorry. i hope you can forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most. I want you to know that I’m your friend and I’m there for you. Please try to understand that I thought that doing nothing was the best thing to do.