Words for later
The things you want someone to know, kept until the day you choose. A letter for a day you will not be there, for a child grown up, for a friend who needs it later.
An example
For a day when I am not there,
These are the things I want you to know. Not the practical ones, those are in the folder in the drawer. The other ones.
You were never a burden. The years when you thought you were, you were the reason I got up. I did not say it enough, because saying it felt like making a fuss, and you know I never liked a fuss.
Keep the garden if you can. If you cannot, give the roses to someone who will talk to them.
With all of it,
A sample letter. Yours can be three lines or three pages.
When it arrives
The page suggests no day. Pick the one that fits, from next year to a hundred years ahead.
Free up to a year ahead
The lines on this page open in the composer, with the day already set. Nothing is sent until you say so.
What to write
- Write to one person, not to everyone. It reads differently.
- Say the plain thing. It is the one they will keep.
- You can write more than one, for different days.
For words that must reach someone if you are no longer there, see If I’m Not Back.
How it works
Write it
Start from the lines on this page or from a blank sheet. Add a photo, a recording, a file if you like.
Pick the day
Up to a year ahead is free. Further ahead costs one credit, and a paper letter can go up to a hundred years.
We keep it
Your letter is encrypted and waits for its day. You get a notice when it is delivered, and the reader can write one back.
Questions
How is this different from If I’m Not Back?
This is a letter with a date: it arrives on that day, whatever happens. If I’m Not Back is a letter that is sent only if you stop answering our check-ins.
Who can read it before the day?
Nobody. It is encrypted while it waits, and we cannot read it either.
Can I change my mind?
Yes. Until the day, you can delete the letter, and a paid letter can be edited.