Ode to Anne Frank | Dear Anne

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It took me a long time to find the time to write back to you. Now, just eighty years and three weeks later, the moment has finally arrived.

Let me start by apologising for taking so long. You must know, I have not been myself for a while. Things from the past have been bothering me, but I won't bother you with that.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fact that you kept writing me so faithfully during those two years and more than a month and a half, despite the fact that I never got around to writing you a cat call back. Your letters have done me good, the human love that speaks from your epistles is of a heartwarming charm, which has been a great support to me over the years. And not only for me: I believe I can speak for my entire generation in this respect.

Your unbridled optimism, occasionally halted by an occasional dip, is something many a young girl or boy of today, who is the age you were when you wrote your letters, can take as an example.

I consider you a kindred spirit, the words you used so many years ago are often the same ones with which I conceive my spoken or written thoughts. A pity we never got to shake hands. Had you been alive, you would now be a wise, undoubtedly patent woman of ninety-five.

With a pinch of wistfulness I contemplate that one famous photo of you. The one in which your dark locks playfully curl sideways and you smile happily at the world. A mischievous girl full of the joy of life looks at me. Every time I look at that photo, it brings a lump to my throat.

Dear Anne, I sincerely hope your story will continue to be a source of inspiration for all those boys and girls and all those ladies and gentlemen who sincerely want to shape this city and this world with goodness.

Ever mindful of your optimism,

Your Kitty