Secrets

The main character is an unnamed teenager who lives with his mother and great aunt. The story starts with him returning home to see Aunt Mary before she dies. Although the story is short, the protagonist matures emotionally via the loss as he confronts his guilt over a childhood incident: reading Mary’s letters without her permission. The impulsive nature of this behavior revealed more than he bargained to find, as he learned intimate details about a soldier’s life and relationship to his aunt. The protagonist’s youth and naivete did not prepare him for the intensity of his findings, nor for his aunt’s correspondingly harsh reaction to his invasion of her privacy.

In the years that followed, the protagonist did not fully reckon with what happened. However, when he asks his mother if Aunt Mary said anything about him before she died, he tacitly admits that he repressed and held onto his Guilt and the Desire for Forgiveness. It becomes clear that the protagonist wants to find closure with Aunt Mary, but he runs out of time. The story ends with him releasing some of the guilt and sorrow as he cries.