Dear Stranger

To Whom It Shouldn’t Concern (but does anyway),

Dear Stranger (or accidental reader, or curious raccoon with Wi-Fi),

Some letters are written with a clear recipient in mind.
These are not.

These are the ones that fell out of time—
tucked into cereal aisles and coat pockets,
nestled between loaves of bread,
wedged into forgotten books,
or taped beneath café tables like a secret dare.

This is Filed and Left Behind:
a letter project built on mystery, grief, joy,
jokes with no punchline,
and a generous serving of emotional chaos.
It is a haunting and a prank.
A love note to no one and everyone,
signed by someone you’ll never meet.

There is no system. No formal society.
Just one person (me) scribbling jokes, confessions, and odd little stories,
then releasing them into the world like emotional contraband.
Some are heartfelt.
Some are feral.
Some are invitations to imaginary cults.
Some just say “duck vengeance is real” and call it a day.

You don’t need to sign up or believe in anything.
If you’ve stumbled across this, you’re already part of it.

The letters will continue to scatter.
Some will vanish forever.
Some will be found.
Some will echo in the minds of those who never speak of them.

Consider this your first letter.
Or your last warning.

I write them down so I can let them go.
Where they end up?
That’s no longer up to me.

— Elsie Thorne