The Wedding Dress Scene

Question:
 
Last time I wrote you, it was 4 years ago when I was 19 years old. I’d like to share with you how much Alice and her books have meant to me and my life. Like every other girl and woman who write to you, Alice has played an important figure in my life, she’s been like that friend whose shoulder we needed to cry on, like that first friend who we wanted to share our happy moments with, like that friend who has always had an open ear to anything we wanted to talk about.
I told you 4 years ago how I stopped reading the books because I feared the end and that there would be no more books. I was afraid of losing Alice. However, my curiosity prevailed against my fear, and I read it till the end…
As Alice grew older, I realised how ungrounded my fears were. Alice’s story might come to an end but there will always be her world in all of the books, and I will always be able to come back to her whenever I pick up a book. She will truly forever be a friend to me.
As for the last book… It was enormously touching and beautiful. I’d love to point out every scene, every story, every person and fate that touched me in particular, but that would go beyond the scope of this letter. But for one thing, I can’t thank you enough: Alice’s mom’s wedding dress and that little note!! This passage made me cry for a little longer than any other story from the previous books and made me think about it for days. This passage is just something that gets engraved into your heart and everytime you think about it, you feel something in your chest tightening and suddenly become very heavy… Phyllis, I honestly thank you for everything you’ve written about Alice, for making Alice come alive through your books, but for this passage in particular, I thank you wholeheartedly!

I am sure that I will write you some day again just like I will keep Alice as close to my heart as a best friend, a sister, a mother, a daughter, a teacher and I truly can’t wait to pass along the books to my children, nieces and just any little and big girls. God bless you and your family.
Love,
a Croatian girl from Switzerland
 
 Phyllis replied:
 
What a lovely letter!  And I love knowing that you feel free to write to me any time.  I cried at that passage too when I was writing it, thinking about what was going through the mother’s head at the time, how to phrase it, and wondering, deep down, if Alice would ever open the box with her wedding dress in it.  Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?