Recently, I bought at Goodwill two anthologies of Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip I enjoy reading to my six-year-old son. When we started reading the second one, Weirdos from Another Planet, we were surprised to find the following note written in metallic gold pen inside the front cover:

Dear Corey,
It was really fun getting to know you. We’ll really miss you here. Have fun in your new home. Sorry I shot you. It was an accident. I thought I was out of ammo. See ya later maybe.
Your pal,
Ted R.

Maybe, indeed. I bet Corey dumped the book at Goodwill and never hung out with Ted R. again.

Then again, maybe Corey treasured the book for a decade before he passed it on. We will never know. I love the sense of mystery!