‘When I hear other people’s stories, I like to believe that they contribute to my ‘Encyclopedia of

Human Experience’. The stories I hear help me expand my definition of what love is, what pain feels
like, what sacrifice means, what laughter can do.’

To the editor
To the editor,
I would like to deeply applaud you for the tact with which you approached the coverage of your latest
article, the [redacted] school suicides. As a close confidant of [redacted], I can attest that your
iteration of events evoked within me such a tangible, all-consuming ache, that I thought not years had
passed but only days since the tragedy. Once again submerged in the inescapable throes of anguish, I
was truly prompted to consider my faults and my responsibility in causing such a loss. Of course, NO
ONE saw it coming, I mean I was a close confidant, perhaps the closest, and even I was oblivious. To
this day I find it hard to fathom how such a gem, (I mean you have seen the polaroids, she was a real
diamond in the rough) could possibly have harboured such viscerally dark intentions AND possessed
the nerve to act upon them. Of course, she had shared, things with me- but back then we were all
eager to nurture our own little issue... But I digress. Such a young, lithe swan, well, if I had her face,
she’d still be alive, married off rich somewhere... A true tragedy.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Salutations,
I have always been fascinated by cases like this, that is purely from a psychological viewpoint. I was
most impressed that amongst the photographs, phone transcripts, labelled ephemera...you were able to
acquire her official diagnoses. That sort of personal investigation is admirable. You are certainly
setting new standard for the true crime genre.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Hi editor,
I knew the girl in high school. She was a weirdo, never spoke a word.
________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Editor,
I am writing to you on account of your most recent article, the [redacted] case. It is unlike me to care
for the news on these types of sites, let alone find myself perturbed enough to leave a comment, but
that girl’s name has run rampant through my thoughts, sunk deep into my dreams like an anchor, and
surfaced again with tattered, fragments of memories, sentiments I thought were long relinquished.
You see, me and her were school acquaintances. Our earliest playground encounters; ants on a log and
monkey bars, they still effect warm, blooming sensations within me. Although, this article dredged
memories that cast all in immoveable grey. The specifics allude me, but at some point, in our brief but
vibrant companionship, she withdrew somewhat, I figured it must have been something I said, a
minor thing I had hoped. Although now I cannot be sure. You mentioned [redacted]. That was our
spot, where we lingered. Since I’ve read this, my dreams carry me back, drag is perhaps the proper
word... Though now I suppose it's something I deserve.
_________________________________________________________________________________
To the editor,
Three lines into this article, and I feel strongly, that your emotional sensitivity, falls vastly short of
that poor girl, it is a grave detriment to your article. No girls simply feels that her ‘life ended without
him’. Your writing, it fails to evoke that pervading feeling of incompletion of which every childhood
is accustomed; the vapid eagerness that makes children mimic the monotony of adulthood and the
teary-eyed misery of adolescence. Your story lacks the heart constricting anguish that sends one
pummelling forward through the prose, teetering on the edge of, Will she? Will she not? The least you
can do is pen her memory with flair in honour of her dramatic exit.
________________________________________________________________________________
To the editor,
I am quite aware that it is not my place to draw personal comparison, but I can’t help but feel for the
poor families of [redacted]. I have brushed shoulders with loss, and in my own times of
inconsolability, have found a meagre solace in God’s word. My heart sings to the troubled souls of
[redacted] and I pray they follow in the lord’s footsteps and find themselves able to whole-heartedly
enter God's embrace.
________________________________________________________________________________
To the Editor,
I am writing on behalf of the [redacted] School. We acknowledge the integrity of your organisation,
and respect your right to cover this case, however we would like to remind you politely, that this
tragedy has had deep-rooted impact on the [redacted] School, and wider community. Given its relative
recency, we would like to request that you refrain from disclosing our identity. As an institution we do
our up most to maintain the wellbeing of our students and deem it senseless, that such a radical,
singular occurrence should be allowed to cause undue distress to our students, nor rescind the hundred
years of history and pride invoked by our name. We thank you sincerely for your immediate and full
compliance.
_________________________________________________________________________________
[edited 29/10/2023] Due to privacy complaints, all sensitive information contained within this article
has been redacted and further comments will be restricted]
Reflection:
The intention of my creative piece was to examine how digital spaces manipulate the communication,
and reception of stories, acting broadly as both a catalyst and disruptor of authentic connections.
Centred around the subject of teen suicide, I represented a spectrum of authentic, and satirised, online
caricatures to portray the differing ways in which human beings respect and respond to loss. I chose to
centre my piece around the loss of a ‘friend’ as it is exists within the realm of my human experience.
This increased my comfort in satirising (and critiquing) the insensitivity of which the topic is subject.
The structure of my piece was integral as both a means of commenting on digital spaces, and domain
for showcasing a variety of human experiences. Structured like an article comment section, through
each comment I represented a differing personal response. I chose to not include the article and start
somewhat ‘in media-res' to emphasise how in online spheres information is often obscured and
distorted out of truth, thus leaving up to the reader to make their own value judgement. It also
encouraged the reader to view the event through the eyes of each ‘commenter’. Finally, by choosing
to ‘archive’ the article in its conclusion I attempted to liken the piece to a sort of finite,
‘encyclopaedia’ or physical documentation of human experiences. Although the piece’s structure
successfully allowed me to communicate a variety of experiences, I believe it grew repetitive and felt
disconnected and some incoherent at times. Similarly, the insertion of the [redacted] felt in hindsight
like a cheap substitution for a more developed world.
My aim within each ‘comment’ was to create discomfort in the reader through the dissonance between
the severity of the topic, and the focus of the comments. For example, in the fifth paragraph, the
commenter writes ironically, bothered by the writing quality, rather than the article’s content. I
included high modality language, ‘I feel strongly’, ‘[your article falls] vastly short’ juxtaposed with
the lyrical aspect of her own suggestion, ‘No girl feels...’ in an attempt to create a sense of possession
over the idea of a girl’s story, as if the ‘correct’ way to understand a subject is one in which a reader
finds most relatable. Within the same comment, I included the italicised ‘Will she? Will she not?’, an
anticipant statement to highlight their perverse, superficial investment.
This notion was similarly established in the second comment. The listing of included documents,
‘photographs, phone transcripts, labelled ephemera...’ increase in perversity, and the ellipses inviting
the reader to consider any further items. Coupled with the allusion to the true crime genre, the
comment was designed to critique the invasion of privacy, dramatization, and loss of personhood
attributed both experienced by the victim, both also as a product of one-dimensional online discourse.
The inclusion of tangible manifestations of a person was in part inspired by the Virgin Suicides
(1993) by Jeffrey Eugenides and the objectifying gaze adopted by the novel’s male chorus narrators.
Unable to empathise authentically with the girls, their utilisation of ephemera to quantify the Lisbon’s
sister’s suicide, I found comparable a general flattened ignorance commonly exhibited within online
discourse. While I intended for these comments to be obviously satirical, I feel as if the different
voices remain ambiguous at points, and in future I would work to make them more realistic and
distinct. While I attempted to make certain comments genuine, and resonant, I found this most
difficult. In the fourth comment, I adopted a confessional tone, displaying a double-edged image of
grief in its coupled nostalgia [warm blooming sensations], and guilt [ocean metaphor as representative
of the subconscious] .By employing embellished language, distinct from the casual tone of the other
comments I aimed to create a sense of psychological reflection that surpassed the surrounding
superficiality.
In conclusion, I believe my piece in the least succeeded in represented a multitude of perspectives.
Although I was able to create certain voices more convincingly than others, my narrative critiques the
manipulation of sensitive topics, and stories through online discourse as I intended, thus
demonstrating how individual experienced can both create and disrupt authentic connection.