I was having a deep discussion with a friend once, and somehow we got on the subject of sad words. We were trying to decide what the saddest word in the English language was, and finally we settled on this one:

If.

There’s a wealth of heartache and unfulfilled dreams in that word. An entire universe of could-have-beens and should-have-beens, if only something had or hadn’t happened. If only someone had decided differently.

Yet for all the pain attached to that word, there’s also something bright and beautiful that goes with if:

Hope.

When things are at their darkest, when you’re teetering, sliding into the abyss – to have one little if can mean everything changes. Sinners are redeemed, cowards become heroes, and happily ever after can really happen. It really can.

So on this word, I’m building a story, and I plan to wring every single emotion I can out of it, the sad, the bad, and the hopeful.

Two letters. Infinite possibility.