#hiddendiary

What if lettergate was real? What if Mike Wheeler had written a letter to Will Byers? What if all the words he never dared to say were hidden in a diary, a crumpled page under his bed, a secret that never made it to California?

I tried to bring that missing piece of his POV to life. 💔🎧

This is a voice-acted version of a letter I wrote as Mike, with background instrumental and full transcript below.

It’s not perfect, but it’s raw, emotional, and straight from the heart—because if we never get to see Mike’s POV in season 5, maybe we can imagine it ourselves.

(turn up the volume, close your eyes, and let Mike speak…)

Transcript below ⬇️

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**📁 Mike Wheeler — Secret Letter (Hawkins, 1985)**

"Do you think of me… when you’re in California, alone?"

"That line haunts me. I don’t even know why I’m writing it. Maybe because I can’t find any other way to start".

Dear Will,

You don’t know how hard it is for me to answer you. Your letters seem so easy to reply to… and yet, every time I try, I go blank. I don’t know how to tell you everything I feel without saying too much.

The truth is... I miss you. I miss you more than I want to admit. I miss Hawkins when you were here, because now nothing’s the same. The town feels empty, gray. Everything’s lost its color. And I spend all my days in the basement, playing Mario Bros over and over again, losing count of how many times I’ve restarted the game… as if that could fill the space you left behind. But it doesn’t.

Sometimes I go to the arcade with Dustin, Lucas, and Max… but it’s not the same without you. Nothing is.

*(A pause. My mom calls from the kitchen: “Mike, go to bed, you have class tomorrow!” - I'll go!)*

-I shout back quickly, and return to the page. I can’t let go of this now.

I remember our fight. That fight. In the rain… everything I said to you… how much of a jerk I was. I curse myself for it. If I could go back, I swear I’d erase it all. I swear. I didn’t say goodbye the way I wanted to you too. Or… maybe I did, but it wasn’t enough. There were so many things left unsaid you know?… so no, I don’t think I really said goodbye to you. At least… not the way I should have.

Watching you get into the car, leaving Hawkins… it was like losing something I didn’t even realize I had, or how much I needed it, until it was gone. Real gone.

And since we started high school, that absence feels heavier. I walk through the hallways and realize you’re not there. Realizing we didn’t start together. We don’t share classes, or the same jokes. And that… it kills me a little more every day.

I wonder if you’ve changed. If you grew taller, if your voice is different, if you still paint… or if you’ve found other hobbies, new friends, maybe a new “party?” Even though you told me that would never happen, the thought keeps haunting me. Has California changed you? Do you miss Hawkins?

…...........

Do you miss me?

Do you miss me?

*(I cross that last line out. Rewrite it. Cross it out again. Take a deep breath.)*

There’s something I hate to admit: since you left, I haven’t been the same. I can’t focus in class. I hate high school. I hate how much of a hypocrite I was when I told you we had to “grow up” and leave the games behind. Because now, ironically, that’s all I do. Play. D\&D. Funny enough, I ended up joining the club of this senior, Eddie. You’d definitely like him—he’s kind of crazy but really funny. I laugh just thinking about what you’d say about him.

I’ve tried calling you a thousand times. Really. But the line is always busy. I swear. And even though we talked that one time when Dustin dialed your number… you should’ve seen the way I snatched the phone out of his hands. I was dying to hear your voice. To talk to you, even for a minute.

The truth is… I miss talking to you, Will. I miss everything about you. And I feel like, somehow, I’ve already lost you.

And it terrifies me that I realized it too late. That I’m so slow when it comes to understanding what’s going on inside me. 'Cause now I have all these questions, and all these feelings, and no answers.

And I guess that’s why I’m writing this. Because it’s the only way I know how. But I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to send it. This letter will never reach you. It’ll stay here. With me. A secret I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to reveal.

Love,

Mike

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