Naoki’s dad came into the living room and handed him an envelope. “You have snail mail, Naoki.”

Naoki was 10 years old. He had never received a letter in the regular mail—“snail mail”—as his dad referred to it. Naoki already had an email account and a smartphone so his friends would just text him when they wanted to get in touch.

Naoki examined the small yellow envelope. The envelope had his first name, last name, and full address written entirely in neat capital letters. The envelope felt light in his hands.

Naoki opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. As he read it, he knew his life would be changed forever. It said,

“Dear Naoki…”