PLATE 10 · EVIDENCE THAT I MATTERED

Evidence That I Mattered.

Notes left for the days when language failed, politics was terrible, birthdays were suspicious, and love remained gloriously unsentimental.

Katie's handwriting: ridiculously happy your existence makes me

WHY THESE CARDS MATTER

They are not quotations. They are evidence.

Katie hid notes in pockets, under pillows, beside ordinary things, and inside days that needed rescuing. They were funny, blunt, affectionate, and unmistakably hers.

After she died, the cards became more than keepsakes. They preserved the pressure of her hand and the private language of a relationship: reassurance without sentimentality, love without polish, and humor arriving precisely when language failed.

This archive does not turn Katie into a symbol. It keeps the objects intact, transcribes her words, and records why they still matter to Christopher.

Meet Katie

COLLECTION INDEX · KC-01–06

A study room, not a gallery.

Each card remains a physical object: folded, marked, slightly worn, and still carrying the pressure of the hand that made it. Together they form a record of how Katie loved: through jokes, reminders, irritation, reassurance, and the refusal to let Christopher disappear.

Contact sheet of Katie cards, Shadow photographs, paw print, and the memoir — **Contact sheet CS-01**Archive selections and working marks

KC-01

No Good Words

There really are no good words for this. Except maybe swear words. Like lots and lots of swear words.

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Marker on folded card stock
Date: Date unknown
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

Handwritten card from Katie: May your ugly Christmas sweater not be confused with a Cosby sweater. — **Accession KC-02**Seasonal Warning · Printed and illustrated card · Personal archive

KC-02

Seasonal Warning

May your ugly Christmas sweater not be confused with a Cosby sweater.

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Printed and illustrated card
Date: Date unknown
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

KC-03

Overall

Overall, I love you more than I want to strangle you. #winning

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Marker on folded card stock
Date: Date unknown
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

KC-04

Ridiculously Happy

You will never understand just how ridiculously happy your existence makes me.

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Marker on folded card stock
Date: Date unknown
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

KC-05

Next Year

At least you’re not as old as you will be next year. Happy birthday.

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Ink and marker on card stock
Date: Birthday card
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

KC-06

Everything Will Be Alright

Chris, I’m sorry the president sucks. But everything WILL be alright.

Creator: Katie
Recipient: Christopher
Medium: Ink on folded card stock
Date: Date unknown
Provenance: Personal archive
Dimensions: Not formally recorded
Condition: Fold intact; minor surface wear visible in the photographed object
Location: Personal archive, Kingston, Massachusetts

THE ARCHIVE DOES NOT FINISH THE SENTENCE

It only proves that someone once wrote it down.