Oh, Receiver. Someone is haunted by the echoes of things done or undone, spoken or unspoken, found or lost, and wishes at least to make their awareness of lost possibilities or passions known. Whether longing to rectify the situation or simply to express sorrow for pain caused, the Bearer of Regret recognises and accepts the consequences of their actions, however mistaken they may have been.

Forgiveness can be offered explicitly with I forgive you, and more playfully with Get out of jail free. C'est la vie acknowledges ongoing complexity, and implicitly shifts responsibility from the Bearer onto the general mess of human emotional life; Prove it demands restitution; One last chance offers one last chance; and We can get through this assures the Bearer of the Receiver’s ultimate devotion. Receivers wishing to blank the incident from the record can propose doing so with Let's pretend that never happened, and those determined never to repeat whichever experience prompted the exchange can articulate this with Never again. Told you so reprimands the Bearer for not heeding the Receiver’s advice; Tell me the truth demands the Bearer tell the truth about their actions, feelings or behaviour; What's happened to us? laments the effect of the Bearer’s behaviour on their relationship; and Surprise me ironically accepts the truth of the expressed sentiment. My heart bleeds offers potentially ironic sympathy, and Forgive me offers the similarly laconic wish for improved outcome in the future.