As someone who has been in your friend's shoes I can say that when this happened to me, I was able to finally move on.

BACKSTORY: I fell in love with a girl in my freshman year of high school. We dated all the way to my sophomore year of college. I loved her so much but she did not feel the same in the end. I woke up one day and she was gone. From everything. She deleted our messages from my phone, blocked me on every bit of social media, blocked my number, and took everything that had any bit of her in my room. It was like she never existed. A week later, I found a stash of our notes from high school. The first day I spoke to her to the day we were graduating high school. (Stash was then moved to a drawer)

FAST FORWARD TO FUCKED UP SITUATION My brother had asked for paper to use for a fire we were having that night. I told him to go to my room and get paper from a specific drawer. He, being the genius he is, took paper from the wrong drawer. THEN PROCEEDED TO BURN IT I was pissed for a few minutes, after I found out. But I came to the realization that I would be feeling hurt and hoping for something that will never come. I was holding on to dead memories.

I took the rest of our notes and put them on the fire too

It was one of the hardest moves I've ever had to do but it truly helped me. It gave me that push I needed in order to move on. I wasn't ready but, then again, no one will ever truly be ready for something like that.

You may have actually helped him. He won't know it for a long time but you helped him. You gave him the push he's probably needed for a while now.

TL;DR Fell in love with a girl --> Dated her for 4 years --> Held onto all written notes --> dumbass brother burns them --> I burn the rest --> I feel better

**i apologize for my atrocious writing skills. I am on my iPhone and eating lunch. This was typed pretty quickly