The Meeting
 

Chapter 1 part 1

CHAPTER 1

It had been three years since I met him. Well I didn’t actually meet him, not in person at least. He had sent me a letter by accident, he had written the wrong address on the envelope. When I received it from the postman, I knew it wasn’t meant for me, but I was still intrigued by it. What could possibly be inside it? When I opened the letter, I read the words carefully, taking in every detail. Such kind, yet modest words were written, the person who was supposed to receive it was a lucky one. With reluctance, I went to my desk to reseal the envelope, but something struck my mind. I had this sudden urge to talk to this person, no explanation why though.

I pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from my stationary and began to write to this person to whom I’ve never spoken to in my life. I would speak my mind and introduce myself, hoping for a friendship to build. After finishing the letter, I placed it in the envelope with the original in which my new interest had sent. I sealed it and looked at it for moments at a time, just trying to sense what this person was like.

Flipping it over, I read the address and almost fell off my chair in shock. This person was not local at all, in fact, they lived on the other side of the planet. Just my luck, I finally take interest in someone that I may get to become friends with, and they aren’t even in the same country. It must’ve taken so long for this letter to get here, all the way from Europe. I sympathized with the sender, for his letter not being received by the true person in which it was meant for. I also felt sympathy for myself, for my letter wouldn’t reach him for perhaps days, or even weeks.

The next afternoon, the postman came to deliver my mail, and in exchange, I gave him the letter. I explained the mistake and he thanked me, telling me that the sender would be happy to know that someone cared enough to return it to them for a second chance in having the letter sent to the correct person. Though I was treated as if I was Saint Mary herself, I had a feeling of guilt in the pit of my stomach. I had read someone’s personal letter that wasn’t meant for my eyes to see. I violated someone’s personal thoughts and rights. Almost being swallowed up by my own thoughts, the postman got my attention as he slammed the door by accident on his way out.

I went into the kitchen and made myself a snack, contemplating what I would do until he replied to my letter. If he replied. I had been so engrossed in my own selfish thoughts that I hadn’t realized that he might just throw away my letter and completely ignore me. How could I have been so arrogant as to think that he would have no choice in responding? A complete stranger read his mail, and wrote him back, expecting a fast friendship. But still, I would wait for a response, just in case.

Days had passed, and every one of those days, I was filled with angst and desperation. Why had one person’s letter affected me so much? There were so many questions that I wanted answered. But one stood out the most from the rest, Would I ever hear from this person? Thoughts rambled on in my head. So much so, that I had to lie down and rest. This situation had certainly become a predicament for me. How would I go through every day life with the thought of a stranger in my mind? I guess I would figure it out eventually, hopefully soon.

here's part 2!

The rattling of my window woke me from my slumber. What I planned to be a short nap turned into a 6 hour slumber. I had dreamt during that time, though most of the dream was fogged over. I looked out my window at the dark gray sky, and at the rain that poured down on the rooftops of the houses around town. The rain beat down so hard that a white mist rose from the surfaces. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance and I sat staring out the smeared window. The only thought in my head was: Is it raining where is now? Such a simple question had kept my mind running.

Two weeks had passed since I read that letter. And yet, there was only that one letter. I had begun to lose all hope in that he would ever respond. A knock at the door notified me that the postman had arrived and I trudged my way to the front door. I open it to see a gleaming smile on the postman, suspicious of his reason for smiling so brightly, I took my mail and returned back into my house. I sifted through the taxes and junk mail, tossing the heap onto my desk.

That’s when a small envelope caught my eye, peeking from inside the paper. I threw the rest of the mail to the side and grabbed the small envelope in my shaking hands. The sender’s address was from Europe. After reading just that word, I ripped open the top of the envelope hurriedly and yanked out a letter. Suddenly, I stopped, after waiting all this time, I had hesitation in my heart. Why would he possibly respond to a stranger? After running it through my head several times, I unfolded the paper and began to read.

Dear Elaina,

Thank you so much for returning my letter to me. That letter was supposed to reach my family, but apparently, I wrote down the wrong address. It was very important to me and I’m sure it would mean just as much to you. I hope to hear from you and get to know more about you. Thank you once again for your kindness.

Sincerely,
Sebastian

Sebastian. That was the name of this kind soul who responded to my absurd letter. Surely he just pitied me and responded so I wouldn’t hurt him. I laughed at this thought and sat down at my desk. The less time I waited in writing back, the sooner I would hear from him. That feeling of guilt had left my body and a feeling of hope had replaced it. Perhaps that letter is the start of a new friendship.

Every night, I’d pray that my letter would somehow travel faster and reach him sooner. That way, his new letter would reach me sooner. Two weeks had passed once again and the postman arrived with a gleaming smile like last time. I smiled and thanked him as always. I was at my desk with a small envelope in my hands again. Every time I saw that envelope, my heart would race and the adrenaline would pump through my blood. Such excitement over a piece of paper.


Dear Elaina,

I’m glad to hear from you, I wish our letters could reach each other sooner. But due to the distance between us, it’s expected to take some time before getting to hear from one another. To give you some information on me, this letter will be slightly longer than the last. I’m a 16-year-old boy living in Denmark. My family, pertaining to my distant relatives, live in America. I have many goals in life, but my main goal is to go to Japan after graduation of school. I love it’s culture and it’s scenery. Hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,
Sebastian

This boy was going to live my dream, only two more years and then he would leave to Japan. I could only dream of going to such a place and live there. Unfortunately, I could never go. It was such a distance from my reach. Just like him. I pulled out my stationary and began to write a reply to his letter. My heart screamed inside my chest. This boy and I had so much in common already, though it didn’t seem like much. I could feel a smile creep across my face as I wrote my thoughts down on the paper.

I soon felt more at ease, knowing that he would respond to my letters now. It gave me more freedom to do what I wanted until then without worrying. I loved receiving letters from him, but I realized that if I didn’t come to my senses, I’d be sitting, waiting for him to reply. It was the end of August, and the heat was brutal. I decided to go shopping one day for new school supplies with the little amount of allowance I received from my parents. Before going to the shops though, I stopped and went to pick up my friend Sara who was waiting for me on the stoop of her house.

We walked down to the shops and bought the supplies we would need for the new school year. We were going to be sophomores in high school! We felt so proud that we made it through freshman year without killing ourselves from the pressure. Though we were best friends, we went to different schools. She attended a school that studied sea life and I went to a school that studied the performing arts. It was always a long trek for us, but it was worth it.

On the way home, I told Sara about Sebastian and his letters. Instead of a happy congratulations, I received a concerned, yet angry look. “How could you trust someone so easily without even knowing them?” I felt hurt, why hadn’t she been happy that I had made a new friend? “ How do you know he’s really who he says he is? Have you seen what he looks like?” I couldn’t say anything. She was right. How could I trust someone so easily? What if he was some dirty old man?

I arrived back home soon after in silence, not even saying goodbye to Sara. I was angry, but mostly frustrated. How could I prove that Sebastian was who he really said he was? I sat at my desk and tapped my pen on the wooden surface, chewing on my one nail. It was so complicated. I really didn’t have any proof that he was a 16-year-old boy. That’s when it dawned on me. The next time I would receive a letter from him, I would ask for a photo in my reply! Then it hit me. Why would a dirty old man from the other side of the world go through so much trouble to get a girl? Not even the most insane man would do something so tiring and expensive.

Dear Sebastian,

I’m glad to hear from you! I have a request, could you please send a picture of yourself to me? I will send you a small one of myself enclosed with this letter. I hope that we can become good friends. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Elaina

I slipped a small picture of myself from last year into the envelope and sealed it. I handed it to the postman when he arrived later in the afternoon and paid him to send it express. I needed that picture soon. Not just to prove to Sara that he was real, but I was curious as to what he looked like as well. Closing the door behind me, I slumped to the floor and let out a large sigh. I could relax now and think about the new school year coming up. I would be in the same class as my friends Gina, Alana, and Stephanie. We had become friends halfway through freshman year and have been close ever since. You could say that we were the weird ones in the class.

While thinking on the floor, a crash sounded from the backyard. I lifted my head and stood cautiously. Could it be a robber? I grabbed a pot from the small stove and walked over to the back door. I held the pot over my shoulder and flung the door open quickly. Squirming on the ground was a raccoon with it’s head stuck in a jar. Trying to contain my laughter, I carefully removed the jar and the raccoon dashed into the house!

Running back into the house, I put the pot down and grabbed an old flour sack, slowly, I crept behind the monster and jumped at it with the sack. It dodged me last minute and ran upstairs. What kind of sick joke was this rodent trying to pull? I crept upstairs and chased the monster into the back room, closing all the other doors in the house. I ran up to it and chased it down the stairs laughing demonically. I must’ve scared it out of it’s wits because it bolted out the door and into the woods behind my house.

After the tiring chase, I threw my clothes into a basket on the floor of the bathroom and dunked myself under the hot water of the tub. I let out a sigh and sank even further under the water, inhaling some through my nose. As I choked at the disgusting feeling, I laughed at the face I saw in the long mirror across from me. I had matured greatly over the year, yet I still could look like a child every once in a while.

I soon retired to my bedroom and brushed out my short hair before going to bed. Though I didn’t fall asleep. I lied there wide awake, random events that I remember throughout my life playing in my mind. Where had my life gone? It felt like such a long time since I had played hop-scotch with the neighborhood children. Life seemed so carefree, so simple when I was little. But now, now I don’t think it could’ve been any more complicated. But growing up comes with the job of being a human I guess.

With that thought in mind, I fell into a deep sleep. That’s when it started. Just moments I had fallen asleep, a picture flashed in the darkness behind my eyes. Such a terrifying picture that I was jolted from my pillow. I didn’t sleep that night. As a matter of fact, it was all the beginning of a nightmare come to life. I sat at the small table drinking my tea with quivering hands. That image haunted my thoughts, breaking my guard completely. What did it mean? My head raced with questions; then a migraine came rushing to the core of my head. Such a sharp, pounding pain; I let out a cry. My body couldn’t handle the stress that my mind was causing it. I rummaged through the cabinets looking for some sort of medicine. With no luck, I thudded my head against the cabinet door and squeezed my eyes shut. But every time I closed my eyes, that image would appear.

Days passed and Sebastian and I kept in touch through our letters. We talked about random things that was happening around the world and in our personal lives. Though we shared so much in common, I never told him about that image. One thing I never liked to do, was to burden others with my problems. So I never spoke of the situation. One day I received a thicker envelope from Sebastian. When I opened it, a small picture of a young boy around my age fell out. Was this him? In the letter it read:

Dear Elaina,

Thank you for the picture! You are a sweet girl and I’m glad that you still keep in touch with me. Here is my picture as you requested! Hope you like it! Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Sebastian

I felt such a change, just by looking at his picture. Almost as if I could see into his thoughts. Though I highly doubted I could do such a thing. His personality seemed intellectual and yet animated. But this picture had matched all of his characteristics perfectly. If I concentrated hard enough, I could almost see his lips move along with the words of his letter. Suddenly, I felt a chill run down my spine as if someone was watching. But as I looked around, no one was there.

Over the next few days, I didn’t sleep; fearing that if I slept, I wouldn’t wake up. And if that happened, I would replay that image in my head continuously. I wouldn’t be able to handle such nightmares. I sat on my couch and looked at the picture of Sebastian on my desk. My eyes soon became heavy and I could feel myself drifting in and out. I fought against the weights of sleep as long as I could until I fell into a deep sleep.

Soon after I fell asleep, I felt my eyes open and I was standing behind my couch. Letting out a sigh, I went to go rest my arms on the back of the couch and instead of feeling the soft padding of the couch, I fell right through and ended up face down on the carpet. I lied there trying to understand how I fell through the couch. I stood again and peaked over the edge of the couch to see a body sprawled out over it.
As I came eye level to the person, I was peering into a mirror. There I was, sleeping on the couch. But if I was there on the couch, then how was I on the floor at the same time? I was soon interrupted by a distant voice. It was quiet, but it rang through my head as if someone’s lips were whispering in my ear. I started walking out of my house and down the street, having no idea where I was going, I trusted my body and let it take me where the voice was calling from. After walking for miles, I arrived at the entrance of the town’s train station. Boarding the train, I walked to one of the dozens of the vacant seats, no conductor or engineer present. I was the only one around, as if I were in a ghost town.

As the train passed through the station and pulled out into the open space, the wheels clacked down the tracks. I had been confused for the entire ride, and after only seconds, the scenery changed and the train pulled into another station. One that I’d never seen before. As the train slowed to a halt, I climbed down the steps of the train car and stepped onto the stone platform. Looking around, all the signs were in a foreign language that I had never seen before. The voice suddenly became close and a figure appeared across the hall of the station. As I focused my eyes, I saw a tall boy around my age with a perfect personality.