The Illusion of Danger

Chapter 45

The bright light of the morning sun shone into the enclosed box as it was opened, letting the crisp autumn air brush against the envelopes that lay inside. A rather dainty hand reached in and pulled them from their brief home, having only been there for no longer than a few minutes since being delivered.
Jade eyes scanned over each individual envelope with intent as a small gust of chilly wind blew her dark curly locks of hair about.
When a letter from St. Louis was spotted, those jade eyes widened and a gasp sounded before the young woman ran through the gate of her picket fence and up to her place of residence.
As soon as the door closed, the woman set the newly acquired letters down and threw her coat and scarf at the hooks to the right of the door, then picked the letters up and returned to the parlor.

"Rose? Is something wrong?"
A second woman asked from her spot on the floor next to a small child, her hands occupied with fixing her braid at that moment.

The curly-haired woman didn't respond, simply sitting down in the armchair and ripping the envelope from St. Louis open with her claw before pulling the contents out with a giddy grin. As soon as the letter was unfolded, a photograph fell into her lap. Naturally, this caught her attention immediately and picked it up to get a better look.

"Rose, who is that from?"
The other woman asked as her brows knitted together. She had a feeling she knew since she got like this when one particular person wrote, but now she wasn't entirely sure she was right once she saw there was a photograph.

"Sh! Give me a minute!"
Rose hushed as she looked at the picture with wide eyes. Once she absorbed enough of the image, she focused on the letter and began to read in her mind. She didn't want her sister raining on her parade just yet.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she was brushed off and looked down at the little boy just in front of her, playing with a wooden train.
"It's from him... isn't it."
She stated in the most displeased and monotone voice.

"Esther! I said shush!"
Rose waved her hand at her sister as she read to herself.

Esther rolled her eyes and shook her head. She supposed she could let Rose get through the letter before getting to the routine speech about her thoughts on the matter.

As soon as Rose finished reading, she jumped up from her seat and ran to retrieve writing supplies so that she could start on her reply.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to tell him anything? He doesn't care."
Esther called.

"Oh yeah!? Then why did he reply and ask about mother? Why did he send a photograph?"
Rose countered as she sat down in her chair again with a book, some loose-leaf paper, and a pen.
"You can tell me these things all you want but I believe he misses us."

"We haven't heard from him in over a year. He's clearly doing just fine without us if he went that long without a word."

"He's just busy!"

"He's not coming home, Rose. Nothing in this world is going to convince him to come back. Don't tell him anything about mother. He lost the right to know anything."
Esther continued, keeping her tone calm yet firm. She didn't plan on raising her voice with the child around.

There was a short pause between the two women, Rose's ears drooping a bit.
"Why can't you just let me dream? He's still our brother-"

"Our brother who left us. Don't you remember anything that happened after that?"

"I do, but if he's asking, I'm not going to leave him to wonder. You know he wouldn't ask or even reply if he didn't care. I think he had a good reason for leaving."