Mouse

chapter nine

I was summoned to my aunt's caravan a few days later. At first I thought my aunt was going to ask me to work on some more costumes with her. But when I entered the caravan and found her there alone, I noticed the strained expression on her face.

My Aunt Lizzie was never one for beating about the bush or to take her time to get to the point, so when she pushed a sealed blue envelope into my hand and curtly informed me "This came for you" I just stared at her in bewilderment.

I never had never got post before. Even more puzzling was the fact there was no address on it or stamp just my name

"Who is it from?" I then asked turning the mysterious envelope over in my hand for some sort of clue.

"Your father I believe," my Aunt Lizzie replied stiffly

My head shot up to look at her face, which looked almost grim. For a moment I wondered had I heard her right

"M-my father?" I stammered, "I don't understand... How?" I frowned down at the envelope, my hands were now trembling

"Well it would seem he knows we are in England, I guess he must have seen the posters all over the town, so he must be somewhere in the local area. He had someone deliver that letter here by hand. I received it this morning from Benny, who said he was given it by a young man who informed him it was from your father, and he was instructed to pass it onto you.. So I have" My aunt informed me

A letter from my father, could it really be? I found myself silently asking, finding it hard to take in.

What if it was some sort of prank Benny and Lisa were playing, thinking I would fall for it because we were travelling around England in the next few weeks?

But then why would they do that? What would be the point? If It really was from my father why was he trying to get in contact with me now?"

"Well aren't you going to open it?" my Aunt Lizzie demanded, and I realised she was as curious as I was about the contents in the envelope.

But for some reason I didn't want to read it in front of her. If it was from my father, he had wrote it to me; and I wanted to read it in privacy alone.

"I will, once I get over the shock first," I replied, then excused myself from my aunt's caravan.

Thankfully Ricardo wasn't about when I reached our caravan, I went in closing the door behind me, but seeking refuge in the privacy of the bedroom where I sat on the bed staring at the blue envelope with my name neatly written on it.

He had used my former surname 'McAllister' which I had before I married Ricardo.. And I realised suddenly with a mixture of emotions with a new significance, that it was my father's surname too.

I tried to remember his face, but it was so long ago, and everything before my Grandfather came to take me to live with him at the circus was just a vague blur of memory.

My heart seem to be in my mouth as my trembling fingers finally ripped open the envelope flap and took out the two folded sheets of paper inside and opened them up so I could read the same neat handwriting that had been on the envelope...

Dear Melanie

I guess you will be surprised to hear from me after all this time. I am not sure if you will even remember me that well, perhaps you have even completely forgotten about me. So writing this now has been very difficult, but something I felt I needed to do. Just to let you know that I have never forgotten you

I paused there, rereading the last line again, and found my heart seem to be doing flip flops in my chest. I continued onto the next paragraph, finding I was almost holding my breath as I did so