The Hill Scene

Tear stained letters

Dear Philly,
I'm writing this letter in the car as I drive away from you, sorry about the tear stains. I just thought I'd make it clear that I still want to be with you, maybe when we grow up and I can buy my own home, we can buy those cats you were talking about and you can come live with me in the middle of nowhere.
I hope people treat you kindly and I hope you make new friends because I really don't want you to be alone. I hope I make new friends too as I'll be quite lonely without you. I'm really great full to have met you Philly, and I will miss our hill, our willow tree, our talks. I miss it already, even just writing about it is making me tear up again.
I hope your mother isn't too hard on you, because you really don't deserve that. I hope I can come and visit you sometimes, because I don't think I can stay away from you for to long.
I hope this letter finds you well and you better write me back, "don't be a stranger."
I can't wait to receive your letter,
Lots of love,
Alice xxx

Dear Alice,
I hope you're liking your new town, is there anyone as cool as me there? I doubt it, but you never know. I'm still sad that you had to go away, but it's not going to change anything, writing letters it enough for me. Also, don't let the thought of moving away put you off making new friends, trust me people will love you, I know I do.
I'll go to our spot up on the hill everyday, it won't be the same without you but hopefully one day if you get the chance to visit, you can meet me there. Oh and Alice, I really think you should start writing. Who knows? Maybe they'll study your book in schools one day, I really think you can do it and I'm glad you have a dream. Maybe you could write about us.
I hope your new town is a little more interesting than this one, you deserve to be able to have little adventures rather than sit around with me all day.
Never stop writing to me Alice, I'll cherish every word,
Lots of love,
Philly xxx

The letters continued on, they talked about anything and everything in the exact same way they did before. It was almost as if they never left each other. They often wrote about how the longed to see one another again. And as much as Alice talked about visiting, Ophelia knew that was unlikely, she just wouldn't have the time and Ophelia understood that but it still hurt. The truth is, Alice seemed to be happy, always writing about all the interesting people she had met and everything she'd be doing. Ophelia's letters were similar except hers weren't the truth. She knew that Alice would worry if she wasn't doing well, so Ophelia thought It'd be best to keep her letters positive.
The truth is, Ophelia wasn't well. It was surprising how much Alice helped her, and now she wasn't really there and she was struggling with that. She couldn't talk to anyone about it, not friends, not her mother...she felt alone. The only times she felt happiness was when she received Alice's letters, but that was all. She'd often try and re-read them as much as possible to try and keep the happy feeling, but after the third read it didn't bring her joy, it just made her sad. She missed Alice, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Dear Philly,
I had a good week this week, me and my friends strolled around town after school. I must admit, it's not the same as the hill and our deep conversations, but it's still nice. You'd love to meet them, I think you'd all get along rather well. Of course, none of them quite compare to you, I've never met anyone like you and I can't wait to see you again, hopefully soon.

Alice paused writing the letter, what am I doing? She thought to herself. She knew full well that she hadn't made any friends, she wasn't hanging out with anyone and to be honest she didn't want to, she just wanted to see Ophelia and that's all she wanted. At least Ophelia was happy, at least she was making new friends. Ophelia didn't need to know that Alice wasn't being entirely truthful, she didn't want her to worry, so she sucked it up and finished the letter.

Although all the new friends I have are great, I'm trying to convince my parents to let me come back and visit, but of course it's hard to travel with my dad at work. But I still have hope. Anyway Philly, I'm glad that you're good, I hope you remain that way,
Lots of love,
Alice xxxxx

Of course Alice would be fine without her. Ophelia was glad Alice was okay but at the same time she felt stupid for seemingly just shutting down after she left. After she read Alice's letter she burst out into tears, not because she missed Alice, even though she did, she was crying because she was alone. Completely, utterly alone. For months she'd been moping around, falling behind on school work, and getting lectured by her mother who was still trying to change her to he "normal" again. She didn't have anyone, she used to always have Alice, and in a way she still did...but it didn't feel the same. She just needed to see her again, just once. She needed her life to change because right now her life was not good. She was stuck in a loop of self pity and depression, everyday was the same and she needed to change.