Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (3)

RED ENVELOPES

Challenge No.51 - Seeing Green.

Write a scene that includes the colour green, literally or figuratively.

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Tonya was a political prisoner because the State could not fathom her political views. The intelligentsia had labelled her an independent thinker and that had been enough for the Secret Service to move in. Now she was under house arrest.

The interrogation commenced immediately with a team of three, one Captain and two Lieutenants.

"Who are you working for?!"

"My name is Dr Toya Regis, I am a citizen of the Caribbean Federation of Nations, I was born on 22 February 2179. ID-758"

"What information have you collected?!"

"My name is Dr Toya Regis, I am a citizen of the Caribbean Federation of Nations, I was born on 22 February 2179 OD-758."

"Who is your control?!"

"My name is Dr Toya Regis, I am a citizen of the Caribbean Federation of Nations, I was born on 22 February 2179. ID-758"

And so it went, no matter the question, the answer remained the same. Then the letters started.

"What did the letter contain?" Captain Koff demanded.

"Nothing." Lieutenant Rolf replied.

"What'd you mean, nothing."

"It is as you see. A red envelope, yellow paper, blue felt tip pen. Stationery that can be obtained at any store." Rolf replied.

Lieutenant Kim added. "The message is as you see it. DEREK LOVES YOU. There is no microdot, no code, no invisible message. It is just as you see."

"What does she do with it?"

"She reads it then throws it away in the bin."

"Every Sunday it is the same. The red envelope with the message DEREK LOVES YOU. She doesn't seem bothered that the envelope has been opened. She just reads and dumps."

"Who is this Derek? Her lover? Brother?"

"Dr Regis is single." Lt Kim supplied.

The Captain snorted. "Dr Regis is many things, single she is not. The letters alone prove that."

"They do say when you go black there is no going back. I wouldn't mind Dr Regis–"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. But not today." Lt Rolf interrupted.

"Go over her schedule again," Koff ordered.

"She does only four things." Kim gave the briefing. "At six in the morning and evening, she swims the five kilometres to the rock and back. She eats at mealtime. She reads. She sleeps."

"She does not write?"

"No sir," Rolf replied.

"What of the phone we left for her."

"She swam to the rock and dropped it into the ocean," Rolf said. "She's smart. She knows that we could listen in and trace anything she did with it."

After months of questions and even more months of surveillance, the captain made an unannounced visit to Tonya.

"Lt Kim! Where is Dr Regis!"

"Around somewhere."

"Tell me Kim, are you that immune to a beautiful woman that you can afford to take your eyes off her! WHERE IS SHE!"

A preliminary search revealed that Dr Tonya Regis had escaped.

"How!? Did instructions come in that blasted red envelope?" Captain Koff raged.

"No sir. The usual message... except." Kim hesitated.

"EXCEPT."

"The envelope was green."

© 20 April 2022

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