Isambard already had a small part of him dedicated to this Dorothea. They were in the same year at school, they saw each other in classes and that was the epitome of their interaction. They would never even try to contact each other in any other way, but their letters were growing increasingly insightful. From talking about poems and stories, they had moved to telling stories of their own.
It was quite apparent to Philetus, who was now determined to undermine this whole thing.
"Who even sends such personal letters without knowing the person? Oh, you sure are dumb... Do you really think you've found someone who understands you? Who'll care for you? It is all just for entertainment. The sooner you understand that, the better" He would continuously pester Isambard.
"Just go if you cannot keep your mouth sealed shut. I did not ask for your opinion. I will do as I please"
"Go and be a gentleman then. See where that gets you" Philetus mocked before going away.
The letters were slowly filling the empty drawer of Isambard's desk. He could feel himself getting distracted, wondering what the next letter would say. He wondered how odd it was, they did not know how the other looked, the colour of their eye or the sound of their laughter, but they knew how they had been hurt in childhood. They knew what sorrows lay in their pasts. They knew each other's birth stories, one as odd as the other, but they did not know each other's birthdays. Was it true love- thinking and knowing each other beyond the worldly parameters or was it all an illusion, like Philetus suggested?
In the last letter, Isambard had written a story. It was the story of how his father would roast a chicken on Christmas Eve and they would recount family stories while having dinner. In reply, Dorothea wrote how Christmas time meant working for her as she wanted to make some money to help her father.
Isambard took personal offence at the story. Was her father not a gentleman? How could he let his daughter work? Or was his father forced into this situation for some unavoidable reason? He could not judge the family until he knew the full picture.
Dorothea was one of the six girls at HAEE. She shouldn't be that tough to remember, but no matter how much he tried, Isambard remembered the feeling of her, not her. He remembered how she felt like the first fall of snow, the call of someone familiar, the stillness of the world when covered with snow. He could not remember what she looked like though and now he wanted to. He wanted to force his mind to imprint her picture until she was the only one he saw. There was something about this girl that pulled him, that made him want to know her better.
He wrote in the next letter what she felt like and then asked her to meet him somewhere. He wanted to be friends and if they were going to be friends, they had to know each other well. In her next letter, she said that she wanted to wait. She thought that by Christmas, they would know each other so well that they wouldn't need to meet each other to know and remember the face.
"After all, true love is never based on the face, only ever on the soul and mind" she said.
Isambard had to admit she had managed to impress him. Very few ladies cared for such depth these days. Most just 'giggled as they goggled', in Philetus's words.
She had also described him in this letter. She said he felt like the first warm breeze which heralded the arrival of spring. He was the first bloom on a tree, the first note of a bird whistle, the sound of laughter. He wondered if anyone else had ever even thought about observing and understanding him as deeply as she had.
He thought hard about what to put in the next letter. How would they get to know each other? What could he possibly ask that would reveal her identity? He thought until he got the appropriate idea for this particular situation. Thoughts were what brought minds and hearts closer, so he would know her thoughts. Dipping his expensive pen into the inkwell, he wrote
So do you ever wonder...
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Love, Hate and Indifference
Historical Fiction*Book 1 of Love and Loss Series* Many years ago, when the Titanic sank, so did Dariele's dream of marrying the love of her life. When her love returns after a couple of years, he finds her already married and with child. Now, ages have passed and th...
