Message in a Bottle [LGBTQ+] [ONC 2024]

Chapter Six

"Did you pass that letter onto your parents, Mr Webster?" Mr Fredricks asked. He looked down at me from his desk, peering over the top of his round spectacles. A small drop of ink trickled from the pen that dangled from his fingertips.

Eli shook my head, tucking the stack of books under his arm. "Not yet. I didn't get the chance since my illness came on so suddenly."

"I understand. Be sure to pass it on when you get the opportunity. The exam is in a few weeks and you don't want to miss it."

"Yes, sir."

Mr Fredricks waved his hand to dismiss Eli, turning back to the paper in front of him and sighing at the large blob of ink in the centre of the page. Eli left the schoolhouse. He jogged down the front steps, grateful to feel the warm sun on his skin. Constance sat on the bottom step. She kicked her foot across the green grass, glancing over her shoulder when he approached.

Together, they set off across the grass, cutting through the rolling green fields and grassy hills that surrounded their walk home. Eli longed to spend the afternoon with his feet dangling in the cooling water of the stream, but he knew he couldn't. His father's threat to pull him from school was genuine, and Eli didn't want to risk it. Fishing would have to wait.

Since he returned to school a few days before — the bruises having faded into near obscurity — Eli had done his best to avoid a meeting with Mr Freidricks. After letting the sheep out of the pen, Eli knew better than to approach the idea of the test with his father. If he thought the answer would be no before, he was certain of it now.

He'd never be allowed to sit that test.

When they arrived home, Eli left his schoolwork in his small room and started out on his chores. He stepped out into the sunlight and crossed the grass to the stables, where he was plunged into darkness. The heat inside the stable was humid and within minutes of mucking out the stables, he could feel the sweat trickling down his back.

Eli worked in near silence. He muttered mathematics equations to himself, wanting to keep the information he learnt freshly in his head before he started on his schoolwork. His mind drifted to the most recent letter he found in the stream, a letter he had yet to respond to. When he read it, Eli couldn't help but feel frustrated. Samuel offered him nothing more than an excuse, dancing around his questions.

It made no sense to Eli for Samuel to want to reach out and make a friend not be willing to share anything about his life, even if the questions were mundane. He wondered whether Victoria, the girl he met at the stream, really was related to him, but if she was, and she was willing to come across and talk to people, why wouldn't he?

Eli shook his head, trying to push the thoughts from his mind as he worked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to reply, but there was no point dwelling on it yet. He would reread the letter in his room later and decide.

The door to the stable opened, flooding the darkened room with bright sunlight that brushed against Eli's arm. He squinted against the light and watched his father step into the stable and make for the horse's tack. His father stopped when he saw him, raising an eyebrow.

"Nice to see you doing your chores, Eli. It makes a change," he said, his voice low and gruff.

"Yes, sir."

"We'll make a farmer of you yet."

Eli swallowed back a retort, knowing it was better to bite his tongue than to make a snide comment that would just land him in trouble. He didn't want to miss any more school if he could help it, even if he knew nothing would come from several years of education.

"Yes, sir."

His father approached him and raised a hand, causing Eli to flinch away a little, but his father pretended not to notice. "Keep it up, boy."

With that, his father grabbed one of the horse's bridles from a nearby post and disappeared back outside. Eli swallowed deeply, taking a shaky breath and pushing that small slither of fear into the pit of his stomach.

Despite what his father said, Eli knew he would never fit into the life of a farmer. He struggled with the hard work, hated being stuck in the barn or stable mending something, and hated how being in nature — the thing he craved most — became a chore. No matter how many chores he completed, Eli would never be a farmer. It wasn't part of him.

When his chores were done, and his skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, Eli returned to the farmhouse to make a start on his chores. He climbed the rickety ladder to the small room, stooping to not bang his head on the ceiling, and sat down at his desk. Eli eyed the stack of books and writing slate, but didn't touch them. Instead, he opened his desk drawer.

He pulled out the letter Mr Friedricks had given him. Eli stared at it, wondering whether it would be better to burn it than to keep it hidden. Why keep something he could never have, taunt himself with a dream that will never come true? He would be kidding himself if he thought his father would agree to let him go, even if it was paid for by the school. His father valued hard work over school work and nothing would change that.

Eli sighed. He dropped the letter onto his desk and slumped back against the rickety wooden chair. Everything he ever wanted was in that letter. It was written out, within his reach, but he couldn't grab hold of it. He thought back to Samuel's letter, about how someone as determined as he was should be able to do whatever he sets his mind to.

That was true in theory, but there were far too many obstacles working against him for any of it to happen. It would stay a dream until the day he died, that much was certain.

With the sound of his mother preparing supper below him, Eli pushed his school books to the side, grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen, and began to write.

~~~

First Published - March 23rd, 2024