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

Chapter Eight

The paper rustled under his fingertips, the edges crinkled after the countless times he'd read, and reread, the letter. Eli ran his fingers over the words. He felt the slight indent where the pen had pressed into the page, and followed the small swirls on each letter. Slowly, he lowered the letter to the writing desk and stared out of the window and across the farm.

In the distance he could just make out the stream as it twisted across the fields. He watched a small bee fly past the window, disappearing from view until another one appeared. Eli looked at the stream and the way it slowly flowed over the rolling hills until it disappeared with no sign of where it went. His mother said it went to the ocean.

He looked down at the letter again.

No matter how many times he read it, he wasn't sure how he felt about what Samuel had written on the ageing paper. On the one hand, he was annoyed at him for skirting around his meeting with Victoria — although he did notice the mention of her for the first time — but on the other, he was grateful for the words that had been written. Eli's entire life had been dictated by his father and what he wanted, not once did Eli consider the thought that he had the ability to change it.

Still, it was easier to write the words on a page than to follow through with the actions. Eli pulled the letter Mr Fredricks gave him from the drawer and twisted it over in his hands, wondering just how much that letter could change things. He didn't need his fathers permission to go, not if the school were paying for the train. Did he?

"Eli! If you don't leave now, you'll be late for school," his mother called up the stairs.

"I'm coming."

Eli tucked both letters into the drawer of his desk and scrambled out of the chair. He grabbed his books and the writing slate from his bed before all but sliding down the ladder to the living space where Constance was waiting for him. His mother handed him his lunch pail and a red apple to eat on the way.

"What were you doing up there?" she asked, handing Constance her writing slate.

"Nothing. I just lost track of time."

"That seems to be happening a lot." She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't press the matter which Eli was grateful for. She was the only one who could wrestle the truth out of him and he was not about to give it to her. "Go on, go, or you really will be late."

"See you later."

"I love you. Both of you."

"Love you too," Eli called over his shoulder as he and Constance left the farmhouse.

Constance took off across the yellowing-grass, her lunch pail swinging from her arm and her writing slate dangling from the other. Eli followed, though at a slower pace. He thought back to the letter Samuel had sent. His mind remained on those final few sentences scrawled at the bottom of the letter, sentences that seemed more like Samuel was talking to himself than to him.

There were so many things he didn't know about the person he had been writing to for almost two weeks, so many things he wanted to know, and the latest letter just increased his curiosity. What had happened to him for such thoughts to cross his mind? Why did he find such joy and hope in Eli's hastily scribbled words? What had started out as a means to find a friend seemed, to Eli, to become a little bit more than that. They became a lifeline.

Eli followed the stream towards the village and the schoolhouse. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, still stewing over the letter, and watched the water lightly trickle through the twisting stream. Despite his annoyance at Samuel for not making any reference to Ei having met his sister, Eli was still going to write back. He figured he'd come too far to just step away now.

Not when there were so many things he wanted to know.

When they reached the village, Constance ran off to find her friend Mary who was no doubt hanging around the schoolhouse with the others, waiting for the bell to ring. Eli tugged his applecore into his lunch pail and looked towards the front steps of the schoolhouse where Peter Upton stood, his arms crossed over his chest, no doubt waiting for Eli.

Not wanting to get involved with them, Eli hung back. He'd only approach the schoolhouse once the bell had rung and he was out of any danger Peter Upton might hold. Instead, he looked around at the village and the same mundane state of it all. He thought of Samuel's letter. Nothing in the village ever changed. No one went on to do anything spectacular, they all became farmers.

What if Eli was the one to change that?

A familiar mop of red hair caught his attention, glinting a little in the early morning sunlight. Eli watched until she turned a little, exposing enough of her face for Eli to identify her.

"Victoria!" He approached her, noticing the way she offered him a small glance over her shoulder but started to walk away. "We need to talk."

"I can't, Eli. I have errands to run."

"Please? I just need to ask you something, it won't take long." Eli reached out and grabbed her arm, not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to stop her in her tracks. "Please."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could. You want answers that I cannot give to you, not yet. I wish I could, but it is out of my hands."

"Why? Why is this so complicated? I don't understand."

"It just is, Eli. I'm sorry. I have to go." She tried to pull her arm from Eli's grip, but held on. He just wanted one answer. Just one.

"Oi!" Peter Upton shoved him hard in the back. Eli stumbled, loosening his grip on Victoria's arm, but managing to keep himself standing. "The lady asked you to go."

Eli spun around to face Peter. "This doesn't have anything to do with you, Upton."

"It does now, Webster."

Peter leaned in to say something to him, his warm breath hitting Eli in the face. Eli's heart drummed against his ribcage and blood roared in his ears. He was well aware of Victoria watching him. Before Peter could speak, the school bell rang out across the village, startling the three of them. Peter glared at Eli, glancing back to the schoolhouse where Mr Fredricks no doubt stood on the stop step.

"This isn't over, Webster." He shoved Eli in the shoulder and walked away, following the track to the schoolhouse.

Eli looked at Victoria who lightly shook her head, her face startling pale. Her eyes met his for a moment. "I'm sorry, Eli."

~~~

First Published - April 15th, 2024