Yours Lovingly, Mer(on hold)

Chapter 1

Meredith looked out of the car’s window. The place, which seemed to have changed less, made her smile. She sighed and looked at her best friend.

“Can I go alone? I promise I’ll be back soon, Betty.”

“As you wish, Mer.”

Meredith got out of the car and headed towards the woods. She walked slowly, taking small steps, trying hard to control the images that flashed in her mind at every step. Memories of a past life; a life that she had chosen to try and forget. She stopped after a while and looked around at the withering trees. In her mind’s eye, she could picture a beautiful scene with cherry blossoms. The greenery in full swing and the faces of happy people. She could see her brother standing at the altar, smiling. Her friends were there, too. But he …

Meredith clutched her dress and looked down. Breathe, she reminded herself, breathe. Having built up enough courage and strength, Meredith walked forward towards the altar. Making her way through the overgrown plants, she reached the steps leading to the altars and stood there for a while. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“I’m right here, Patrick. I’m right here. Where are you?” her voice hung in the air for a while. She walked down the altar steps after a few seconds in the opposite direction till she reached a familiar place.

“Hi, dad,”  Whispered Meredith, as she looked upon her father’s grave. “I’ve got another letter for you to read. It’s mostly the same.”

Kneeling down, Meredith placed the letter on the grave and stood up.

“I have to go now. They’re waiting for me.”

The leaves rustled as Meredith walked away from her father’s grave. No sooner than she left, when the sound of someone’s footsteps echoed through the meadows. He walked up to her father’s grave and silently picked up the letter. A smile came upon his face as he carefully placed the letter in his jacket. Taking out his phone, he dialed a familiar number.

"Yeah," he replied, "just picked up the letter. Everything in order?"

Jeremy kept nodding his head before replying.

"Alright. We're set."

“Jeremy! We’re getting late! If you miss this time, I’m pretty sure they won’t give you another chance!”

Jeremy sighed and turned around.

“I’m coming, Sue!” he screamed, signaling his best friend to stall the vehicle for him and not leave him behind. Aa he reached the car, he paused, as if awaiting a reaction from his friend. But instead, he simply smiled and nodded his head.

“Mer’s letter again? Goodness! That girl is troubled, Jerry. How many letters have you read now?”

“This would be the 60th letter.”

“Yep, definitely damaged. We gotta help her, you know.”

“Yeah, that is if I ever find the guts to go talk to her.”

“If you don’t, I will.”

Jeremy smiled.

“Yeah, right. Like you would do it. When I asked you to come with me to take the letter, you just went ahead and gave me one of your big and boring speeches on how we must respect someone’s privacy and yada yada. And now you’re telling me that you’re ready to go and help that girl.”

“Oh shut your big mouth, Jerry. You violated every rule of privacy when you read her first letter anyway. What difference does it make if I go talk to her now?” responded Sue, in an I-know-it-all face.

“Whoa! Now you’re acting like I purposefully went and read her letter. I didn’t even know it was there in the first place! I was visiting mum’s grave when I happened to find the letter on another grave. Yeah, I was curious! So I picked up the letter and read it. So what? At least she knows that she’s got someone in this world!”

“Look at you,” shot back Sue, crossing her hands. “A few days ago, you weren’t ready to defend your own best friend in a fight and here you are, defending someone you haven’t even met!”

“Of course I’ve met her! Maybe not in person, but her letters are more than enough to get to know her.”

“Oh really big guy? So, tell me then. How much do you know about this Mer?”

Jeremy took a few steps back and put his hands into his jacket pockets. He looked around, as if searching for the right words.

“Alright, fine. I don’t know a lot about her. But I know this much. No one deserves to be alone in this world, Sue. Everyone deserves someone in their life.”

“And you think she deserves you?”

“I’m not saying she deserves me! I’m just saying that she shouldn’t be lonely. After all, her letters suggest that she lost someone very dear to her.”

“That Patrick dude?”

“Yeah, him.”

Sue sighed.

“Let’s just go to the publishing house now, okay? We’ll argue about Mer later.”

“Let’s roll,” replied Jeremy as he got into the car. Sue sped away in her usual manner, and Jeremy held on tightly.

Unaware to them, Meredith was actually standing by the trees, listening to their conversation. Despite knowing the fact that someone was actually reading her letters, she didn't feel the need to stop him. It almost felt like she knew him well. It felt like they had known each other for quite sometime now.

“For the love of God, slow the hell down!” screamed Jeremy, as he held onto his seat tighter than before.

Sue laughed.

“You mean ya can’t handle a little speed?”

Jeremy turned towards her in horror.

“Speed? You call this speed? You’re a maniac, you know that?! Now, calm down and reduce the speed of your car."

Sue laughed again and accelerated. The car picked up speed and zoomed across the road. Jeremy closed his eyes and expected the worse.

“Open your eyes, you wimp.”

“No way in hell am I gonna do that! And you! Stop talking and drive. At this rate, you’ll end up killing somebody!”

No sooner than he said that, Sue took a sharp turn and stopped the car all of a sudden. Jeremy breathed heavily and leaned forwards.

“You are one crazy lady,” He said, smiling at Sue, but her attention was elsewhere.

“You ready bro? We’re here. You dream destination.”

Jeremy looked out to see the publishing house he’d always wanted to show his stories to. It was an old building, painted peach and a few patches of orange here and there. He smiled.

Finally, he thought, my shot at fame.