Dear No One

The Other Side

It was only the third of March when Lenneth brought in the mail after yet another exhausting day at school. She had her clarinet case in one hand, and the mail in her other as she scanned the mail she gathered from the mailbox across the road. Nothing usually caught her eye, however today a rather heavy envelope caught her attention.

The envelope was an odd shape, rather larger than normal cards, and it certainly wasn't in the shape of the standard bills. It was sealed with some type of fancy elegant seal as well. Lenneth was quick to flip it over to check who it was addressed to, and more importantly the return address of where it came from.

"What do we have here...addressed to mom and dad...who do they know who's this rich?" Lenneth scanned the return address. It was a P.O. box from out of state, obviously an address designed to collect and send letters so the real address wasn't exposed.

Lenneth crossed the road and entered her house through the garage, just like she did most days after school. She dropped her backpack and her clarinet case by the door once she got inside her house in her pantry and entry way. "Mom, I'm home!" She called out as she took off her dirty combat boots. It was a warm and mucky start to March, leading the fact the summer was bound to be disgustingly warm.

"Hey Lenneth, how was your day today?" Lenneth's mother asked, surfing through the television channels while folding the clean laundry. She had three different laundry baskets lined up on the floor; one for Lenneth, one for Brenda, and a third for her husband and herself.

Lenneth shrugged, "Eh. Could've been worse. Oh I got the mail." Lenneth handed the mail to her mother, "You got a weird looking letter. Didn't know you knew anyone that fancy."

"Oh it's probably just a wedding invitation from your second cousins or something. Let me look at it." Lenneth's mother began to sort through the mail.

Meanwhile, Lenneth took off to the kitchen to scavenge for food in the refrigerator. After about a minute of digging, Lenneth closed the fridge and returned with two cheese sticks, a small bowl full of strawberries, and some chocolate. She flopped on the other end of the couch and stuck out the footrest. After setting her food down and getting comfortable, she pulled her iPod back out and put her headphones in. It was her turn to tune out the world once again and become busy listening to music and playing yet another dumb game on her iPod.

After finishing folding Lenneth's fourth clean jacket, her mother read the return address of the letter she was handed, before turning it over and reading the seal. She recognized the seal almost immediately, taking careful time to open the letter. The parchment was an off-white color and slightly heavier than expected. This was no normal parchment. It was weighted, lush, elegant, and even folded properly in the envelope. Lenneth's mother removed the letter carefully and opened it up, noticing a picture fell out onto her lap. She was quick to grab the picture and examine it.

The picture was a simple wallet sized print of a young man, around the age of Lenneth, perhaps a few months older. He didn't look to particularly happy in the picture; it was as if he was forced to smile. His reddish-brown hair was a mess, as if he didn't pay particular attention to his personal hygiene, and his hazel-green eyes were stone cold, as if he attempted to hide all his emotions like shadows as he faked the smile he forced on his face. He wore a plain burgundy long sleeved shirt in the picture, which contrasted the off-white walls of the background. Lenneth's mother recognized this boy as a young man, as she had saw him several years ago.

Lenneth's mother picked up the picture and placed it back in the envelope for safe keeping while she unfolded the letter and began to read its contents.

My dearest friends Mr. & Mrs. Parker,

My sincerest apologies for not contacting you sooner; these past ten years after the death of Aimee have been rather turbulent for both myself and my son, Apollo. I do hope your life has been less of a chaotic storm with your daughters, Lenneth and Brenda. I have not heard from you since the last time we saw each other, so I can only assume you are doing well yourselves.