Burnington Gaol

E I G H T E E N | Frank

Frank held the letter in his trembling hands.

Light was fading fast, the sun closing in on the quivering horizon. His cell would be dark soon, and yet he waited. All he knew was that he didn't want to read it yet. Then, deciding he couldn't wait any longer, he closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and tore the envelope open.

The dimming light made him squint at the thin paper, but he recognised his brother's handwriting instantly. The familiar loops and lines made his chest hurt and his eyes water.

Frank,

Please forgive me. I assume by now you know I'm dead, but I never meant for this to happen. I wanted so badly for our big plans to become a reality – a new city, a new house, a fresh start. Just like we said. But I suppose it was never meant to be.

I know you're probably furious with me for pulling such an idiotic stunt and getting myself killed, but it was the only way I could think of to find Adeline and send her to you. I had to do it, for your sake. They were going to hang you, and you'd never make it out on your own. I can only hope you understand.

But I've sent this girl to prove your innocence – our innocence, not that it will matter after I'm dead. I don't know how successful she will be, but she has all the right resources. Connections in the Gaol, the advantage of being a woman. A girl like her can slip right under the radar. She's the only one who can do it, and I think she will.

So when you get out, brother, please don't throw it away. Please don't drown yourself in booze and drugs and crime and women. When you get out, run. Run far, far away. Move to Antarctica, if it tickles your fancy, so long as you get out of Burnington. Find a nice spot on a deserted island, or a shack on an unknown beach. Somewhere that makes you happy, but more importantly, find people who make you happy. I know that Susie and I are gone now, and I know what you do with all that pain you keep inside you, but for all our sakes, be happy. Live magnificently. See things you've never seen, meet interesting people. Explore. Travel. Run away with a circus, for all I care. But do it for all of us. Because you're the only one who can.

I died so you can live, so don't waste a minute.

And remember that we will always love you.

Goodbye for now,

Jimmy.

Frank held the letter in his hands, the tears slowly beginning to fall over his eyelids and down his reddened cheeks. His daughter, and now his brother. Both gone from him in barely half a year. Now all that was left of him was a hollowed-out shell, a pale ghost of a man that once was.

© A.G. Travers 2018