Linewalkers

4 | Letters and Better

Not Edited 

******

She stared at the diploma sitting on her dresser. 

It was hard to believe that she had officially graduated from highschool. The graduation ceremony had been a complete blur for her, she could barely remember if she'd stumbled on the stage. The only thing she could recall was Elias cheering louder than everyone else and when she was handed her diploma. Even that seemed surreal.  

She felt like it was entirely ironic to her life. How quickly it changed and she never even remembered where it started. Just a few hours before, she went to the airport with Mr. Rabino to drop Elias off for his flight. She watched him disappear in the crowd and then she started the next stage in her life. 

Her new job was everything she had hoped it would be. She met with her trainer at the library for the first week and she was walked through the entire process of logging onto the companies working base. By the second week, she was independent and working from her own schedule. As long as she meet the weekly requirements, she never heard from corporate. 

She was able to continue dancing in between her work hours because her job was flexible. She thought of Elias everytime she danced. She hoped he was doing well with his internship and she was anxious to hear something from him. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. 

She went on a summer road trip with her parents and it was probably one of the best things she had ever done. She wasn't sure if she liked travelling but her mind was quickly made up. The adventure of exploring the world was thrilling and she made plans. It hardly took long for her life to start taking shape and she was happy with where she was heading. 

It wasn't until the beginning of the second month that she received a letter in the mail. 

She could barely contain her excitement as she sat down on her couch. Her fingers flew to open the envelope and she unfolded the notebook paper. 

Dear Cariba, 

I apologize for taking so long to write a letter. I arrived in Chicago safely and I really have to say that I'm not impressed. I was expecting something grand but Chicago looks like something straight out of The Walking Dead. Remember when Rick Grimes was riding that horse into Atlanta? Yeah, so, anyway, my first day was crazy. Its basically a boot camp, but for your mind. I wasn't prepared for the mental work they put us through. I think my head is still aching. They have a lot of cool equipment and a lot of the newest technology. This company is hardly kidding around, they are pretty serious about this whole hacking thing. I'm really enjoying being here because I feel like I'm at home. Not literally, though, because I still miss you. I wish you were here, you would love it. I hope that your job is going as well as mine, I wish that you could write back, but then we would be discovered for sure. You better still be dancing, you promised, remember? Take care of yourself. 

                         Yours, 

                                          Elias 

She smiled and read the letter again. She was beyond relieved that his internship was going well. It seemed like he was much more confident in himself and she was happy for him. She could only imagine what a thrill it would be to be surrounded by people with the same love of hacking. The only question that lingered in her mind was why a company would be so focused on hacking. 

What would they need to do with hacking? She hoped that they weren't an illegal organization in disguise and that Elias would remain aware of the hacking he was doing. Though, she knew that he would stick to his morals. If something was wrong, he would get out. He was smart and he had a lot of potential. 

She received three more letters from him in the following weeks. Each one was better than the last and he explained how the company was working against cyber threats to protect the United States. They would track criminals and shut down connections from terrorists. She almost felt like she had missed out on all the fun. But, she still loved her job.

However, when she received the fourth letter from Elias, she couldn't help the unease that settled in her stomach. He was concerned that something bigger was happening behind the scenes. It was something extremely sketchy and the company didn't want anyone to know about it. He had said he tried to gain more information but the company instantly shut him down. 

As Elias wrote about his concern, she had questions that couldn't be answered. She didn't know the name of the company and the address on the envelope was a post office address. She felt blind and incapable of helping Elias in his time of struggle. He mentioned something about being extremely close to some type of breakthrough, but he never specified what. All too soon, he finished the letter with uncertainty that left her anxious. 

Her anxiety only grew when a week went by and she didn't receive another letter. She told herself that he was okay, he was just really busy. She went on with her life and she tried to distract herself with hacking, but it only reminded her of Elias. 

One month went by and no letter came. She was really beginning to worry and she contemplated telling Mr. Rabino about the letters, but then she remembered Elias asking her not to tell anyone. She could only grant her bestfriend's wish. If only she could know the name of the company, she would be able to gain all of the information that she needed. 

Another month went by with nothing. 

There came a point where she had trouble sleeping at night because of her worry. It really affected her life and she found herself unable to enjoy the things she usually did. She stopped dancing regularly and she couldn't bring herself to do coding or hacking. She was eaten alive with concern, the unknown was scary and she just wished Elias would let her know he was okay. 

Before she knew it, five months had gone by. 

She found herself pacing by the front door, waiting for the mailman to arrive. It had to be today, the day she would receive a letter from him and everything would be okay. She didn't know what to do otherwise. 

"Honey, please, you're exhausting yourself," Her mother pleaded, "What has you so worked up?" 

"I have to know if he's okay." She replied. 

"Who? Elias?" 

"Yes, I haven't heard from him in five months." 

Her mother sighed, "He's probably just busy, he'll be home in a few weeks anyway." 

"Something isn't right, Mom." She said, continuing to pace. 

"You don't know that." 

"Yes, I do!" She raised her voice. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and she opened the door in a flash. She was expecting the mailman to be standing there, ready to deliver a letter, but she wasn't expecting Mr. Rabino to be on her doorstep. She blinked. 

"Uh, hi, Mr. Rabino, what brings you over this early?" She asked. 

There was something wrong because Mr. Rabino only shook his head, unable to speak, and he held out a piece of paper to her. She heard her mother speaking but nothing seemed to register because the moment she read the first sentence of the letter, shock and horror filled her. 

We're so sorry for your loss...

Her world came crashing down. 

.    .    .    .    .    .

I'm working on time lapsing. 

So, now we're getting on track with where my dream began (hopefully ya'll didn't forget that I'm writing this loosely based on a dream). Its literally a lot of building blocks to piece in the dream, hoping its not too bad so far. 

Comment and let me hear your thoughts!