The Man Who Never Speaks

2. Rain Comfort

"The Devil's in the details, but you've got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?"

————

The following week, Alice kept on thinking about the mysterious man that had been so generous to help her out. Something about him caught her attention, making it unable to stop herself from dreaming. A special feeling, one she couldn't describe, told her that FP wasn't like the others. Maybe he was more like her.

After sending him the note to thank him for his help, Alice expected for it to end there. It had felt good to show him her gratitude, especially to someone who had no idea who she was.

Meeting him, had so far been the only moment without any judgement, without her past following her. As if he had taken all that away for just a little bit. But FP was obviously not much of a people's person and if she had to believe the story that has been told about him, he wasn't a talker either.

However, to her surprise she found a note in her mail a few days later. It had a post stamp on it and a handwriting she didn't recognize.

Alice wondered who could have possibly sent something to her new address, considering she didn't have any friends in town (and neither did she in her old town, they would have never written her).

Curious to find out who would sent her this note, she opened the light blue envelop to read what was inside. She came to learn that it was FP who had written her back.

You're welcome. I hope you settled into your new home. Watch out a little for Hiram.

— FP

Alice couldn't stop a grin from curling on her lips. Maybe he was as curious about her as she was about him. It was a small gesture, but for a woman who had just moved across the country to a new town where people were colder than she would have hoped, a small note like this felt like a warm bath.

The last thing she had expected was for him to reply, especially since she had learned that he didn't speak. Maybe he was more comfortable writing someone.

Before she could even allow herself to think about FP's relationship with the people of town, his warning had awakened a lot of questions. Hiram was a little creepy, but would he really cross a line? She decided to write him back, even if she had no idea if he would appreciate that.

My new home is fine. It has only been a week but it's a nice place to live. Trying to get to know the town a little. Don't worry about Hiram Lodge, I can protect myself perfectly well. What's his deal?

— Alice

Instead of sending it by mail like he had done, she had stopped by his little cabin exactly the way she had done with her very first note.

After all, there was no address to send her notes to. There was no other choice than to go back to the place close to where they had met. In daylight, the woods looked a little bit less spooky.

Still, it made her feel like the trees were carrying a secret and it made her wonder about why he lived so far away from the rest of the town.

Maybe they had scared him away enough to live in the woods. She didn't even know if he was all alone, but if she had to believe the story Cheryl Blossom and Veronica Lodge had told her, there was no doubt about FP being all by himself.

The first time she had barely noticed the way it looked from the outside. When she had gone to deliver the note in his small, green and rusty mailbox she had hesitated to knock on his door and have a talk. However, a call inside her stopped her from doing so, afraid that it would cross a line that could never be crossed.