It was a nice funeral. Well, if any funeral could be considered nice, it was that…nice.
I forced a smile for each person who filed by to pay their respects. Like a dull needle skipping clumsily across a broken record, they repeated the same words.
“So sorry dear.”
“Call us if you need anything.”
“Come see us.”
“Your mother was the best…or the sweetest…or a lovely woman…or a good friend.”
She was. All those things and more. I remember thinking that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And she had the voice of an angel, singing me to sleep each night as she tucked me in “all snug like a bug in a rug”. Mom taught me how to read and how to cook and how to shave my legs.
Just two years before we had buried Daddy, the first man I ever loved. He taught me how to swim and ride a bike. He took me fishing for blue gills, and hung an old tire swing from the towering oak tree in the front yard. Daddy spent many nights helping me with homework, and he was there too, to hold me when some silly boy had broken my heart. How I wish he was here now to hold me. How I wish both of them were still here.
I only had three days to get the house ready for auction. Three days to sift through a lifetime of memories and to pack the things I would keep.
I started in the kitchen, boxing up granny’s silver and tea service. On the top shelf of the cabinet was mom’s recipe box. Pages of handwritten, oil-stained sheets of tattered paper were a treasure to me.
As I thumbed through the recipes I found a sealed envelope. My name was printed on front in mom’s handwriting.
My hands trembled as I slid my finger under the flap. The paper inside was faded. “When had mom written this?”
I unfolded the page. “Whose handwriting is this?” I thought. It wasn’t Mom’s or Daddy’s. I flashed a glance to the bottom of the page.
“Aunt June? Why would she be writing a letter to me?”
My eyes raced to the top of the page, ‘Dear Annie and Tom…’ Mom? Daddy? Why would Aunt June write you a letter with my name on the envelope?”
I dropped to the floor, hot tears burning my eyes, as I read Aunt June’s words…her secret…mom and daddy’s lie…my truth.
kat – 23 February 2016
A story for this week’s Ronovan Writes Friday Fiction Prompt: You’ve just been handed a message that makes you drop to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
To read other stories or enter your own, click HERE.
February 23rd, 2016 at 11:37 pm
A lot of hidden secrets. More!
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February 23rd, 2016 at 11:38 pm
Yes! People do tend to be found out eventually!
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February 24th, 2016 at 3:33 am
Nothing hidden under the Sun!
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February 24th, 2016 at 6:08 am
Yes Jacqueline. The truth always comes out.
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February 25th, 2016 at 2:27 pm
And nothing hidden under the Son either. 😉
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February 23rd, 2016 at 11:45 pm
Earth-shattering for sure! At least she found out.
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February 24th, 2016 at 2:23 am
Yes! And sad that her parents never told her.
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February 24th, 2016 at 12:00 am
Powerful punch.
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February 24th, 2016 at 2:25 am
Thanks Oneta. I was hoping for that based on the prompt.
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February 24th, 2016 at 12:07 am
Wow, good one. Exciting for your reader and heartbreaking for the main character in your story.
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February 24th, 2016 at 2:27 am
Thanks Mandi. And to find out when emotions were already running high. Crushing!
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February 24th, 2016 at 1:45 am
I really enjoyed this! I ant to know what was in that letter… A myriad of ideas flitting through my mind!!!
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February 24th, 2016 at 2:28 am
Thanks Ritu. It was time for another cliffhanger. 😊 Glad you enjoyed it.
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February 24th, 2016 at 2:30 am
Let’s see it this week’s prompt gives you a chance to go further!!!!
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February 24th, 2016 at 9:31 am
Wonderful Kat! This story is very powerful and then the end is quite the surprise. Wonderful story telling!
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February 24th, 2016 at 9:51 am
Thanks PJ. I have been busy this week. Got it in just in time! 🙂
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February 24th, 2016 at 9:44 am
And you leave me wanting to know more!
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February 24th, 2016 at 9:51 am
I like a good cliff hanger Sarah. 🙂 I hadn’t done one in a while. It was time.
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February 24th, 2016 at 10:47 am
Another fabulous story. I felt the suspense building and loved the unexpected ending.
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February 24th, 2016 at 12:20 pm
Thanks Natalia. It was quite a shock to be sure!
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February 24th, 2016 at 6:49 pm
Wow gutt wrenching Kat! Awesome story!
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February 24th, 2016 at 7:22 pm
Thanks Lynn. The prompt was pretty dramatic!
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February 24th, 2016 at 8:46 pm
I loved this one!
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February 24th, 2016 at 10:46 pm
wonderful story……kat
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February 25th, 2016 at 1:28 am
Thank you for taking the time to read it…and for your nice comment. 😊
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February 26th, 2016 at 12:06 am
[…] The Letter Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding…) Great story. Kat gives just enough and you can decide the meaning at the end. I think she writes that last part so well you must know the answer, but maybe I’m wrong. Kat can write! 422 words, 3.1 GL, and 4% passive sentence structure. @kat_myrman […]
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February 26th, 2016 at 3:21 am
Thank you Ronovan. 😊
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February 26th, 2016 at 3:44 am
Wonderful response to the prompt, I loved it. Very powerful, you never know what secrets are hidden by perfect, normal, families. Great build up, do you think you will continue it? KL ❤
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February 26th, 2016 at 3:53 am
Thank you KL. not sure if I will continue the story. I agree with you, families are full of secrets. I sometimes wish I had asked my grandparents more questions while they were still here. 😊
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February 26th, 2016 at 6:36 am
Oh, I liked this. Love a good cliffhanger. Hope you do continue it so I can find out more ha 🙂
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February 26th, 2016 at 7:12 am
Thank you! Yes I like a good cliff hanger myself! 😊
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March 7th, 2016 at 1:23 pm
[…] (If you would like to read Part 1, here is a link: The Letter) […]
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March 7th, 2016 at 9:23 pm
[…] The Letter […]
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