I LEFT Bert to get a telegram that was supposed to be arriving any minute from my mother. She was probably going to say something about not visiting, and how I had left Peter to work in the shop alone when Winter was off at school (they made a lot more money than we did). I still felt that leaving was a relief. Zarola helped me find my telegram box (number 251). Lo and behold, there were three envelopes, each sealed differently. I took them out. Holding the papers to my chest, I waved goodbye to Zarola and headed to my room to read them. The first one was from Mother. I opened the thin parchment envelope held together by glue, and skimmed through the letter before I read it thoroughly. Dearest Hana, We miss you over here. Poor Peter has been in such a state trying to figure out why you have not yet come home. I wonder about that myself. Your father has been missing your help in the shop, I think the shoes are suffering for it. Frida has a new beau. His name is Freddie, and he’s a really sweet boy. It’s nice that she found someone she trusts. They’re the complete opposite, actually. If opposites attract, they’ll be very happy. The twins are the same as always. Blabbering and crying and whatnot. Your father is missing your smiling face at the dinner table, and I am missing the good food (Not that I don’t like my own cooking)! Just kidding, darling. I miss your smiling face too. I wish I could write more, but it’s our turn to house the teacher, and I have to get their living space ready. Yours ever, Mother. Frida? Courting? That was certainly an absurd thought. I expected Sammy and Tammy to have remained the same, they were only babies, after all. The next letter was from Winter. Hello, Hana! Boy, do I miss you. Teasing you was really such a treat! When are you coming home? Do you know yet? Peter’s been missing you more than I have, and I think he’ll be storming Wildwood in a few days in search of you. He’s been about ready to pull his hair out with worry for you. I’m going to be late for class! Wish I had more time, but if I don’t leave now, Mr. Pease is going to scold me for being late. Your good friend, Winter. I could believe that. Peter’s always been so protective of me. I wish that I could do something to protect him. I opened the next telegram. The envelope was of a creamy white parchment sealed with a wax blob with the school’s seal. I wondered why I would be getting a letter from the school.
Read ^ First!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ms. Piquerey, You are cordially invited to the servant’s ball on March the 21st to celebrate the coming of spring. Dress in your best clothes. It is expected, and required that you arrive with a beau or belle you have found among the other servants. You will arrive at 7 P.M. sharp in the gym. -High Master Wilkes M. Keiser. Of all the mean things to do! I don’t want a beau from the slim pick of servants here, I want- No. No, I don’t want him. He’s just a friend. I don’t want anything more than that. I just won’t go to the ball. If someone asks me to go, fakeing courtage, then yes, I’ll go, though I’ll never forgive myself for telling such a large fib. I’d never felt so torn in my life! Do I go? Or do I not go? Risk lying? Or risk being teased again? I couldn’t decide. Who would I go with, anyway? I couldn’t go with Bert, everyone knew we were just friends. It seems as though both sides of me agreed on one thing though. I wanted Peter. That’s what I had been waiting for this entire time! That’s the reason I felt sick when he turned out to be the waiter at Haleina’s, and why I haven’t been feeling myself since then! I read Winter’s letter again, searching for hidden information about Peter. Of course I didn’t see the post script. Great. Welp, now’s my chance to read it! P.S. He’s sending a note along with this, check the envelope again. So I did. My hands shook with anticipation. Peter’s neat, square handwriting popped out at me from the paper. It took a while to focus in, but I got it eventually. Beautiful Sunshine, It feels good to write to you like this. I’ve missed you. Why haven’t you come home? No matter. You’ll come home eventually, I know that much of you. I’ve missed your smile. None of the other girls in the village have your smile. It warms me to remember that smile, no matter how much I’ve missed it. Here, Winter is looking over my shoulder and telling me to be perfectly frank with you, and just cut to the chase. I’d rather go off course a little. Do you remember the time when I was teaching you to read and wrote the alphabet in the sand, but we got in trouble for “vandalizing” Ms. Arbolino’s property? Those were good times. I’m glad I continued to teach you to read even so. I guess that I was supposed to write this letter to you. You know the couple’s name that everyone has been in the habit of calling us? Hanter, was it? That’s been dying off lately since you haven’t been here, but being perfectly honest with you, I’ve missed it. I’ve liked you since our first awareness of each other, but lately my feelings have become something beyond friendship. I don’t know if it will ruin ours or not, but I don’t care about that right now. I cherish our friendship with my life, and you know I’ll try to protect it against all odds, but right now, I want to tell you how I feel. I think that ever since you stayed by my bedside for weeks after you accidentally pushed me into the river and broke my arms, I’ve loved you. Not that soppy kind of love that isn’t real, but just your imagination, but real love that happens between two grown people. What a relief it is to put that into words! Love, love, (I can’t say that enough!) love, love, love, Peter. He loved me! I spun around, clutching the note to my chest and wishing his arms were around me at that very moment. Sobering in an instant, I grabbed my cloak off the coat rack and sped out the door and into the hallway. I don’t know where exactly I wanted to go, but I had to get out of doors to feel the sunshine pouring down on me. Once outside, I threw my cloak off (though it was the middle of winter), and spread my arms out to drink in the natural light of the courtyard. The sunlight warmed me right up, and I didn’t feel as though I were without Peter’s arms, for I knew that he was underneath the same sun right at that moment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I apologize if the formatting is a little off, in the actual document I have, it's exactly the way I want it, but when I C+P it into Scratch, some of the formatting is deleted. EEEEEEEEEEP that last letter was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hard! It took me forever to come up with that nickname!!! D.W.B.H. -OREO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to skip the fancy part at the end from now on, it's too hard to C+P all the time. Next chapter: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/488265594/ -----------------------------------------------------------------------
