Short Story
The Mystery Letter: Over The Moon
Episode #4
Tom couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Nicole sitting in the Sun. So relaxed and so in peace with herself looking to her grandson playing in the garden with Cathy. Next to her, on the wooden bench, was her favorite book, which she read for the fourth time. The cover was red. The book is about how she was able to make peace with herself after certain life events.
When Tom saw her, his heart beat faster and faster. He couldn’t breathe for a moment. His eyes scrolled down and up while watching Nicole. When he thought she saw her, he moved his head to the other side and pretended if he didn’t see her. He couldn’t help, but he started to smile.
As Nicole was on the phone, he decided to go to Cathy and play along with the two kids. He sat on the ground on all the beautiful red, orange, and brown leaves. Hearing the noise of the leaves, he always thought about the noise of the accident eight years ago when he went to the hospital with his wife. Why did he survive the accident and his wife didn’t?
“Hey, granddad. How are you doing?”
While Tom put his hands into the leaves he said: “I am doing fine, Cathy.”
When Leo got his seat on the aeroplane, he sat next to a lovely lady, not too young and not too old. Maybe his own age. Her long curly hair made his heart moving a million times faster. Sitting next to her on the aeroplane doesn’t make it much easier.
“Hi, I am Loretta. What is your name? You’re a little bit shy behind your laptop.”
While Leo looked up from his laptop he knew his heart was bonking again very loud. He became a little bit stiff when he heard her voice. Softly, in a small alto voice, as if she were a little sad. He liked that someone took initiative to chat with him. He thinks it’s a bit strange, and he didn’t know what to make of it. It put him off the path. Immediately, in addition to her beautiful appearance, he was completely distracted.
“Uh, o, hello.”
Loretta burst out laughing as he stammered the words and didn’t know what to say. She thought it was kind of funny that a man didn’t know what to say. Was it the man that Loretta liked?
He didn’t know what to say. He stumbled the words out of his mouth, but the butterflies were flying through his body and he was shaking. What was all this about? Why is this happening to a woman he never met?
“I don’t bite.”
She looked at him with her eyes twinkling a lot. She looked at him for a while and he looked at her for a while. Why is she feeling this? She isn’t looking for a relationship, but she felt so incredibly happy and at ease with this man, even when she didn’t speak with him that much. How can such a thing happen to mother nature while her mind doesn’t want it?
Now it was Leo’s turn to burst out laughing. His butterflies were flying more and more through his body. Why is this happening to him right now?
“Good to know you’re not biting me. Maybe I will bite you.”
“O, how do I have to interpret that?”
“I don’t know. How you want to interpret it.”
“What are you working on your laptop?”
While Loretta asked him this question, she realized she was going into his personal space and thought about ending the conversation, but before she knew it he answered that he was working on that Mystery Letter assignment with the information he got earlier.
Leo told her that he got a Mystery Letter, the box with sweaters, shoes, and candles too. But that he couldn’t rhyme altogether. He realized she probably isn’t interested in his personal story and looked back onto his laptop to start writing on his assignment. He wrote a few sentences, but he didn’t have any concentration and he still had a few holes in his story. He still needs to find out what the other parts are.
Loretta took her books to read and make her essay. She wrote everything with her pencil in her big and thick notebook. Here she writes her notes in for school. She had some ideas for her essays but she couldn’t put them together before her exams within three weeks.
“What are you working on?”
“I am working on my essays for school.”
“You’re still in school? I thought you were a thirty-one-year-old something woman.”
Again, Loretta burst out in more huge laughter. Now the people in the whole aeroplane looked at them. Some a little bit angry and others talking about them as they acted they were a couple already.
For the rest of the trip to Munich, they were silent and worked both on schoolwork and the Mystery Letter assignment.
Leo arrived at the airport in Munich. A big hall with so many people waiting for their aeroplane or welcoming their guests, family, and friends with signs and with presents for them. But there was nobody to wait for him. That made him a little bit sad. Perhaps there was someone with a sign he could ask questions to.
Nevertheless, he enjoyed the trip already after a great conversation on the aeroplane with a beautiful woman. He got a little bit attracted to what he actually wanted to do, but that distraction was worth it. Unfortunately, he didn’t ask for her contact details.
Loretta got her bags from the luggage area and scanned if she could find the lovely gentleman from the aeroplane. She didn’t see him anymore. ‘It is a shame that they didn’t exchange numbers,’ she thought. With that sad thought, she walked through the hall while she thought seeing him walking a little distance from her, but it wasn’t him. It was her mind thinking that. She became sad again. Then Loretta took the bus to the big city Munich, where she stayed in the City-Inn. A simple small hotel. In the room, there were bold colors on the wall with a crosswise wooden floor across the room.
While Nicole hangs up her eyes scanned the man sitting with her grandson. She balded her hands while she walked towards him. Dare he touch him. And what the hell is he doing with her son. Tom stood up and his butterflies flew more heavingly through his blood and veins, and he didn’t expect her to come to him.
Nicole was so angry, and Tom saw it and did a step backwards. He didn’t expect her to be so angry. What did he do wrong? What was going on? He got a little bit sad seeing her angry. That hurt too. He didn’t know what to do about that or how he had to behave. She seemed to be angry the more she came closer.
“What the hell are you doing there with my grandson? Couldn’t you get your hands off him?”
“I am sorry, but I don’t know where you are talking about.”
“I bet you know where you are talking about, but you deny it as all men do.”
“Ma’am, I am truly sorry, but I really don’t know what this is all about. I am playing with my granddaughter, and apparently, your grandson plays with his friend. And it seems they are playing lovely with each other.”
“I’m so so sorry! I thought you were a random oldy. Please, accept my apology.”
Cathy and Felix looked at each other and thought what was all that about. They watched the older people talking to each other like they were little children. After seeing them loosen up a little bit and talking, they both went back to playing together with sand, leaves and making soup of that.
Felix whispering to Cathy: “I never have seen my granny talking like that. I don’t know what is going on with her.”
Cathy whispered back: “I think they are grown-up children and maybe they had a bad day. My mommy went to Munich on holidays to get some energy for her exams over three weeks.”
They came to the conclusion that both parents were in Munich for what they wanted to do. They decided not to say anything to their grandparents. Who knows what will happen! Giggling while they played together, they made a friends-for-life-pact.
Tom looked at the giggling children and back to Nicole. He realized he didn’t introduce himself to her. Even after this debacle, he liked her even more. The more he looked at her, the more butterflies came. He didn’t feel this in such a long time. He liked that feeling very much and hold onto that feeling for a while.
Nicole stood next to him and watched Felix playing with Cathy. She felt ashamed she blamed him for something he didn’t do because her grandfather abused her. It is still working on her life, even therapy didn’t work out for her. This abuse has so many effects on her life, as well as raising her only child and raising him all alone.
Leo’s father walked away as soon as he heard he became a father. He never wanted a child and take his responsibility for being a father. As he said to Nicole: “You’re a great person, and you will be a great mother, but I am not ready to become a father.” Thinking about that moment when that happened, Nicole was so happy she fought for having Leo in her life. She couldn’t be without him and would have any regret when she gave him up for adoption or doing an abortion. Back then, abortion was a difficult issue where nobody talked about.
“Are you ok?”, some dark voice said to Nicole.
While she looked up from her thoughts, she saw Tom standing next to her, very close. His voice was nice, satisfying. And in peace. How can he be so easy in peace with himself? He, on the other hand, looked so worried to her, but indeed satisfying as he knows that this woman is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with.
Both talked with each other when they walked to the bench. They looked at each other all the time when the other one spoke about something passionately. Their eyes sparkle as glitter falls through the room. The more they know bout each other, the more they hang into each others’ spaces. Nicole realizes that this handsome man is so beautiful, full of sparkle and humor.
Tom was relieved to hear that she is fine, but a little bit worried about why she thought like this. What happened to Nicole that she reacted like this? His love for her grew the minute he talked to her. Nicole, on the other side, was a little absent and reacted to his question a little bit late, but she loved talking to him, as she hasn’t talked to anyone like this for a long time.
Cathy and Felix still played while their grandparent was talking with each other. They made a castle together from leaves, branches, and other natural materials. Satisfied they looked at each other while giving high fives.
Leo arrived at his hotel room safely. When he entered the hotel room, he saw a gigantic bed and there were flowers on his table. His bed was done lovely with flowers — roses to be exact. The odd thing was, there were suitcases already.
He left his suitcases in front of the door and went to the reception to check what was going on. There stood the same woman from the aeroplane. He was mesmerized that she was here too. His heartbeat again. Three million times faster than during the conversation in the aeroplane. He needed to take action now before it is too late again.
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