Old Words

• Bonnie Dillon, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

"Grandpa, can you tell me a story." A young boy said smiling up at his grandfather.
"Of course Alex, Stay here." Grandfather got up slowly and wandered out of the room then came back in holing an old fashioned bottle. At this point Alex was very confused.
"What is-" He pauses seeing a inside the bottle was a a letter.
Grandpa didn't give an explanation. He just sat down in his large leather arm chair uncorked the bottle, took out the note and began to read.
"Saturday 12/11/1938,
Dear person who found my bottle,
My name is Elsie Jane Williams and I am currently 7 year old. My favourite thing to do is climb the big fig tree in my garden. You can see the whole world from up in it's branches and it almost feels that you are flying.
I am having a bad day today. My cat Soot died. We found him in our garden, dead. I cried for ages. I loved him. We are having his funeral tomorrow. I remember all the times he came and sat on my bed all covered in dirt and Ma came in and yelled and him and cursed. I just laughed.
This is my sixth bottle. My Pa told me if I wrote a letter and put it in the river someone might find it and read it. So here is my address.
14 Henley street, Lindisfarne, Tasmaina, Australia
If you have found this please write.
From Elsie"
Grandpa folds up the letter and places it back in the bottle then continues.
"I found that on the seventh of September 1946, She was fifteenth I was seventeen."
"Did you write?" Alex ask entranced
"Yes, She was still living there. We wrote a couple of letters then arranged to meet.
"Do you still know her?"
"Yes, I see her everyday"
"Alex, Gregory, Lunch!" Elsie shouts cheerfully from the kitchen.
"Ok Grandma" Alex shouts back smiling.