The Letter
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Isabelle McLean, Grade 6
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Short Story
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2022
Dear reader,
I truly wish I could tell you it ends well for you. But sadly, my life impacts everyone I encounter, including you, my friend. You took this letter intending to finish, but the story never truly ends. It all started for me a few days ago on a dark night when I was returning home from work. I was near home when I saw someone ahead. It was a young lady who held out an envelope and smiled. “Open it my friend,” she said. So, I looked down and opened the envelope, pulling a letter out. As I did so, I looked up to ask, “What is this-?” However, I was surprised to see the girl was no longer there. I looked around to see where the girl had gone. But she really had disappeared.
I decided to put my curiosity on hold and walk home, hoping for no more interruptions so I could get home and open the letter in solitude.
Ten minutes later I opened my front door, turned on the light and sat in my chair to read.
‘Dear reader, I truly wish I could tell you it ends well for you. But sadly, my life impacts everyone I encounter, and this includes you, my friend. You took this letter intending to finish, but my story never truly ends. It all started for me...’ I continued reading. And as I read the last line, I felt sick. ‘This is a continuous loop. If you do not find a victim to pass this to, you will stay here forever. I apologise sincerely for my actions.’
I read the letter three times before I truly understood the meaning. I felt scared and uneasy about what I had to do. I decided to sleep on it and think if I really could hurt someone else like this.
I had a restless night’s sleep, the letter sitting beside my bed – a nightmare that wasn’t going away. I woke and poured myself a cup of coffee, settling on the couch to scroll my phone and look at the news. How odd, the headlines were the same as yesterday. I decided to walk to the park and think about this new development along with my situation. On the way, I bumped into a co-worker.
“Boss, you had better hurry, we have an important meeting today!” And with that she hurried off. What the? I checked my phone. I realised I was repeating Friday! I go to work, going through the motions as the previous day’s activities repeated. At the end of the day, I walked home hoping to see the mysterious lady. I didn’t but I still had the letter.
This morning, rather than repeating Friday again, I decided to end the cycle. I walked out the door and eventually came upon a person. I swallowed hard, gritted my teeth and passed them the letter.
‘Dear reader, I truly wish I could tell you it ends well for you...’