Author's Note: This took me a lot longer to write than it should've .
I had full well intended to have this done earlier in the week, but school kicked my butt instead. Keeping my rambling to a minimum, sorry about the wait!
After the Kira Case ended, Near decided to take up permanent residence in San Francisco. He had always liked the peace he felt while sitting on a warm beach.
But today in the clutches of a humid California summer, Near wished he was still in dreary old England. His once-white pajama top had turned a pale grey, soaked with sweat. He had been sitting out on the porch for hours. Near yearned to be back inside in the air-conditioning looking for toys in boxes of cereal, but he couldn't go back in just yet. He wasn't done waiting.
The mailman with his navy blue burlap sack finally rounded the corner, and Near jumped off of his perch and rushed to the mailbox to meet him.
Mr. Norton had been working for the United Postal Service for nearly twenty years. He always liked to boast that after all the dogs he'd been bitten by, nothing could faze him now. Mr. Norton most certainly hadn't ever planned on getting ambushed by a wild-eyed albino kid.
Edward Norton examined the boy as he shuffled through his mail quickly. The boy seemed to be searching for something, probably a drug parcel, from the looks of him.
Edward had always prided himself on being able to read people like open books, and he could tell there was nothing special about this kid, just something crazy. The nutty little junkie turned and faced him. Uh-oh, Edward groaned inwardly.
"Where's the rest of it?" Near asked, his tone expectant. Mr. Norton tried to keep his tone cheerful.
"Sorry son, that's all ya got today."
"There's supposed to be a blue envelope. It wouldn't have a return address, but my name would be on it."
"Kid, I don't know your name, so unless it's got an address on it when I pick it up at the post office, it don't get delivered." Confusion clouded Near's face.
"But…you delivered one just like it yesterday without an address, and there were no problems then." Edward Norton looked completely scandalized at that.
"In all my twenty years of delivering mail, I have never once delivered an unaddressed letter unless it is personally handed to me!"
"Aha! So you admit to having an employer!" Near declared triumphantly.
The postman's face showed his exasperation. "Of course I have an employer you little nutcase, I work for the post office. Do your parents know you're outside unmedicated right now?"
"Who sent you to this house with a blue envelope yesterday? Did he look shady? Disreputable? Clad in leather? Did he pay you?" Desperation caused Near's voice to crack, and his hands started trembling for the second time in as many days. Mr. Norton's expression became gentler when Near looked like he was about to cry.
"Look kid, I don't know nothin' about no blue envelopes from secret admirers, but I know a thing or two about heat stroke, and I think you need to go inside and lie down in the air-conditioning, okay? And maybe drink some water too, you look a little pale son."
Near sighed and conceded defeat. The old man was obviously telling the truth. He really didn't have a clue about the letter's origins. He clutched his mail under his arm and trudged slowly back inside. Maybe the post office fellow was right, lying down would do Near some good. So would a nice big glass of lemonade and a 500 piece puzzle. His spirits lifted, Near walked up the steps and into the chilled house.
As soon as he stepped over the threshold, a blue envelope fluttered down and whapped him on the head.
