CLAIREMBER 2022
Day 25 - DIJ
The mailbox flag was raised.
But it's Sunday, thought Claire.
Breakfast apple still in hand, she went outside to the mailbox. She looked around.
No suspicious characters. No one at all, in fact. Just a squirrel, a rat, a couple of birds, and Mr. Lowry mowing his yard, which he does every Sunday.
She lowered the flag. It moved with the usual resistance, meaning someone had indeed raised it sometime between yesterday evening and this morning.
She opened the mailbox. Inside was a thin, red notebook. She turned the front over. On the first page was a note written in neat cursive. It read:
Dearest Woman In Red,
A wonderful surprise that we should cross paths again! I'm glad to see you are alive and well. You are indeed a force to be reckoned with. I wish you many more years of health and safety. Please wish the same for me for life is not easy, especially when you are as ratty as I am.
Best,
DIJ
Something squeaked. She looked down and saw that the rat now sat not two feet away, its beady eyes fixed on her.
"Hey there." She squatted. "Did you write this for me? Oh? You're so sweet. And your penmanship is lovely. Here. For your trouble."
She broke off a chunk of apple and set it on the ground. Squeaking again, the rat grabbed it and gobbled it up.
Smiling, she pocketed the notebook, took another bite, and headed inside. Once she'd closed the door, she checked the mailbox again. The rat was gone.
I wonder who really wrote that note?