An old bird screamed from deep in the woods and tore Shaggy from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open and he was meant with the sight of the same steel roof he saw every morning. He rolled over, away from the sun streaming in and pulled the musty comforter he'd taken from his house closer to him.

"Like, five more minutes." He muttered, in a pathetic attempt to relive his old life.

The bird screamed again. Shaggy groaned and stood up, trying to work the out knot that had settled in his neck. As he moved he felt something under his feet, and heard the crackle of paper. He sat up abruptly and peered over to the opposite side of his tiny shelter.

In his sleep Shaggy had knocked over the tin box of keepsakes he had tucked away at the corner of the shelter. And under his foot now was a crumpled pink envelope, still unopened.

Daphne had sent about half a dozen letters before the post office of Crystal Cove had closed. Of those, Shaggy had only the last one. He held it tenderly in his grasp, his other hand hovered over it. Shaggy opened up the letter with shaking hands and gently pulled out the letter it contained.

He unfolded it and was met with the elegant cursive handwriting that he recognized as Daphne's.

Dear Shaggy and Velma,

Shaggy eyed the date in the corner of the page— December. Velma had already left town by then. Oh well. Shaggy kept reading.

As always I hope you two are doing well. I'm not quite sure if you're receiving these, as I haven't been getting any response letters, but I figured I would keep writing for old times sake.

My family has finally settled in a town in Ohio. And as luck would have it, Fred's here too! He and his father moved in to a house just down the street from ours.

There are zombies here in Ohio too, but not nearly as many as there were at home. One did wander into downtown Cleveland and cause quiet a scare, but nothing serious.

I can't wait for when all of this is over. I miss you guys, and I'm worried. If you're reading this, would you mind sending me a response? Just so I know you're ok?

When reading this Shaggy cringed in guilt. He was several years late for that. Nonetheless the letter continued.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to take this chance to say goodbye too. I heard that the post office in Crystal Cove is closing, and I know you don't have internet now either.

At this point Shaggy noticed small spots on the page that had wrinkled and gone off-color. Shaggy guessed that Daphne had been crying as she wrote this.

Since it's been so long, and since things look so dire, I guess I can assume that this is goodbye forever. I hope it's not. But if I'm realistic about this than I can't see any other outcome.

I can only hope that you're still alive to read this. But if you are, thanks again guys, for everything.

At the bottom of the page was Daphne's signature. It was refined and delicate, much like Daphne herself had always been.

Shaggy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He really should have replied sooner. He should have opened them sooner too.

Shaggy paused. He looked outside towards his graveyard and hung his head. He'd tried for so long not to think of his friends— to keep reality from sinking in— but as he traced a calloused finger over the swirling penmanship of the letter, he felt a bittersweet resolve come over him. He'd spent too long trying not to think about his friends. Maybe now there was some small way he could honor them.

Shaggy yawned. He folded the letter up and put it back into the tin, tucked neatly beside one of Velma's spare pairs of glasses, and stepped out into the dim morning light. He set out towards the beach.

—-

Hi there! Thanks for reading another mini chapter :) Sorry for posting this later in the day than usual, Fridays are a bit hectic for me. See you on Tuesday!