Please enjoy my latest piece, based on some things I've put together about the movie.
There was only so much Shane could take.
And the past few days had pushed her to her breaking point.
She had not intended to walk the blocks from her home back towards the Main Branch. Being inside, alone, had made her feel claustrophobic, and when she saw the gentle snowflakes falling outside, she had decided the cool air could be exactly what she needed to finally wake up from the terrible dream she was having.
Each block took her through the events of the past few days. Finding Oliver's letter, reading some of it, telling Oliver she had found it, dealing with his frustration for her having opened it...all of these things she could have dealt with and moved on. After all, he had a habit of keeping her at arms length when he was upset, and especially when it came to Holly.
But when added into the mix, their decision to try and re-send the letter, along with Holly's sudden return, of which Shane was apparently the first to witness, began the slow spiral into utter devastation she was experiencing at present.
Holly was so much more brazen, territorial and generally outspoken than Shane had been prepared for. Holly reminded Shane more than once that she was his wife, and even found time to throw in a few bits of personal information-mainly his skill as a "good kisser"-that she could very well have done without. What could Holly have possibly gained from flaunting something like that?
Matters were only made worse when little pieces of their relationship came to light. Things she never knew, and could never understand, because she didn't share the same kind of bond with Oliver that Holly did. She had never felt more alienated from Oliver.
But such a thing had consequences, and it was a strange feeling, being a third-maybe fifth-wheel. Rita and Norman seemed to lean on each other as much as possible in situations like this. For Shane, Oliver had become that person. But now he was part of her cause of distress.
Shane was painfully reminded of how completely out of her comfort zone she was, yet it felt like more than that. She felt pushed to the very peripheral of a world that, as recently as a few days ago, belonged to her as well.
As she turned the corner onto Alameda Road, heading towards Downing Street, only steps away from the Post Office and the Mailbox Grille, she began to hear the faint sound of music.
Shane began to look around for its source, realizing for the first time how empty the streets were around her, wondering where all the people that typically filled the fairway from sidewalk to sidewalk had all gone.
The closer she got to Downing Street, the louder the music became.
Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she stepped up to one of the windows at the Mailbox Grille to investigate. It was warmly lit from end to end, she could see a table beautifully set for two. She searched the space for the couple sharing the table, though for everything that followed, Shane wished she never had.
The music suddenly quieted, and it didn't take long for Shane to realize it was Oliver and Holly sharing the cozy and romantic space together. In fact, she caught perhaps the last few seconds of them dancing together, slowly pulling her out of a dip that looked very familiar, but not shying away from the closeness created by it.
Her heart sank to her stomach.
And then she watched them lean in to each other, a kiss between two people who clearly loved each other, and who shared a past to which Shane could never lay claim.
Suddenly she could feel the tears began to force their way forward. She didn't try to stop them.
As the snow continued to fall gently around her, she realized that what she saw before her was nothing but a physical representation of the role she had always played in this saga. She was within, yet without.
On the other side of that glass was the story she had watched unfold for over a year. Shane was looking into the glass of a snowglobe, into a happy life and restored marriage. She was trapped outside it, no longer belonging, where time stood still, and all she could do was watch her world shatter to pieces and her heart right along with it.
Before Shane realized what had happened, she found herself alone in the DLO. An urge to run away invaded her thoughts, physically prompting her to frantically look around for anything that belonged to her.
All she could see as she looked around, however, were blurry images of Holly walking about as if she owned it. Now both her sacred dead letter office and their Mailbox Grille had memories of Holly echoing through the space. And, if Shane stayed, Holly would become a regular presence in both places.
If she stayed.
Suddenly it felt as cold and lonely inside the DLO as it had outside. She almost didn't recognize it anymore. She wondered if any of it was real, or if it was simply a dream she had made up about a happy family that lived in the space, loving and laughing and growing together. All of it was slowly slipping away. She couldn't be there when it was finally gone.
When the feelings she had for Oliver began to run so deeply that she simply couldn't exist in a place where she didn't have the chance to be with him was not clear to her. Yet seeing him with Holly, hearing about their romantic courtship, and then watching them kiss had shattered any logical way for she and Oliver to ever find their way.
Now the culmination of the part she had been playing in the grand drama that was the return of Oliver's wandering wife was a quiet retreat. Shane simply couldn't bear it.
Out of obligation, and for all the memories she was sure were real, Shane needed to tell them all goodbye somehow. Even if they never understood why she left completely, they had to know her departure wasn't without more love for them than they could imagine.
Packing up the last few things from her desk, Shane pulled some note paper and a few envelopes from a bottom drawer.
A letter had started everything; a letter would end it.
The words came to her without a thought. A note addressed to each of the people of whom she had become so fond and learned to call family were the perfect farewell gift.
To Norman: Please take good care of Rita. She's a very special girl-but you already know that. Make sure she knows that too.
To Rita: Please don't let what happened here with Oliver and I happen to you and Norman. This is another banana boat-be brave.
To Oliver: Please accept my resignation from the Dead Letter Office, effective immediately.
She placed Oliver's letter on his chair and took one last look around the office before leaving. She was going to miss this place, and the tear that fell, smudging Oliver's name on the envelope to his letter, was the proof.
Shane gathered the small box she had packed up and made her way towards the door. The urge to turn around overwhelmed her, so she took one last look at this place she called home.
"Goodbye," She whispered.
As always, reviews make my day. I would also love to know your take on things, so feel free to share them with me as well. And don't forget to come back for the conclusion. It's already written, I think I'll just hold off posting it until I get a few reviews :) Love you, fellow #POstables!