The parchment was dry and fragile, and I worried it would disintegrate if I opened it too hastily.So with delicate hands and my sharpest knife, I cut along the top and gingerly extracted the contents.The parchment inside was in better shape than the envelope but still brittle.Elena looked on, her face pinched with worry and anticipation.
With the letter in my hand, I paused, unable to digest the enormity of the moment.Then I opened each fold as though my very life depended on preserving this object.A sea of faded glyphs covered the page.
“It’s just a bunch of scribbles,” Elena said, crestfallen.
But I recognized the writing immediately.It was the code used by the clock tenders.Although a handful of symbols were foreign to me, I knew enough to guess their meaning.
As I deciphered the message, I read it out loud, and Elena looked on, amazed that I could make sense of it.
“Our dearest Cassian, if you are reading this letter, the worst has happened, and we are no longer with you.You may feel surprise, grief, and perhaps even anger upon learning that this letter was kept from you for so long, but please know that we made our plans from a place of love and necessity.”
My voice cracked, and I fought back growing emotions.Tears streamed down Elena’s face as I continued to read.
“There is much we need to tell both you and your sister about your place in this world, but we cannot risk putting it in this letter.You must return to Meadowrun, the farm where we raised you, and go to the special place.There, if you make a wish, you will find the answers.”
Our place in the world?What mysteries might it unlock?
I continued.“We love you and your sister dearly.You are our entire world.Mother and Father.”I gasped out the final words.Tears flowed as the ghosts of our parents’ words hung in the air.And yet the letter raised more questions than it answered.
“The well in the forest by our old house, right?”Elena asked.“That’s the special place where we made wishes.That has to be it.”
“I think you’re right,” I said, surprised that she remembered the well so clearly.She had been only four years old the last time we’d been there.
“What did they mean about our place in the world?”she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, although a bit of unease crept through me as I remembered how Edric had been unable to find anything about our lineage.
“Can we leave tomorrow?”she said.
I longed to do just that—pack our bags and head out immediately—but I knew it was too dangerous for us to go right away.
“It’s only a few more days until we’re supposed to leave,” I said.“We can make a detour on the way to the Northlands.”
She nodded, but she did so with downcast eyes and a frown.
“Hey Elena, remember when we were kids, we had a place we were supposed to meet in case anything bad happened?”
She nodded again, looking even more glum.“The grain silo.”
“If we get separated on our journey, let’s agree to meet at the wishing well.Okay?”
“Is something bad going to happen?”she asked.
“Nothing that I know of,” I said.“But it’s good to have a plan.”
I tried my best to project confidence, but after this mysterious letter, I wondered if learning about our past was something we would eventually regret.
Later that night, I was alone in my room with my thoughts when Darion came to visit.He was in the habit of staying most nights, and I appreciated the company, the comfort, and the…other things.Tonight was no different.
After tender lovemaking, we lay wrapped in each other’s arms.Between this blossoming affection and my parents’ letter, I felt particularly open and vulnerable.
So I told him about the letter.After I recited it, he beamed.“Cas, that’s amazing!”
“It stirred up a lot of memories,” I said.
“I can’t imagine getting a letter from my mother.I sometimes try to guess what she was like.I dream about her, although that’s foolish because I never even knew her.”
Hearing Darion mention his mother was genuinely surprising.This was only the second time he ever had.
