Here is part of a short story I wrote a while ago. I really like writing, but writing doesn’t come as easily as I’d like it to. I’ve finished this story so I’ll post the end later. It is a short story though, I wrote it for a library program a while ago and I like the idea, althoughI don’t think I wrote it very well. I do have a story I’m writing, that it well written with a good plot, but I haven’t finished it yet. I don’t want to post chapters as I go because it will probably take me too long to finish. 😀  You guys will get bored before I finish. So anyway, I’ll post that story another time and the end to this one a lot sooner. Sometime in the future, I’ll re-write this story because it’s so weird. It doesn’t flow right, because I had a word limit that I was all too aware of. Actually the story I’m writing is one I’ve already written. It was a short story too.

 

The Unread Letters

Leaping down from her bike thirteen year old Jay looked over her shoulder. Someone had been following her while she had been exploring the new town. Jay had just moved to a ‘new old house’ as her mother called it, Jay’s mom moved her family every month for her work. She worked as an old house restorer, bringing modern appeal to the dull houses. Jay glanced up to the sun checking it’s position, blinking away the light she muttered, “Oh man it’s already 1:30, dad’s going to freak out again.” Swinging back onto her bike Jay quickened her pace home, using the mental map that she’d made earlier. Looking back one more time before ducking into a dark alley, Jay saw a flash of red hair disappear behind a dumpster. Shivering, Jay looked forward again.

 

After receiving a lecture, eating lunch, and being sentenced to clearing and cleaning out the house’s attic, Jay finally escaped to her new room. Shutting the big wood door, Jay turned to find that during her 4 hour escape to explore, her parents had removed all of Jay’s boxes of stuff. Opening her door a crack, Jay called, “My furniture is here, but what about my stuff?”

“I unpacked your clothes, but I moved your boxes to the attic, go through them while you’re up there.” Jay’s mother called back. Groaning, Jay climbed up to the attic to start her job. Once inside the attic Jay observed how much work she needed to do. Clearing and cleaning out the attic meant going through the old stuff that was already up there as well as the stuff that her parents threw in there. Jay’s six boxes were neatly stacked and labeled in the dusty room, along with four of her parents’ boxes, but on the other side of the attic was the last owner’s stuff. Knowing that going through somebody else’s stuff is more fun than going through your own stuff, Jay climbed towards the large chests and trunks. The first trunk contained old clothes and a carefully and beautifully carved box. Jay opened it to find earrings, necklaces, and a few bracelets, none of which Jay found that attractive. She opened another chest and two trunks none of which held anything interesting, all she found was old clothes, a few mothballs, and a dead rat. On seeing the rat she yelped and quickly closed and latched the lid. She dragged the last trunk towards her, noting how much smaller it was than the other trunks. Inside was a few handwritten books without pictures, more old clothing, and a tin can. Jay looked closer at the tin can, jammed way down inside was a slip of paper, just out of Jay’s reach. She crawled to her school supplies box and pulled out her scissors. She cut the can open and pried out the paper, only cutting her finger once. Sucking on her cut, Jay’s eyes flitted over the note.

 

Dear Mabel,

I know having me sign up for the war was a huge shock to you and the rest of the family, but I had to sign up. It was my job to, Jerry and Ted signed up a week ago and Freddie a week before that, I couldn’t have stayed home while my best friends were risking their lives. To keep you from ever forgetting me I arranged  a surprise, but I hid it so you will have to find it. Just follow the notes that I will leave for you. The next note is in the loose floor board.

Love,

Conner

 

“Mom?” Jay called as she ran downstairs.

“Not now, I’m exhausted, bug your father.” came a reply from the floor. Peeking around the corner, Jay saw her mother in the middle of a super strange yoga pose. Jay ran outside first to look for her father, he always loved ‘the great outdoors’ as he and so many others called it. She found him reclining under a tree that remotely resembled a pear or a blimp falling nose first to the ground.

“Dad?” Jay always called their names first to see if they were going to listen.

“Hmm?” his voice sounded deeper than usual, Jay didn’t know what that meant.

“Did the people who lived here before us die?” Jay asked, studying his face for the true answer.

“No,” he said, a little bit surprised, “the house was passed down to a lady named, oh, mm, Mabel, maybe. Anyway she moved to a smaller house, and left lots of stuff here.”

“How old is she, do you think?” Jay eagerly asked, pleased to be hearing the answers that she wanted. Jay’s father sucked air between her teeth.

“I want to say late 60’s or early 70’s.”

“Thanks Dad, I was just a little curious, that’s all.” Smiling, her dad replied,

“Well don’t forget that it was curiosity that killed the cat!”  Jay laughed and rolled her eyes, her eyes landed on a head of red hair disappearing behind a bush.

 

The next few days Jay spent exploring and watching for ‘Red Head’ as she called her mysterious follower. Other than that Jay waited for a chance to find the loose floorboard. The time came one day when her parents decided to go to the store and dinner from a restaurant together. There were three rooms in the house with wooden flooring, the kitchen, a bathroom, and the family room. Jay waited till her parents had driven away, before she ran to the kitchen. She knelt in the kitchen with a hammer and screwdriver, prying and poking Jay found several loose boards. She ripped up all of them, one of them wouldn’t come up so Jay smashed it with her hammer, but all of them were empty. Moving on to the next room, which was the bathroom, Jay thoroughly searched there as well.

“Figures,” Jay said, as she pulled up the last board in the bathroom, “that the last place I look is where I-” Inside was a tiny sack, a pair of gloves, and an old doll. No note or letter. Jay put the stuff in the sack, which was empty, and brought it with her to the living room. After ripping up three more floorboards Jay finally found the letter. Jay ripped open the dusty envelope and, trying to swallow her heart back to it’s normal place, read the letter.

 

Dear Mabel,

That probably didn’t take you too long although you noticed that I used the old floorboard hiding place instead of the new one we found last year. I’ve been on a shortage of good hiding places lately. Anyway the next clue is in my journal, page 53 second paragraph, have fun.

Love,

Conner

Jay glanced at her watch, searching for the note had only taken 45 minutes. Jay’s parents wouldn’t be home for another hour and 15 minutes at least. Assuming the old handwritten books were Conner’s journals, Jay ran up to the attic to retrieve them. On the way downstairs she tripped and broke a vase, not cleaning it up she continued on her way. Checking every 53^rd page and second paragraph, she finally found the next note. Jay checked her watch on more time before reading, one more hour.

 

Dear Mabel,

I’m almost done with this, I can’t keep you looking for clues for too much longer! Remember the newly weds, the Garners? Well I became friends with them while I worked for them! So as to keep you from finding the surprise early, I hid it in their house. With their permission, of course! Inside the attic you’ll find your surprise.

 

Love,

Conner