The Misblown Wind

CHAPTER 24 - Nothing but mistakes

The sky was so dark and deep. It was more fierce than any other day. Stars started blinking here and there. It was so realistic. I even believed for a moment that the sky was imparting something to me.

"I am sorry." His hoarse voice interrupted my communication with the sky. "It wasn't you," Henry whispered. His eyes were drenched in guilt.

"I couldn't get it," I said, hoping he wouldn't say anything I feared.

"Those letters. They were not meant for you."

It was so clear and loud that there was no chance I misheard it. I felt something heavy in my chest that made my breathing hard. Suddenly, I couldn't bear the weight of myself. I didn't care to tuck my hair, which kept falling over my face. I didn't care to hold that letter in my hand more grippingly. I couldn't move. It was like I was paralyzed. I gasped for air.

"It was meant for El." He glanced at me.

"Wait, is this any kind of sick prank?" Deep down, I wanted it to be.

"No. It was for El." He repeated, "Elisa."

"Elisa?" I looked at him with my eyes wide open.

"Yeah!" he said. He struggled, not knowing where to start.

"Elisa. She lived with her family in the same house as you do right now. They actually left the very day you came here." He paused to make sure I wasn't breaking down. It was hard for me to acknowledge anything he was saying. My head started spinning. I couldn't bear the inflicted pain. My heart felt as though every single nerve was being pulled. Those sudden streaks of pain were unbearable. I was afraid that if at least one tear escaped my eyes, I wouldn't be able to control the rest. But I didn't want to cry in front of him. So I tried to pull myself back together.

"Are you alright, Elena?" He asked me out of concern. I simply nodded. Even moving my head up and down seemed heavy and painful.

The way he called me Elena kept resonating in my ears. He never called me El. He always called me Elena. How stupid I was to not see it before.

One by one, I began to sense every little detail as he spoke. I couldn't take it anymore. For the first time in my life, I didn't want to realize anything. I didn't want to think or feel anything. I wished I was dumb enough to not understand anything he was saying.

"I know it will be hard for you. I can feel you. Believe me, I stood in that position." He said this as he scribbled something on the wet sand. He then erased it before I could see it.

"Have you?" I asked, trying not to let the pain reflect in my tone.

"Yeah. Even now, I'm in the same position as yours." He stopped scribbling on the sand.

I took a deep breath. I didn't say anything back. I wanted to hear his side of the story, but I wasn't sure if I dared to take it all in. So I chose to remain silent. He started telling me everything as if he understood from the silence that a part of me wanted to hear it.

"They only stayed here for three months. But those were the most beautiful three months of my life." He continued, "They came here for her mother's medical treatment. They planned to stay here until her mother was cured. So she continued her senior year at the same high school I was going to. She also used to visit the library where I worked part-time. She's a reading enthusiast too, like you." He smiled.

"As her mother's health condition improved, they vacated the house sooner than they planned. All these things happened in those three months. And the worst part was, I didn't know that they would leave this sooner." He sighed.

"And the letters?" I asked morosely.

"As she loved reading books, I thought of this stupid idea of writing letters and placing them in random places, hoping she would find them and read them someday. I could have said it in person. I should've talked to her about it." He regretted it.