The Danish Delight (Mads Mikkelsen)

Chapter 34: "Min Engel"

Chapter 34: "Min Engel"

Being that I was in a stressed hurry to leave my parents' house earlier that day, the only thing I had managed to take with me was my purse before subsequently splitting. And while in no way looking forward to returning for the remainder of my luggage, I indubitably had to know precisely what Sam was referring to.

As the cab pulled up to the front the home, I noticed that both of my parents' cars were missing from the driveway and it was highly unlikely that they'd left the door unlocked.

Damn.

I quickly paid the fare and began to search high-and-low, all about the front porch, for a spare key.

Welcome mat?........ no...

Flower pot?.........no...

Window pane?.......no...

Behind the bench?.......no...

Shit!

Just as all hope was lost, as if by some sarcastic blessing from The Lord above, I twisted the knob for the sake of doing so and the door swung right open.

"Hello?... Hello?..."

Apparently, the two of them had become accustomed to leaving their house available for strangers to roam freely; knowing the infamous reputation of my dearest New York, I was surprised to see their valuables still in place.

Still cautious to not make noise in case of an intruder, I tiptoed across the hall to the guest room where I had last left my mess of things. I wandered in confusion to discover that the bed had been made and the sheets were properly pressed, assumedly by my mother, while my luggage remained in a neat stack next to the pastel-pink dresser, also my mother's doing.

They must have anticipated my inevitable return for my belongings.

Nervously knocking items in the room over as I went, I tossed the broken suitcase I had been using aside to reveal the one I had yet to open... the one Cornelius insisted on returning to me at the airport... the one last exposed to Mads' care. As I unzipped the large suitcase in a panic, something that was most-obviously Mads' doing was exposed. All of my personal items were politely folded and formed carefully into place, almost as if a being who suffered from chronic OCD re-organized it all to their liking. Located at the very center of it all was presumably the item to which Sam was referring back at the café, a cream-colored envelope labeled simply as 'Elise'.

Each individual character glistened eloquently in response to the rich thickness of the dark ink used and Mads' exemplary penmanship. A scarlet-tinted wax with the impression 'M.M.' sealed the envelope's backing tightly, which only added to its overall elegance. Yet, its visual beauty aside, I broke away at the seal to discover a rather lengthy hand-written letter that subtly hinted Mads' irrevocable scent.

I allowed my eyelids to flutter to better my focus upon his words:

"Min Kaereste Elise,

While I appreciate that you may never come to read this letter, it is my sincerest desire that you might allow the insightful memories of our purest love to sway your voice of reason. You were right that evening when you claimed that it was high-time I start explaining things to you; and I understand that regardless of the situation's entirety, I have lied and wronged you beyond conceivable forgiveness. I can only trust that now- if not for me, then for your own peace of mind- you might lend away the understanding that I most knowingly do not deserve, to allow me to fulfill my end of that claim. So, if you can find within the Godliness of your righteous heart the merciful strength to listen, I vow that you will only read the legitimate truth in this recount of my events as they stand irrefutably etched in time.