Land of Smoke and Ashes

The Letter

Natalie didn't think she'd ever seen her father cry. Then again, she had never seen him look so shocked as when her mother walked in the front door. At first he had stood there at the top of the stairs, staring down at them like he thought maybe they were an apparition. Some kind of mirage.

Natalie's mother had had time to say, in a small, cracked voice, "David." And then her father had practically flung himself down the stairs, and Natalie found herself gathered into a hug that was almost crushing in its force, and rather wet, as both of her parents seemed to be crying.

In the weeks that followed she had to get used to the way her father had changed. He smiled more, the sadness in his eyes was gone, but he was also jumpy. He would randomly burst into the kitchen while she was rummaging through the fridge—she'd dropped the milk once—or the living room while she was curled up trying to read a book, as if he thought he would find her missing again, her space on the couch empty.

On top of that, he followed Natalie's mother around, rather like an overly-large, teary eyed golden retriever. She could hardly blame him, but she'd resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be having any school friends over until her father had relaxed a little bit.

And of course, she had her own things to think of. Her own bittersweet memories to sink into. As the remainder of the summer days passed, she found herself distracted. Fingering the pendant, or running her fingertips over the bracelet Sam had given her. The metal was cool and smooth, and she knew that it wouldn't work here. Here it was just a bracelet. But still, she wished it would warm under her fingers, just a little.

Saturday morning, she was getting ready to go to Sera's house. Her father had finally agreed to drop her off, after she had reassured him, half laughing, half exasperated, that she would not be "gallivanting off to another land" and would only be staying up late eating popcorn and watch Gilmore Girls reruns.

Her parents were in the kitchen, cleaning up from lunch, and she could hear them flirting outrageously. The sound of her mother's giggles and her father's pretend outrage as she dotted his nose with cool whip.

"Okay I'll be in the car," Natalie called, heading into the hallway. "You guys are sickeningly adorable, I hope you know that."

"Your mother is pretty sickening," came her father's voice from the kitchen. This was followed by a sharp whap and his cry of, "Not the dish towel! That's not fair."

Natalie rolled her eyes and opened the front door. She nearly tripped on the package that was sitting on the doormat. It was a flat, brown paper package, tied with twine. Something for her mother, no doubt. Natalie huffed a sigh and picked it up. At least the reporter had stopped coming around. When they'd first gotten back it hadn't taken long for the neighbors to find out, and less time than that to spread the word that the woman who vanished fifteen years ago had mysteriously re-appeared. They had been ignoring phone calls and requests for interview for weeks now.

The package did not say her mother's name on it though, and Natalie frowned, flipping the tag over, surprised to see her name scribbled on the back. There was no sender address.

She took the package to the car with her, sitting down and placing it on her lap before carefully peeling the paper back. It was a book. A flat leather journal with a clasp on the front. Natalie pulled the clasp back and the book fell open on her lap.

There was a note scrawled in the front.

Dear Natalie,

I hope this works. Now that the queen is gone, the king has begun to lift the spells that block our worlds. Things are starting small, and we should be able to send objects now at least. I hope you get this, I'm not sure if we are doing this right. It's all very new. As you may have already guessed, this book is a scriven. I've got the other one, so we should be able to write one another now. Please write back as soon as you are able.

Know that we all miss you. That I miss you.

The queen has vanished. We don't know if she's dead, but she is at least gone, in hiding perhaps. When her plan was revealed, the king took over her soldiers and her palace with little protest. The land is free again. The parties have gone on for weeks here, and everyone is overjoyed. The only thing missing is having you here.

I hope someday your family will let you visit. Or perhaps they can come with you. I may get to come visit you yet. Or perhaps I will see you someday, walking into the village, or standing at the edge of the fields of lavender wide-eyed, like you were the day you first saw them.

Yours Truly (and Forever)

Sam.

Natalie ran for the kitchen, rummaging through the junk drawer until she found what she was looking for, she emerged with a noise of triumph, holding a ballpoint pen. Eagerly, she flipped open to the beginning and set the pen to the blank white page.

Dear Sam...

THE END.