Letters to Heaven

Dear xxxxxx,
People always say to make new memories and not live in the past. But how could I possibly do that? The past....that's where you were. Alive and well,...both of us.

***

"Thank you for staying! Hope you enjoyed your visit!"

After her dramatic exit at her Aunt's house, it ended being late at night and the buses stopped running. Estelle was forced to spend the night at a nearby motel.

"I really need to invest in a car." She sighed. It was now 7 am in the morning, she was always an early bird, waking up right as the sun rises even if she had nowhere to go.

The air was calm and clear, the chirping of birds pleasantly dancing in the air. She was now about half a mile away from the nearest bus stop, forced to walk the way there. Not that she minded, nature wasn't exactly an enemy to her. She actually enjoyed it. As she continued to walk, nothing but green trees and fields around her, she inhaled the warm air, a slight breeze playing at her hair. "Ah,...I guess there's one thing about this place I did miss." She smiled to herself, enjoying the serenity before she was back in bustling crowds and suffocating buildings and infrastructure. "So peaceful and free."

She suddenly came to a pause as something caught her eye. In the middle of the field, all alone, was a mailbox. Nothing else, just a single mailbox.

"How random..." She mused to herself. She stared at it for a while, as if waiting for something to happen, then she started walking towards it. Curiosity had her beat. "It won't hurt to go look...besides, the bus won't be here for about another hour or so anyway." she reassured herself.

She was now face to face with the mailbox. It was about the size of a shoe box, painted snow white with a silver handle. On the side of the mailbox, engraved in gold writing it read "Heavens Mailbox". Estelle grimed.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"Nope, its exactly what it looks like."

She felt a warm breathe tickle her neck sending a shiver up her spine. And just as quickly as she felt it, she spun around with a gasp. "What the hell!" Just inches in front of her was a tall man, towering over her, a teasing smile on his face as if he was holding back a laugh. His hair was a dark brown almost black, the top longer than the sides and fashionably tousled back from his forehead.His skin was so pale, it looked as if the slightest touch would leave a mark. He was dressed simply in dark jeans that fit his long legs perfectly and a grey v-neck with a white cardigan on top. He was what most people would call, well, handsome. But he was nothing compared to...

Realizing she was staring him up and down for the past minute, she backed up with wide eyes. "Uh...how did you get here?'

"Well that's a silly question, I walked of course." He chuckled with a smooth voice, showing off his perfect white teeth. Estelle grimaced at his response, making him only enjoy this even more.

"...you're strange. And I'm leaving." She sighed, turning to head back towards the street.

"Oh? But aren't you curious about this." He asked nudging his head towards the mailbox, saying it more as a statement rather an a question. His eyes were fixed on her. Estelle faced him again.

"I was curious. Now I know its just some dumb prank or something." She replied bluntly. "I mean, really, heavens mailbox?" She laughed to herself as she got ready to leave again.

"Well, what if I told you it wasn't a prank? and that it is indeed real?"

Estelle paused again. With a deep breath, she turned once again towards him. "Look, I don't have time for this." Not that she particularly had anything else to do, but he didn't need to know that. "And If you enjoy spending your time wasting other people's time with your nonsense, find someone else please. This-"

"Haine!"

They both looked over to see a little girl who looked to be no older than 5 running towards them, a small white envelope in her hand.

"Anna." His lips curled into a warm smile as the girl wrapped her arms around his leg. She tightly hugged his leg then looked over at Estelle.

"Who's that? Another girlfriend?" she mused looking up at Haine. Estelle's eyes widened slightly and he chuckled in response.

"No, no...just a new friend."

"Oooh..." She drew out, her mouth in the perfect shape of an "o". Estelle smiled and bent down to meet the girls face.

"Hello, Anna. I'm Estelle, nice to meet you."

"You too!" She giggled. "Are you here to send someone a letter too?"

"Is that what you're here for?" Estelle asked squinting her eyes slightly.

"Yep! I send mommy a letter every week. I was always sad cause I didn't know I could...cause ya know mommy had to leave me to go up there," the little girl pointed her finger up to the sky," to heaven. But then Haine showed me this neat place! And now mommy can know that I'm okay now." Estelle stared at her, her mouth slightly opened, but no words would come out.

"Haine, lift me?" She asked as she turned towards him. "I have to go back quickly before grandma finds out I left!"

"Sure thing." He smiled warmly then gently lifted her up. Her tiny hand gripped the silver handle, opening the mailbox. She then gently placed the small white envelope inside before shutting the door.

"Thank you Haine!" She yelled out as she started running back then paused and turned. "Oh, and bye bye Estelle!" She continued on her way. There was silence as they both watched her go.

"So..." Haine broke the silence."Estelle, that's pretty." She turned and stared at him with a dry expression.

"Is that what you tell all those other girlfriends too?"

"Ouch. Hey, I can't help it if they come on to me...well anyways, I'm Haine." He chuckled. She crossed her arms and stared him down for a few moments.

"Well, Haine. I guess you're not so bad after-all. That girl...Anna. She seemed happy."

"Of course, her mother can read her letters now." He smiled.

"Right, right." Estelle sighed. "Fool a 4 year old, but don't try the same game with me. Well, I have to go. The bus could be here any minute...so...bye I guess." She turned and started walking.

"Wait!" Haine called behind her, running to catch up. They silently walked next to each other. "You don't seem like the type to take a bus."

"Yea, well. You don't seem like the type that would go out of your way just to make a little girl happy."

"Hm...I guess its better not to judge a book by its cover then. Sorry." He lowered his head and pouted his lip.

"What's up with that?" She burst out laughing at his childish pouting, as he playfully nudged her with his elbow. They continued to walk until they finally reached the road.

"So about that bus...how about I give you a ride instead?" He swiftly pulled out a set of keys from his front pocked and nudged his head towards a sleek black car parked on the side of the road. She bit her lip and looked at the car for a moment then back to his face. She wasted too much time here and the bus stop was still pretty far...

"I...guess it couldn't hurt..."

As they rode back to the city, there was one thing she couldn't stop wondering about.

When she saw the mailbox, there was no car on the street. And there was no one on the field either. How could he possibly appear behind her with the blink of an eye? And is it also possible that mailbox is...?