Secrets and Struggles

4

A few days had passed and Caitlyn was finally ready to message the mystery person. She opened her emails and began to type;

to:orange_bob.hotmail.com

from:cmom99.hotmail.com

subject: hi bench person?

this feels weird! haha. Before anything else I wanted to thank you for putting my book in the bag, I would have been devastated if it got ruined.

Going by your email address, I'm guessing you are a man?

I am going to travel Europe for three months, not got a set plan yet but I will be getting away from Surrey for sure. You're away for work, where are you just now?

I like your optimism about my mum but that's long gone on my side

The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. - Oprah Winfrey

sent 6:27pm

Caitlyn closed her laptop and tucked into her pasta Infront of the tv but it wasn't too long before a ding interrupted her evening. she grabbed her laptop and saw she had a new email.

to: cmom99.hotmail.com

from: orange_bob.hotmail.com

subject: hi stranger

hi person :)

I wasn't sure you would contact me, I have half expected you to be frightened by the offer

yes I can confirm I am male, a man however, I'm not sure. I am 22 but don't feel like I can call myself a man just yet haha!

travelling will be exciting - are you going on your own or with a boyfriend/girlfriend? I travel a fair bit with work but rarely get to explore the places I visit so I am little jealous you plan to travel with no real plan.

I am in Italy working just now, but heading to Belgium next week

"A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." ― Maya Angelou

sent 7:50pm

to: cmom99.hotmail.com

from: orange_bob.hotmail.com

subject: hi stranger

I just realised that you now know three things about me but I don't know anything about you.

your email address gives me nothing - are you a mom?

sent 7:51pm

to:orange_bob

from: cmom99

well bob....I guess that's only fair. I am not a mom, CMOM are my initials, I'm female and I am 21 :)

I plan to be travelling alone, I don't have a boyfriend, or girlfriend and my best friend has a job lined up once she finishes her college course so cant come with me. as i said in my notebook, I have no idea where to go with my life so travelling will hopefully help

travelling all over and not getting to actually see places seem a bit of a shame. you have me curious what kind of job you have that lets you travel to different countries at 22. Italy sounds cool though, it is def somewhere I want to visit

I love that you quoted Maya Angelou, Still I Rise is my favourite poem of all time

You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise

sent 10:02pm

Caitlyn closed her laptop for the night and climbed into her bed. She lay pondering what kind of person Bob was. 22 was pretty young to be travelling for a job but maybe he was some kind of computer whiz or he wasn't actually in Italy and was sitting in his house down the road. the though made her chuckle to herself. she actually hoped that wasn't true however, starting a friendship or what ever this was, was not great if it was based on lies. She made a mental note to find out more information about him, which may be difficult because she wasn't overly keen on sharing too much about herself. She set her alarm on her phone to get up for work the next day. She only had two more weekends at the book shop before she went travelling and she was really going to miss her colleagues. The old couple that owned the place were like the parents she never had