Yours, Raven

Eight

They departed by the community hall and Raven raced back home as fast as she could, hardly able to keep herself together, too eager to see what her good ol' Nick might have written to her. Nicholas, her Nick, had sent her a letter, the first one in years.

She ran through the gate, up the stairs, and locked herself up in her room. She pinched herself three times as she sat down on the edge of her bed with a wildly beating heart in case this was a dream. She stared again at the white envelope for another good one minute; still finding it hard to imagine that Nicholas had written to her. Two damn years later.

With a deep breath, she ran her fingers over the paper, feeling the texture under her fingertips, picturing how Nicholas' own fingers had held this same paper. She tore the envelope open and retrieved a folded white paper from the envelope, swallowing nervously as she opened the paper to read.

Nick's handwriting.

Ink that Nick used.

This had come all the way from Nick. For her.

Hey, Raves

Raven instantly smiled and bit down on her lip. It felt just as though Nicholas was calling her in her mind and she could hear his voice.

How're you doing? It's been a long time, and I haven't heard from you at all. I hope you're doing fine. I bet you've appeared your matriculation exams and are probably waiting for the result. Don't forget to let me know about the good news. I'm sure you aced it.

Forgive me if I took too long to write to you. Don't think I forgot about you, Dumpling. I don't see you as often as I used to but I do wonder about you too sometimes. I think about what you must be like now and all that. I miss you too. You know that, right?

Raven giggled to herself as she fell back on the bed and wiggled her legs high up in the air in thrill. She'd been missing him a lot too and hearing from him made her miss him a thousand times more. She wished for days past when he was always around her house, playing the guitar and cracking jokes with Elliot, making everyone laugh.

Next time I receive another stack of letters, I want one from you too. I keep reading your handwriting, but never a word from you. It's already been two years now since I left and there are so many things I wanna know about you. Let's be friends and let's write to one another. So, I'm guessing you've grown taller, prettier and even smarter. I'm sure you have, although I have some doubts about the height. But that's okay. Now tell me how many boys in school have fainted after seeing you? Or how many of them are fighting over you?

Raven laughed, giving the paper a knock with the knuckles. Nicholas was always teasing her.

I'll wrap up her but I'm waiting for your answers. Eat lots and grow up. Hope to hear from you soon (seriously expecting a letter this time, else I'll be very sad) and send my regards to your family as well. Stay happy and healthy. I love you all.

Nick

PS : And one picture please. Haven't seen you for so long.

Skimming her eyes over the paper with a huge, fat grin on her face, Raven carefully folded it back into the envelope after reading it over and over again. She felt as if a huge load had been lifted off from her shoulders. She'd always wanted to write to Nicholas for so long. She just hadn't found the courage to.

'Would it even matter if I write to him?' She'd thought. 'Would he even care? He has our parents writing to him regularly, and probably even Claudia too. Maybe he has even forgotten about me. He wouldn't care. It's just gonna be so awkward and stupid if I write to him when he doesn't even care, anyway'.