“Thanks for the letters, Mr. Mailman”, my brother said. The mailman smiled and walked away to deliver the rest of the letters in the neighborhood.
When my brother shut the door, I rushed towards him to get the letters.
“Any letter for me?” I asked my brother, Conner, with excitement. My brother checked the letters. He gave me a cream colored envelope with a cute cat stamped on the back. I took it from his hands and went to my room.
I opened the envelope abruptly and began reading the letter from a friend.
Hey Chris,
Haven’t written you a letter for a month, I am pretty busy with my studies lately. How’s it going? I had a really great day today until one of the bullies threw my homework in the trash can. I got so mad that I punched him in the face so hard causing his nose to bleed. I also kicked him in the stomach and I got sent to the Principal’s office, suspended for two days. Great isn’t it? It’s not my fault that I punched him, he started it. Anyways, you must’ve missed my letters, such as how I missed yours. I am truly sorry. I hope you’re doing fine and I hope you’ll reply to my letter in a jiff. Just kidding, take care!
P.S. I sent along my pictures so that if I’ll visit in your country, you’ll quickly recognize me!
–Travis Stoll-
I took out the pictures from the envelope and looked at them. I never thought how handsome Travis is. He has black messy hair that suits his looks, ocean blue eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a smile that can take your breath away. Looking at his pictures, I felt my heart took off on a high speed chase.
I took out a pen & a paper and began writing a reply on his letter. Travis is my pen pal. We started writing each other two years ago due to my clumsiness. I accidentally mailed a letter to his address, which was meant for my friend. He wrote back saying I’ve mailed the letter to the wrong person, and I apologized and since then we continued writing letters and found out that we have the same interests.
When I was done, I asked my brother to send the letter for me.
Weeks passed and we still kept on sending letters and pictures to each other. I received another letter from Travis earlier. Today was unusual. The envelope he used was khaki, one of my favorite colors. He uses cream colored envelope most of the time, but the khaki ones meant something important.
Hey Chrisandra!
I know it’s very unusual for me to use the khaki-colored envelope. I just want you to know that I’m going to spend a week in your country. I’ll be leaving this weekend, and I’m hoping that you would come and see me on my arrival. Also, I have something to give to you once I get there, something really important. My arrival would be around noon. See you soon!
–Travis Stoll-
Oh gods! He’s serious, isn’t he? He even wrote my real name. I wonder how important that thing he’ll be giving to me. He can just mail it to me, right? Gosh I’m so excited!
**
This is it, today’s the day! I don’t know what to do! The letter he last sent, the words he wrote were still running across my mind. I look at the clock, oh my gosh! It’s almost noon! I hope I look fine.
After making myself presentable, I immediately head off to the airport and arrived just in time. I stood near the entrance as my eyes searched for him. By the time I saw him, I called out to him as I waved my hands. He smiled widely and ran towards me when something really horrible happened.
A man started shooting randomly and pointed the gun at me. I saw Travis running as fast as he could towards me and calling out my name. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I looked back at the gunman and saw him pull the trigger, and the next thing I knew was that Travis was already hugging me and his weight fell upon me. I hugged him back but I knew there was something wrong as I felt something sticky on my fingers. I quickly settle the two of us on the floor, laying his head on my lap. I cried in agony. I cried for help but no one was paying any attention, they were busy running for their lives.
“Don’t you die on me, Travis! I won’t let that happen!” I yelled to keep him conscious. He weakly reached and touched my face. He forced a smile and tears streamed down from his eyes.
“Chrisandra …. I saw you at last”
“Just—just hang on. I’ll—I’ll call for help” I was about to get up when he gently pulled my hand, forcing me to say.
“Just … Stay … Here I don’t want you to die”
“I don’t want you to die either!”
He flashed another smile at me and fished out something from his pocket, a khaki envelope. He placed it on my hands and smiled wearily. “You should read this okay? Swear on the River Styx that you’ll never forget me”
“Don’t talk like that!”
“Just swear to me, please” I sighed heavily when I heard him plead.
“I swear on the River Styx”
“I—I love you, Chrisandra”, after he said those words, his eyes shut and he stopped breathing.
“Travis? Travis?” I tried waking him up. I even gently slapped his face a few times. I placed my ear on his chest and heard no heart beat.
“TRAVIS! TRAVIS! DON’T LEAVE ME! TRAVIS! I LOVE YOU TOO, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” I kept shouting and crying. The police came a minute or two later to arrest the gunman. Then the medical team came, aiding the victims. Some were brought to the hospital and so was Travis. They did all they can to revive him but there was no hope. He really was dead.
I went home after the accident. My brother was very worried, he interviewed me immediately when I arrived but I ignored him and went to my room. I opened the envelope and read the letter Travis have given me.
Hey Chris!
I just want to tell you how glad I am to meet you. My life changed since the day we started writing to each other. I was really happy when you trusted me with your secrets and seeking advices from me to solve your problems. You always tell me everything that you’ve experienced like I do. I always find myself looking at the picture you sent me, for five minutes every morning and then one day, I realized that I already took a liking at you.
Days, weeks, months and years passed, my feelings for you grew. I felt so uneasy if I didn’t receive any letters from you. I tried stopping these feelings in a way of stopping our communication. But unfortunately, I couldn’t do it. You’re a nice person, a good friend, and we have the same interests. Chris, I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way but I love you and I’ll prove it to you, I promise. I love you Chris, forever and always.
–Travis Stoll-
Afterwards, I cried for almost an hour. It’s too late for the two of us. He proved his love by taking that bullet for me. If it weren’t for the gunman, there could have been a happy ending for us. I dared myself not to watch the news but instead, stared at his pictures. I won’t be the same Chris again. I lost the one I loved, the one that I loved for almost a year now. As I stared at Travis’ photos, I muttered, “I love you too, Travis. I won’t forget you, I promise”
–END–
