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Friday, April 5, 2019

"The Mailman" by Sara A


 
Working as a mailman isn’t extravagant but with time, I’ve accepted it. What people don’t understand about my job is that I know their names, can match them to addresses and connect family members that look nothing alike. With my job, you grow strangely attached to people you don’t even know.

A few years in, I held a wedding invitation to be delivered.

I haven’t seen any wedding invitations lacking a fancy envelope before, so this one caught my attention. It had a picture of a woman with a spider chasing a man, and I can’t help but smile at his horrified face. The caption says, “I lost the bet. She used the picture,” and I find myself grinning at their genuineness. I tuck this memory away fondly, and mentally congratulate the soon-to-be Becketts.

A couple years later, I delivered a baby shower invitation for the same couple. My heart warms at the sight of the letter, still without an envelope. This time, it’s a picture of the woman with a badly drawn mustache and the man holding a marker with the caption “I lost. Enough said.” Despite this, they’re both smiling.

I look at the happy pair and wonder how much I’ve changed in comparison, but disregard the thought because I feel the same.

The first letter from their kid’s school (Elizabeth, I believe) comes in five, maybe six years later. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of her and her father playing outside. I always wave to them, and they always wave back.

I’m older now. I’ve stopped growing and my back hurts more often, but I’m still the same as ever. I still deliver mail, still wave to Elizabeth and her family, still drive around the same neighborhoods.

She gets a letter from someone in Texas. When I approach their house, Elizabeth is excitingly bouncing at the mailbox. I smile and hand her a stack of mail with a “Here ya go, champ.” She digs through the pile until she finds a letter from the stranger and runs to the front door squealing. I chuckle and start walking back to my car when she suddenly turns around and waves at me, grinning and showing off her missing front tooth. I wave back, feeling as if years of my life have passed in an instant.

The years continue on. I find that my back hurts more often and I’m starting to feel strained when climbing stairs, but I’m still fine to roll out of bed to deliver people’s mail.

Elizabeth is taller now, and I watch as she grabs her father’s arm to help him out of their car. His wife goes to his other side, and he gives her a silly smile before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, rustling her hair, and bolting to the door as she lets out a screech. He’s slower than before, but still plays tag with Elizabeth.

I walk back to my car slower than I used to.

The next time I visit, Elizabeth and her father are outside again, except this time he’s sitting down. His hair is thinner, I’ve noticed, and he lets out a few brutal coughs before quickly sending a reassuring grin to a worried Elizabeth. I meet his tired eyes and am surprised to find traces of grief. I smile grimly and nod, and he sends a small grin back. It’s only a fraction of the one he usually gives, and that’s all the confirmation I need. I walk back to my car with a heavy heart.

It takes less than a year before I don’t see him playing outside with Elizabeth anymore, and not much longer before the hospital stops sending bills. I don’t see Elizabeth for a while after that.

I write my own letter and place it in their mailbox.

The next day, Elizabeth’s mother is waiting for me and when I hand her their mail with the usual “Good evening,” she responds with a sad smile and a weighted “Thank you.” I see Elizabeth watching from the window, holding my letter in one hand, and wave to her. She returns it, and for a fraction of a second I think I see her smile.


According to the letters, Elizabeth is in high school. I see her behind the wheel of a car with her mother in the passenger seat, and it jerks forward before stopping abruptly. They both burst out laughing, and that’s when I know they’ll be alright.

I’ve noticed that my eyesight is worsening. I have to start wearing glasses and my posture is getting worse, but I’m still the same old me.

She’s waiting at the mailbox one day, and I give her an encouraging “Good luck champ” before handing her an envelope from a prestigious college. Nervously, she opens it and scans its contents before bouncing in excitement and bolting to her house. She pauses at the door before turning around and waving at me wildly, and the scene is so familiar that I feel myself tearing up as I wave back. I turn back to my car (it has gotten old) and try to stop thinking about the smile I just saw. It was an exact replica of a man’s I saw over a decade ago.

The next time I see Elizabeth, she has a backpack and some luggage. She catches my gaze with a joyful “Good morning!” I respond with a stack of mail and a final “Good luck, champ.”
After a second, I remember and pull one more envelope out of my pocket. She looks at it with a hint of confusion before reading the name and smiling warmly. Her eyes are watery as she thanks me, and I remember a time when a father stood with a cane by his mailbox to hand me a letter.

(“I have a favor. Give this to her when she gets into college, alright? I don’t know if I’ll be there, but I know you’ll be.”)

(That was the last time I saw him.)

I see her mother come out of the house and give her a tearful hug from my rearview mirror. My own tears distort the image.

I never see them again.


I’m old. I can’t get out of bed on my own and instead lay there trying to remember the moment I’d deteriorated to such a fragile state. I close my eyes with the intention of taking a nap, wishing I had worn gloves because my hands are so, so cold.



The new mailman starts work a week later.

18 comments:

  1. The was VERY well written and I really loved how you were able to tell and explain everything in a sequence of events that connect so SMOOTHLY! While reading this, I kind of had a scenario playing in my head, yknow, like one of those Disney animations! Overall, this was a GREAT piece and made me feel rather bittersweet in the end, but more sweet than bitter!

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  2. Sara, this story is so touching. The details that you have included are so vivid and I can imagine everything almost perfectly. You captured the emotion perfectly and it really moved me. Great story and don't ever stop writing.

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  3. This story was so heartwarming and it made me kinda sad towards the end. Life definitely does fly by fast in real life just like in the story. It seems like we were all just little kids and now, just like Elizabeth, we are seniors in high school getting ready for college. Also, I really liked your use of the 1st person POV, which allowed the reader to gain insight into the narrators thoughts.
    -Kaili Fisher

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  4. The story was very smooth and the details that you gave us popped in my head. Making me able to see the event happening. Thank you for sharing your story. A job well done.

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  5. Sara, this story was beautifully written, and bittersweet. I like that we get to see the family's development through the eyes of an outsider. The mailman stays as a sort of insignificant bystander, not getting involved in the scheme of things until the end. This was very touching, and though the ending is sad, it's hopeful, with the introduction of a new mailman.

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  6. "Oh my goodness!" this was such a good short story and you wrote it so well it just flowed flawlessly. I felt every emotion the mail man felt and I even choked up a little bit at the end but wow that was just way better than I could ever say nicely done!
    -Johnny Gitau

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  7. Sara, I absolutely loved this story! You were able to take something that, in all honesty isn't really thought about often until you forget to get the mail, and you created this touching story of a family's journey. As I was reading it, I was so drawn in, visualizing every word, picturing what the envelopes and the postcards looked like, doing things that I honestly don't find myself doing when reading stories. You did a really great job, and I hope you continue to write like this into the future. Great job!!!!!

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  8. Nathaniel LanderosApril 18, 2019 at 9:38 PM

    Wow!!! This story was very interesting and really good. It was well written and you told a story. I enjoyed how it flowed from one scene to the next. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very good writing, keep it up.

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  9. This is such a touching story that I've felt sympathy towards the mailman. Tbh I wondered what's it like to be a mailman as it seems interesting to be one, so seeing an emotional perspective of a mailman touched my heart dearly. It's sad that he doesn't seem to have anybody company him or any relatives to be there with him as he seems very lonely. The thought of it makes me tear up sometimes, nice people dying a lonely death. Nevertheless, it was such a well and tear jerking story.

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  10. Sara, this was an extremely well written, heart felt piece. Your use of visual imagery as well as the dialogues show how interconnected their lives are despite being strangers. The interesting thing that took me by surprise is the use of the "mailman" as the main character. Even though they are strangers, you really showed that the mailman, although doing the same thing most of his life, had made the best out of it connecting with others. Great job!

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  11. This story was so beautiful and emotional. The descriptions of the characters and how you hook the reader in and it makes them want more is so well done. This was such a sad but intriguing story. Good job!

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  12. Wow, that was just an amazing story that I literally have no words for it. The amount of detail put into this story was well worth it and to be honest was a little emtional. Keep up the good work Pal. - Joshua Perez

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  13. WOW!! Sara I am so fascinated at how you write this story and made it very emotional for the readers to connect with. Keep writing more, I'd love to read another one of your stories!

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  14. Ashley Sierra-TilleryApril 23, 2019 at 4:45 PM

    Sara, you are incredible at writing fiction and should definitely consider a long term option. This was creative and well-planned, and one of the best posts I've come accross. You took a simple, mundane characters in the backgrounds of all of our lives, and watered it until a beautiful and moving story sprouted. Thank you for sharing this piece.
    -Ashley Sierra-Tillery

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  15. Sara, I am so impressed with your writing and really loved it. Your story expressed reality because I could see how this happens to people everyday, just living with the common struggles of life. By you placing yourself into the shoes of a mailman it gave a different perspective on a family and that itself was so creative. There was so much detail placed that it even caused me to get a little emotional just because I felt like I had know the family their whole lives as well. Fantastic job on your piece, really well done.
    -Alicia Garcia

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  16. Truthfully, I teared up slightly reading such a beautiful yet melancholy story. Not only was the plot of the story so touching, but there was also a very high degree of sophistication and professionalism in the way it was written. I'd imagine to read such a story in a collection of short stories by a well-known, beloved and successful author. Thank you so much for sharing, this is one of my favorite pieces I have read all year. :)

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  17. I like how this piece is a window into someone's life from the eyes of an onlooker and how it says so much about how we don’t notice our own lives flying by. The structuring is great and so much is said about the characters without thoroughly introducing them, Overall great piece.

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  18. Sara, this is such a touching story. It reminds me that life can go by so fast, but also how people I wouldn't normally think of could be an extremely influential person in my life and vice versa. Your story flowed very nicely and you perfectly displayed the emotional aspect of aging. I loved it!

    - Brooke Leslie

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