Jo came in with the mail in her hands. Since I occasionally got mail, I kept her in my peripheral vision, in case she tried to hand the ones with my name on it to me. I opened the last of the granola bars and was just about to take a bite, she paused in her shuffling.
I looked up to see she’d collected envelopes between her fingers, designating that they were for different people, while the others remained in her palm, held there by just her thumb. She pulled the top one off and hesitantly lifted it away from the others before leaning toward me and dropping it onto my lap.
She continued to watch me for a moment, as I looked down at the letter that was sent to me. I could see why in an instant, but it didn’t matter to me that the return address wasn’t filled. I recognized the handwriting that had written my name across the front.
I bounced up out of my seat, standing gleeful for a brief few seconds until I noticed Jo was still watching me. I gave her a hesitant smile and bounded up to our room, seeing her shrug and I did.
I snuck down to the treehouse after dinner, a candle and matches in my bag.
For some reason, I felt that I wanted my privacy reading this letter, I wanted it to be like a secret, even if my whole family knew I’d gotten it. Here, they wouldn’t see my face, they wouldn’t get the gist of the contents just by watching me. And they would watch me. Like a hawk. Just because they could.
I carefully tore through the top of the envelope and retrieved the folded paper. I flipped it open, reading my name first and then…
I clutched the letter tighter in my hand.
Was this the reason why?
Was this why he hadn’t written his name on the outside?
My heart thudded painfully in my chest.
I had…
I had to prepare.
I had to do something.
I–
Later that night, abiding by the request he’d made, I kept quiet as I snuck down to the kitchen and tossed the rest of the opened granola bars into the bag I had. I grabbed a few other things and then snuck out of the house with the clothes on my back, a drawstring bag and my backpack. The letter was safely tucked within the bag.
Getting around the patrol was easier than I had thought, and then I was free in the suddenly overwhelming darkness of night. Only the moon shone above me as I set out, determined, a little shivery cold with the chill settling now that the sun was no longer casting its warmth.
I jogged, using my enhanced vision to the fullest to avoid face-planting into the dirt or tripping over tree roots.
He wouldn’t have sent it if it wasn’t urgent, I told myself as I made my way to the location specified.
I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to help, but I would do my best. For everything he’d done for me. For everything I felt for him.
I’d help…
It was quiet.
Was silence always so oppressive and… frankly, disturbing, this late at night? Was it always this scary?
I stepped into the clearing.
Nobody… Nobody was here?
He said…
It hit me a little late, as I heard the crunch of a leaf that stood out among the rustling leaves over my head.
If he was in that much trouble, would he have even been able to send that message? Without help?
What if the aggressors had already gotten him?
Or what if they had forced him to write it?
This…
That meant this was a trap.
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