Rip Van Winkle
Just outside your door!!
February 14th 2015
Dear Peace,
Came unannounced and now I am regretting it! I had hoped to surprise you… Now, I know how you feel about those but nevertheless I find myself here, trying to resurrect a penmanship that I haven’t exercised since my school days. And who said chivalry was dead!
The little old lady next door was kind enough to ‘lend’ me the pen and paper on which I am now writing. Forgive the scribbling! The biro feels hard and awkward. In all honestly, I haven’t had much cause to write anything by hand in a long time so … Her wryly looks and obvious curiosity are not making things any easier. I’ve been here only 15 minutes and she has offered me some of her roast maize three times already!
I do not mean to be bashful. My most natural sensibilities would ordinarily detest this sort of thing. I am uncertain what it is I want to say, and the desperation to quickly find the right words is making it all even more tortuous. You see, the last few years have bred a cynicism in me that has slowly stifled my expressive abilities. It was my refuge for a while and yet, as I sit here in front of your door – your locked door – I am reminded of the joy these last few months have been for me and I have only you to thank for it.
Perhaps it’s a little presumptuous of me to use the ‘word’ but I feel a warm glow for you inside that even Shakespeare, Keats, Goethe, Bronte, Shelley, Austen and all the worlds’ greatest storytellers and poets put together – old and new – would find impossible to describe. The cynic is gone and vanished now; in his place is a tongue-tied smiling little boy that can barely remember his defenses or why he ever needed them.
So, even though I can scarcely believe it myself, I have no other choice but to say it…
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Most affectionately,
Melvin
P.S> I hope you like the gift. The guy I bought it from said not to worry coz even though it looks like a snake, it won’t bite you!
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