Realistic or Modern Pen Pals {Closed}

[Heather]

Tlon

Catherine Smith looked out the window to the beautiful view she had of the city she lived in. The sun was beaming down on the city, making rays dance off of the cars passing by. She lived in the beautiful city of New York in 1929. She was thinking about how her friend made her join this group that matched people up with a pen pal writer. The pen pals have never met before and they may not that close to one another. She was at first hesitant to join but her friend pushed her to do it along with how she loved to write. Her friend thought it would be a good way for Catherine to meet someone new since she always had a hard time meeting new people since she was a little shy at first. She agreed and got the letter from the group with her partner's name and address. She took upon the opportunity because she loved to write and it would be a different way to meet someone new.

Catherine moves from the window to her small desk that her blank papers and envelopes were stored. She pulled out a paper along with a pen and began to write to her new partner Thomas Guerrero.

Dear Thomas Guerrero,

It’s from Catherine Smith. Writing a letter to someone I don’t know too well personally yet is so new to me. I’m very happy though that I can meet somebody new in such a different way. I’m twenty-two years old and live in New York City. I’m a teacher. I love writing, and that is part of the reason why I decided to do this. I also thought it would be an interesting way to meet someone new. My day has been wonderful as it's midday and the weather is beautiful. Spring is honestly my favorite season here in New York as the days tend to be in between cold and hot. Not only that the small garden I have is blooming with beautiful flowers. Some of the flowers I have in the garden are red poppies, maroon-black tulips, and pink daffodils.

Have you ever had a pen pal before? I haven’t had one before. Tell me something interesting about yourself. I would love to know more about you.
Sincerely,
Catherine Smith

Once Catherine was done writing the letter, she folded the paper up neatly and placed it in the envelope. She wrote his address on the front of the envelope along with a stamp before sealing the envelope. She got up from sitting at the small wooden desk and walked out the front door once placing her shoes on. She walked to her mailbox and opened the flap. She placed the envelope into the mailbox and closed it. She knew it would take a few days till she received a reply from him but she was already excited to get the letter.

 

[Tlon]

For Ehecatl, like for most hemophages, mail comes not by the postal service but through the network of hemophage couriers called the night's horn. It's because of this that it comes as a surprise when his travelling companion, Sassamon, hands him a letter one evening.

"For you," says Sassamon, "from the postbox out front."

Ehecatl, working at a ledger, looks at the letter handed him. There is no horn insignia anywhere on the envelope, just the regular stamp of the human postal service. His human name however - Thomas - is written neatly on the front.

"For me?" asks Ehecatl, more to himself than to his friend, "from...the postbox-"

"Has your name on it, Thomas," says Sassamon. He puts a mocking emphasis on Ehecatl's pseudonym.

Some mistake I'm sure, thinks Ehecatl to himself. Then he recalls a certain memory: he remembers having signed up for some sort of exchange program, pen pals. At first he thought he would make for an interesting way to find a meal, but the program took some time to get sorted, and of course it dawned on Ehecatl that there was no telling where his potential pen pal might actually be in the country, so the memory slipped out of mind.

"We're not supposed to receive mail from the omnivores here," says Sassamon, "business mail is supposed to go to the office."

Sassamon preens in front of a mirror as he says this, adjusting his clothes. He isn't in his normal form - tonight he is in the shape of some white man with blue eyes. He fusses at his fine suit and hat and speaks with a different voice, but Ehecatl can still recognize him from his calm mannerisms and a certain monotone in his voice. Every Skinwalker has their tell.

"I know," says Ehecatl, "must have slipped my mind. I'll handle it."

"Good," says Sassamon, "I'm off to see that necro about the whiskey shipment, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ehecatl nods and waves and Sassamon leaves through the front door into the bustle of Chicago. Once he's gone Ehecatl opens and reads the letter from this human woman named Catherine Smith. It's a simple and straightforward thing, and it causes Ehecatl to realize he's never in fact had a human pen pal. Not outside of business matters anyway. We're not supposed to communicate with the humans like that, thinks Ehecatl to himself. Still, the constant travelling leaves him lonely. Sassamons company and the letters from his family through the night's horn offer him some relief of course but he could do with a bit more contact, hemophage or human. So, against his better judgement, he begins:

Dear Catherine Smith,

It's Thomas Guerrero, returning a letter from someone I don't know too well personally. I am twenty five years old and I work as a travelling salesman and a courier, boring business matters mostly. I fall in and out of love with writing - most of the time I have to write numbers and figures and balance sheets so writing sometimes loses its charm. Regardless I am happy to have this way of meeting people. I had almost forgotten I signed up for this service. Here in Chicago spring is a little late to arrive and the weather is still a little chilly, but I don't mind it so much. Most of my business takes me south to warmer climes, so it is nice to have a change a pace from the heat.

I spend a lot of time on the road, criss crossing the country, but this Chicago address should remain my main one for the next year or so. If I take more time than usual to respond don't worry - I may have simply been delayed on the road!

Sincerely,
Thomas Guerrero.

Once the letter is done Ehecatl looks at it again. It's innocuous, but if the higher ups were to see it they could be suspicious. I'll just tell them it's a set up, thinks Ehecatl to himself, that I'm getting a meal ready for when I pass through New York. But as he puts the envelope into the mailbox he knows this isn't true.

 

[Heather]

After a long day of teaching, Catherine came back to her small home. Before she walked in she checked her mailbox to see the envelope with her name on it. It brought a smile to her face to know that her letter had made it to Thomas, and he responded. Once she made her way into the house with her bag on her shoulder and envelope in hand, she walked to her desk.

Once set down her bag, she sat down in the chair and opened the envelope to read the letter. She did find something interesting from her pen pal. He was a traveling salesman and could only imagine all of the places he had seen on his trips. Catherine had only got a few chances to see other parts of the country. She would love to travel a little more but due to her job, she doesn’t get too many chances. She pulled out a blank paper and a pen to begin to write her next letter.

Dear Thomas Guerrero,
I’m slightly jealous that you get to travel so much and get to see so many places. I personally have been to maybe one other state. I plan on one day to travel to a few more states around the country. I love getting a change in scenery and see the beauty in other states. After all, living in New York City, I have more views of grey buildings rather than beautiful greenery. Unless I travel more upstate then I get more of that beautiful greenery. Don’t get me wrong I love it here but I love nature as well.

What’s your favorite place, that you have been too? Or are you partial to where you live now? Have you been to New York before? I would assume you have since you are a businessman after all. I’m sorry if I ever overwhelm you with questions. I’m a curious person and being able to write it all down on paper makes me feel freer on asking questions rather than in person.

I do hope your day goes well for you when this letter reaches you.

Sincerely,

Catherine Smith

Once reviewing her letter, she folded it and sealed it in the envelope. She wrote the new address she gave him on the envelope. She got up and placed the letter in the mailbox before returning to her desk to review papers from her students to grade. Not only that she was writing down her lesson plans for the next day or so for teaching.

 

[Tlon]

Many times the business does itself. Hemophage and human alike are thirsty for booze and they have no qualms about handing over money to a long time outfit like el Cartel Azul. Their deliveries are on time and their liquor is never rotgut. The buyers don't even mind if the price rises year over year - everyone understands. The government likes to ruin things.
This business is lucrative, and sometimes becomes dangerous. But tonight is not one of those nights.

Ehecatl returns to the apartment at the heart of town where he lives. He is tired and sweating as he needed to pass as a human during the day. Some bar owner who likes to hide his prohibited business in the open insisted on meeting in a park. Clever, but brutal. Ehecatl still feels the heat of the sun all across his skin, can feel heat radiate intolerably from inside himself, as if it's coming from his bones. Already he knows his skin will peel from burning; his head swims from the heat. Once he's inside the apartment he goes to his most recent purchase - a refrigerator - and takes a few ice trays out from inside it. He dumps them into the tub and fills it with cold water then he disrobes and dunks himself in before he passes out from heat exhaustion.

By the time Ehecatl extracts himself from his ice bath the night is settled. He goes to retrieve the post as if he were a human man and finds a response from a human woman. He takes the letter back inside to read. It's quaint, he thinks to himself. He wonders if a teacher like her would ever venture into the kinds of establishments where his family's product is served. So he begins writing:

Dear Catherine,

The travel is something I certainly can't complain about, but I am also thankful for being to stop and gather my breath. You absolutely should take the time to head out and see the country when you can. The task can be exhausting but it's worth the effort.

Ehecatl stops and thinks: what is my favorite place? He would write that it's back home, in a small town near the metropolis of Mexico City. But that isn't who he is here.

I would have to say that San Francisco is by far the my favorite place I've been to. The summers are cool and the city hums with life. There is a sense that anything is possible there, and the vastness of the pacific seems to confirm the vastness of possibilities. I'm afraid I haven't been to New York City yet. My assignment now is the first that has taken me east of the Mississippi, so I don't have much experience with the eastern coast. But I may end up heading there sooner or later - all depends on where the sales are to be made.

What about you? What do you teach? Are the children past the age where they bring you apples? And what do you do for extracurriculars?

Sincerely,
Thomas Guerrero

Ehecatl puts the letter in an envelope and stamps it. Late next morning after sunrise, when he knows no other hemophage would be looking, he drops off the letter in the postbox to be delivered.