The Letter

Aaaaaaaa...

A strangled, mute cry of pain and despair escaped from somewhere deep in my chest. I was sure that I had forgotten how to make sounds. My lungs were immediately filled with piercing icy air. At once it became indescribably painful, as if thousands of needles had stuck into my throat. I think I made it, I thought to myself as I sped up my pace.

I tried to remember how it all started, but all I could remember was the moment when I received a letter from an old friend from school. We hadn't seen each other for a long time, and out of the blue I got a letter. Strange, I thought, but I opened it, remembering the taste of the strawberry ice cream we bought on our way home from school. In the letter, Sean wrote that he had found a box in the attic with our shared things and thought to write to me. The letter was very friendly and a little sad, because Sean said that he found the box by accident. Because he had to pack his things to move to a smaller apartment. Because he had to leave the house he was living in until now. Sean explained that the house belonged to his grandmother, who had recently died after a serious illness. She needed a lot of money for treatment, so she had to mortgage the house. And now the bank representatives came to sign the property transfer agreement with him. My friend was very crushed. And it's understandable why. He was very fond of his grandmother, she was the only one who raised him after his parents died, which is why she held a special place in his heart. He shared that he really wanted to help her with her treatment, even found some money, but unfortunately it was not enough. At the end of the letter, he apologized for coming back with bad news after such a long time apart and invited me to the funeral the following Sunday. Without hesitation, I accepted. It was clear that Sean needed a friend now more than ever, I knew Grandma Daisy myself, she was one of the most interesting people I have met in my thirty years of life. 

I remember visiting Sean on weekends, and Grandma Daisy was always sitting on the veranda drinking her favorite jasmine tea. Then, seeing me, she would pull out a chess set and encourage me to play. What an avid player this woman was. She taught me strategy and many combinations. Miss Daisy was an unusual woman.

After taking off work, I went to the airport to pick up a couple of things for the flight. I was a loner, so I didn't need to tell anyone or report anything. After watering my cactus, I called a taxi and was at New York's Grand Central Airport in an hour.

The funeral was quite modest, just me, Sean, the pastor, and a few of Grandma Daisy's neighbors. The procession didn't last long and afterwards we returned to the house where Sean and I spent our childhood. Sean was very happy to see me and I was happy to see him, but the events and situation of the day did not allow us to relax, so we decided to play chess. Sean was worse than me, because he always fell asleep when Miss Daisy explained the rules of the game or why it was so important to protect the king. For me, it was like magic. I imagined a battlefield and knights from the past fighting for their homes. 

Suddenly, a car with tinted windows pulled up to the house, and Sean immediately jumped to his feet. It was the first lively reaction after the funeral. I don't know why, but even I felt that these strangers would not bring good. The car door opened and a man in his fifties in a classic suit with a gun in his hand stood on the porch. My first reaction was shock. It may seem strange to some, but in my entire life I have never seen a gun up close in the hands of a stranger in a tinted car. Despite the fact that I have spent the last fifteen years in New York.

-I've almost raised the entire amount," Sean told the man.

-Almost is not the whole amount, Sean. You had a deadline until today. And you know how seriously I take deadlines.

-Yes, yes, Mr. Hyde, but today is my grandmother's funeral and I realize I didn't make it... but I really need to ask you to give me until the day after tomorrow. 

Sean dropped to his knees, begging for the opportunity. I was in a kind of delirium all this time. Everything seemed so far away and slow. The sound of a gunshot woke me from my daze. A second ago, my comrade who was so lively was lying with a bullet in his head. I immediately threw up. It was the first time someone died before my eyes. After the second volley of vomit, I opened my eyes. The gun was pointed at my face and I didn't feel like I knew how to play the game. All of Grandma Daisy's strategies were wiped from my memory. A minute ago I had lost a friend I hadn't seen in fifteen years. I felt a third volley of vomit start to rise up my esophagus.

-You. You have two choices: either you pay me your dead friend's debt or you run for the woods and then I try to shoot you. If you manage to escape, you are free.

-How much?" I said in a choked voice.

-Fifty thousand.

-I don't have that kind of money...

-Then try to escape, I give you a five-minute head start. 

And I ran, as fast as my legs would carry me. And the cold air in the winter. My legs were getting tired. My breathing was getting out of control, but I kept running. 

Aaaaaaa...

A strangled, mute cry of pain and despair escaped from somewhere deep in my chest. I was sure that I had forgotten how to make sounds. My lungs were immediately filled with piercing icy air. At once it became indescribably painful, as if thousands of needles had stuck into my throat. I think I made it, I thought to myself as I sped up my pace. I saw a highway five meters away and a fast-moving car. I jumped onto the road and heard a shot. Not loud, but close enough. After that, a sharp pain, and coldness gripped my whole body and then darkness came.