A Letter Delivered Thirty Years Late
Chapter 1 - The returned envelope
When the old post office closed, volunteers sorted a cabinet of damaged mail. Ana received an envelope addressed to her sister at their childhood home. The stamp had faded, but she recognized her own handwriting.
She had written the letter after leaving for nursing school. Her sister, Rose, had accused her of abandoning their sick mother. Ana had explained that she was coming home for the summer and sending every spare dollar she earned.
The letter had never arrived. Neither had the summer visit: their mother died before the term ended, and grief hardened into silence.
Ana held the envelope for three days. On the fourth, she called Rose. "I have something that should have reached you a long time ago."
