Magnolia Moon

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

For someone who claims to know so little about me, you seem to understand me so very well.

I didn’t see the nude man – I was the nude man, shouting my own name and making a fool of myself.

I’m not prepared to say why – yet. But here I confess that I saw you that day. You were the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on.

It was no coincidence that I “received” the book you ordered and then forwarded it to you – thereby opening a much-desired dialogue with you.

Seeing you for the first time sparked the most urgent need I’ve ever felt to know more about a person. I couldn’t resist – I had to find you.

Yours,

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Mar 24

Mason:

Is that all?

I get the sense there’s more you’re not telling me.

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

I have a confession to make:

You asked about the book festival – the one with the nude man shouting my name and chasing a dog wearing a bow-tie. Yes, I was there. I was there at the same time as you.

Yours,

Mason

You have no right to
be angry with me.

She deserves to know.
tell her, or I will.

Dammit, Knavish!

Stay away from her.

Just this once, let me have this!

Mason

I have done
nothing wrong.

I only gave her
a more accurate
description of you.

Henry Bloom
23 Lore Lane
Folkend FE7
Epistolora

Mar 24

Dear Henry:

My deepest condolences for your loss.

Thank you for sending the form. I’ll return it soon. I cannot help but feel unsettled until I get to the bottom of this mystery.

Yours kindly,

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Magnolia:

My dear girl. It’s so nice to hear from you. Will I forgive the woman – who used to give me peanut butter cookies on my route – for her long absence? Of course I will!

Don’t wish to trouble you. But after many wonderful decades together my Rose has gone to the great Above. Matter of fact my grandson tried to send her a letter in Heaven. Got a reply from God knows where saying my Rose is busy on some Angel Committee. Not sure where the letter came from. Strangest thing I ever seen.

Now to your question. To find a physical address from a PO Box you need to fill out Form 1093. I have enclosed a copy for you. Mail it back to me with the required payment. And allow a couple of business days for processing.

Take care of yourself.

Henry

Henry Bloom
23 Lore Lane
Folkend FE 7
Epistolora

Mar 17

Dear Henry:

It’s been quite some time since I wrote. I hope you’ll forgive me my long absence and sudden decision to write for no better reason than to consult your expertise.

I’ve stumbled upon a mystery that I believe you can help me solve. I recently acquired a new pen pal and, to make a long story short, I’m starting to wonder where his letters are really coming from. I write to him at a PO Box, so I have no idea where he actually lives.

Given your position at the post office, I hope you can help. Is there a way to track down his physical address with nothing more than a name and a PO Box?

I hope you and Rose are well.

Yours kindly,

Magnolia

Knavish:

What have you done?

Why won’t you leave us alone?

Mason

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

I really don’t know what you’re talking about.

I thought we had moved past these accusations.

Yours,

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Mar 17

Mason:

Is this some kind of practical joke?

I am not amused. Tell me the meaning of this. Please.

Magnolia

Lies, lies. Lies, lies.
Stole a cookie.
Snuck a candy.
Slapped a dog.
Kicked a cat.

Bones can be broken just
as the mind can be fractured.

Memories can be buried and
forgotten, like hidden trinkets.

Eyes are doorways
to countless rooms.

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Mar 13

Mason:

Ebony hair, wild and unkempt. Dark eyes and lips stained crimson with blackberry juice. Knees dusted with dirt. Sun-kissed skin darkening, despite a glistening layer of sunblock. Nimble fingers clutching a worn book.

Kindly,

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

Finding my younger self in a crowd would be a difficult task. I was an unassuming child, prone to lapses in memory. Search for a scrawny, well-behaved boy with sandy blond hair and brown eyes locked in a vacant expression. Chances are I’d be sporting a cast on one arm; broken bones were a regular occurrence.

What about you? How would I recognize young Magnolia Moon in a crowd of strangers?

Yours,

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Mar 5

Mason:

I recently discovered a journaling exercise that made me think of how little we know one another.

Indulge me: Describe yourself as a child such that I’d be able to find you (as a young boy) in a crowd of strangers.

Kindly,

Magnolia

I will not stop
until she knows.

Knavish:

Stop. I’m begging you.

Just. Stop.

Mason

Ben Bloom
22 Reading Road
Bookend BE5
Epistolora

Dear Mr. Bloom:

I understand you’ve elected to convey your message to God through me, by way of letter. I accept your decision; however, this method of communication will require more specifics.

Will you kindly identify what ‘very bad thing’ it was that you are requesting forgiveness for?

With kind regards,

Angela Wingspan
Angel Assistant, Office of Letters to Grandma
Department of Affairs Concerning the Living

Top Secret!

To Angela Wingspan
in Heaven

Top Secret!

Dear Angela:

I think you are a good friend.

A stranger told me to put a note on a ladees porch and dont let anyone see me.

Two times I helped him and he gave me candy.

I know it was bad but the candy was yummy.

Pleese dont tell my mom.

From your friend

Ben

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose
LR3
Epistolora

Apr 29

Mason:

I’ve given it some thought and I’m willing to put this behind us.

I will continue our correspondence, provided I receive no further mysterious notes at my doorstep.

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Magnolia:

Now I fear, truly, that I’ve done something wrong.

Please, will you forgive my outburst? I was wrong to dismiss your concerns. I want only for you to feel safe and happy.

Might we continue our correspondence?

Mason

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

My Dearest:

I haven’t heard back from you.

Not a peep.

I miss our exchanges.

Please write.

Mason

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend
BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

I have not heard from you in quite some time. I hope my last message did not upset you. It’s just that your troubles are troublesome to me too. I hate to see you worry, especially when that worry is needless.

Write soon.

Mason

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Magnolia:

I’ve told you to ignore the notes.

Why won’t you listen?

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose
LR3
Epistolora

Mar 23

Mason:

I wish I could take your advice, but another message arrived after I last wrote to you. This one said . . . Well, never mind what it said.

Remember when I suspected we may have been in the same place at the same time. I realized you never replied. The latest note suggests . . .

How did you find me?

Was it really an accident?

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE5
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

The mysterious note doesn’t seem to bear any relevance to you. It sounds to me like a scrap of paper rode the wind and made an unintended stop at your doorstep. My advice is to think nothing more of it.

Yours,

Mason

To Angela Wingspan
in Heaven
Dear Angela:

Pleese ask God to forgive me for the very bad thing I did.

From

Ben

Ben Bloom
22 Reading Road
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dear Mr. Bloom:

I am in receipt of your letter, and I apologize for the delay in my response. Your letter was held up while being pre-read and sorted. The Department of Affairs Concerning the Living has not received a reply letter to a Letter from Grandma in several centuries. Someone had to research protocol for proper forwarding (even though the letter was clearly addressed to me).

Thankfully, Section 999, Paragraph Z of the Decree for Polite Communication with the Living (est. 4000 B.C.) provided the necessary authorization for your letter to be delivered to my desk.

To answer your question: Yes, I know God, though it’s been an eternity since I worked with him personally. And I’ve had many pleasant exchanges with one of his personal assistants, Israfel Seraph.

Before I offer to help, I feel it is my responsibility to remind you that the line of communication to the Above is always open. You need only to close your eyes and think of a message you would like to send for a transmission to come through (under Section 3 of the Decree for Prayer and Meditation). There are no ‘busy signals’ with this line of communication, and your message will not be delayed by mail processing or a need to research statutes and decrees for proper forwarding.

However, if you are feeling uncertain about such methods of communication, I welcome you to deliver your message to me and I will happily forward it to Israfel, who will then ensure it is conveyed to God.

I trust you’re well.

With kind regards,

Angela Wingspan
Angel Assistant, Office of Letters to Grandma
Department of Affairs Concerning the Living

To Angela Wingspan
in Heaven

Dear Angela:

Thank you for sending the letter from Grandma Rose.

I think it is neet you are a angel asisstant. You are the first angel asisstant I ever knowed.

I showed my mom your letter and she almost fell of the couch. It was funny.

I want to know if you can talk to God becuz I need to ask him something.

From

Ben

You should not
have told him.

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose
LR4
Epistolora

Mar 15

Mason:

I feel silly carrying on about this note, but I’ll answer your question.

It read:

He cannot be trusted.
It was no accident.

You must admit it’s odd.

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

Your unwillingness to drop the mystery of the unexplained note amuses me. I realize, now, that you never told me what it said.

Tell me, please.

Yours,

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose
LR3
Epistolora

Mar 5

Mason:

I must confess, that note I found on my doorstep keeps occupying my attention. I decided to ask the woman across the street about it. She’s elderly and can often be found on her front porch hand watering her myriad potted plants. (The nosiest neighbors do tend to have a lot of potted plants, don’t they? Gives them something to do while they spy on the neighborhood).

I asked if she happened to see anyone at my house during the time I presume the note made its way to my front porch. She tilted a watering can over a potted geranium and said she saw nothing living nor spectral – if you believe in such things.

I’m uncertain whether or not I do.

I suppose the note must remain a mystery.

Yours kindly,

Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

Please forgive the delay in my response. I’ve been occupied with work.

Write soon.

Yours,

Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose
LR3
Epistolora

Feb 25

Mason:

You said “Some years ago,” but that festival was last year. I know because I saw the nude man and the dog too.

Can it be we were in the same place at the same time?

Yours kindly,
Magnolia

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dearest Magnolia:

An odd scrap of paper? I’m inconclusive and can only say that peculiar coincidences sometimes cross our paths. Rarely do they have to do with us specifically.

Some years ago I attended a book festival and witnessed a nude man running through the crowed, being chased by a dog wearing a bowtie, and shouting, “Mason! Mason! Mason!”

That he shouted my name was only coincidence, and so I thought nothing more of it.

Yours,
Mason

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Feb 19

Mason:

A peculiar thing happened shortly after our last exchange. I found an odd scrap of paper on my doorstep with a short message typed on it. I can’t be certain it was meant for me as it was not addressed.

What do you make of that?

Kindly,
Magnolia

He cannot be trusted.
It was no accident.

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dear Magnolia:

Continue our correspondence?

I’d be glad to.

Yours,
Mason

P.S. Age 30

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Feb 9

Mason:

I’m so grateful for your help.

I’ve enjoyed our exchange. Perhaps we could continue writing?

Yours kindly,
Magonlia

P.S. Not at all. I’m 28. You?

Magnolia Moon
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dear Magnolia:

The book’s accidental delivery to my post office box is a mystery to me as well. Perhaps some poor-eyed postal worker confused our addresses for their slight resemblance? We may never know . . .

My unfailing curiosity prompted me to open the package. Inside was a book I did not order. I was compelled to read it while searching for its intended owner.

I won’t bore you with the details of finding the intended recipient – you. I’m just glad it arrived where it was supposed to.

Regards,
Mason

P.S. Would you think it rude of a gentleman to ask how old you are?

Mason P. Deary
PO Box 16
Literose LR3
Epistolora

Feb 2

To Mr. Mason P. Deary:

Thank you for mailing my book.

I’m curious, how did it come to be in your possession?

Your new acquaintance,
Magnolia Moon

Resident
16 Litura Lane
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

I enjoyed the book.
Hope you do too.

Signed,
Mason

Mason P. Deary – PO Box 16 – Literose LR3 – Epistolora

Ben Bloom
22 Reading Road
Bookend BE6
Epistolora

Dear Mr. Bloom:

We have received your letter concerning the bicycle you were gifted for your birthday.

All mail from the living is sorted and read by the Department of Affairs Concerning the Living before being forwarded to the appropriate office for further handling. In this case, your letter has been forwarded to the Office of Letters to Grandma (in accordance with the Decree for Limited Opportunities for Hauntings, est. 1596, Section 42, Paragraph B).

Your Grandma Rose has been awarded a position on the Angel Committee (under Section 74 of the Confederation of Grandparents’ Statute of Saintliness) and is busy attending to her duties.

She has, therefore, asked that I reply on her behalf. Pursuant to her request, I’ve transcribed the following message from your Grandmother:

My Sweet Benjamin:

I’m delighted you like the bike.
I can’t believe how much you’ve grown since last year.
You make a very handsome seven-year-old.
Be a good boy for me.

Lots of love,

Grandma

This concludes the message from your Grandmother.

From all of us Above, we hope you continue to enjoy your new bicycle.

With kind regards,

Angela Wingspan
Angel Assistant, Office of Letters to Grandma
Department of Affairs Concerning the Living

To Grandma Rose
in Heaven

Dear Grandma Rose:

Thank you for the new bike for my birtheday.
Mom says you sent it all the way from Heaven. I like it lots.

Luv from your grandson

Ben