Ficlets

Erin didn’t wait for her cousin’s reply. She gingerly opened the flap of the envelope and drew out a yellowed sheet of paper and a handful of photographs and sketches.

Anna was now trapped in curiosity, lured in by fascination. She pried the photos from Erin’s fist and examined them.

The first was of children, smiles stretching their blurry black-and-white faces. The second showed a solemn-looking family portrait, and the third a cluster of little girls beaming up at the camera.

“Huh?” croaked Anna.

Erin picked up the delicate sheet of paper. It was written on in beautiful old-fashioned penmanship. “You don’t see writing like this anymore,” she noted, squinting at the slanted, curly letters.

“What’s that?” asked Lissy, appearing beside them. “I wanna go back to the house; I’m hungry!”

Anna and Erin sighed. “In a minute, Lissy.”

“Now!” she whined.

The girls glanced uneasily at each other, each asking a silent question: what now?