Letters drifted from the pile, some read carefully, some falling like crisp dying leaves to the floor. He remembered when each one was written, remembered when each was received… Reading them brought back the colors that seemed to have faded in the last few weeks.

Deer Josh,

Hi. It was good to see you the othr day. Where did you go?

Susie

He remembered when he had gotten that letter. He had met Susan a few weeks earlier. He knew he shouldn’t have been that close to town, his father had forbidden it, but the fascination of it drew him on.

The white towers with cutting edges which pierced the sky had attracted him and he hid by a playground on the edge of the forest. Kids were playing and running around and he figured no one would notice a grubby child hidden in the bushes.

A little girl with red hair approached his position, her eyes more observant than most. She sat near, taking in the leather clothing he was dressed in. That she had even seen him in the bush surprised him.