A SHORT STORY - 'THE MAIL'

The mail.

 After work, Ada returned home to find the mail at her doorstep. She picked it up while unlocking the door to her apartment. Just when she was about to open it, her mobile phone ranged, it was her fiancée Greg calling to check on her, they had just recently decided on their wedding month and were yet to make it public.  

‘Hey wife! How does that sound honey’

Chuckling Ada replied ‘Awful! I’m thinking of reconsidering!

‘Aww c’mon you have to get used to it, you know’

‘Yeah, yeah’

‘Where are you now?’

‘At home, I just got back from the office’

‘So, have you had dinner?’

‘I just got back!’

‘Ok, ok’

‘I got a letter, today’,

‘A letter? From who?’

‘From aunty Nnenna’ she said surprised, now haven fully unfolded the letter.

‘A letter? Why would she send you a letter when she can just pick up the phone and call you’,

‘Yeah that’s what I was thinking, it’s kind of weird’

‘Well what does it say?’ Greg asked curiously

‘It says to come and see her urgently’

‘I hope everything’s ok’

‘Yeah me too’

‘Ok listen Hun, let me leave to rest and have dinner, I’ll call you later’

‘Ok, love you’

‘Love you more, bye’

The connection went off. Her mobile phone battery signaled low battery, she quickly plugged to charge, thankful that the electricity was on that night. She thought of calling her aunt but looking at the clock, she thought better of it, it was already 9:00pm, her aunt might be sleeping and Aunt Nnenna was an early sleeper. She yawned and remembering it was 9:00pm she wondered if she should eat first or shower first, she decided then to prepare dinner first, shower then eat because she would be too tired to shower after eating. She had left the office late that day, they had begun auditing the departments, it was usually hectic and took about a month, and all she could think of was what a long month it was going to be. She quickly made dinner, noodles… she was running out, and she just ate three out of the last six packs. She showered; oh the shower was needed and ate. She didn’t even make it to the bed; she slept right on the couch.

*    *    *

Ada woke up late the next morning, and everything she had to do to prepare for work was done in a hurry. She woke up in a hurry, showered in a hurry, ate in a hurry and left in a hurry.

She arrived the office at exactly 7:05am, she was five minutes late. The office was already buzzing with activities; the phones were ringing endlessly like they weren’t supposed to be picked up. She just settled in her cubicle in time before her own phone begun to ring.

It wasn’t until three pm that she realised she hadn’t had the chance to call her aunt. She quickly dialed her aunt’s number but she got the voice machine instead, telling her the number was switched off. She tried to remember the last time she had spoken to her aunt to discover it had been about three months ago…