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| Art Card by Marlney Causing |
PROLOGUE
RE: AUTHOR’S NOTE (REFORMATTED & SELECTED WORDS ONLY..)
TO: OFFICE OF THE EDITOR OF THE CORAL - NEVER FOR RELEASE.
FROM: THE AUTHOR
GREETINGS.
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A SERIES OF SELECTED LETTERS, DETAILING MY FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCES FROM A EUROPEAN SUMMER EXCURSION DURING MY EARLY TWENTIES. I HAVE BEGUN A JOURNAL OF MY TRAVELS FOR THE PURPOSE OF POLISHING MY NARRATIVE WRITING SKILLS, AND OF COURSE, FUTURE EMOTIONAL RECOLLECTION AND DOCUMENTATION OF WHAT HAPPENED. AS A WRITER FOR THE CORAL, I BELIEVE THAT IT IS MY SOLE DUTY TO THE ORGANIZATION THAT FREQUENT WRITING EXERCISES SUCH AS THIS IS REQUIRED TO NOT LOSE TOUCH OF MY GOD-GIVEN SKILLS.
AND SO, THESE LETTERS ARE ONLY MEANT FOR MY PERSONAL LITERARY EXERCISES, AND NEVER TO BE PUBLISHED.
ALTHOUGH IN THE CONTRARY THAT THERE IS A CHANCE THAT YOU ARE READING THIS RIGHT NOW ASIDE FROM ME, (WHO IS WRITING THESE VERY PERSONAL LETTERS, THERE IS STILL TIME TO TURN BACK!) THEN SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG MUST HAVE HAPPENED THAT FORCED THE ORGANIZATION TO PUBLISH THESE PRIVATE WORKS FOR A QUICK PAYOUT.
P.S. I MAY NOT BE PHYSICALLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT IF I WERE, I WOULD CALL YOU A PATHETIC SNOOP DIRECTLY TO YOUR FACE, AND GRAB THESE LETTERS OFF YOUR HANDS, AS I BEGIN TO STOMP TO TRAMPLE MY WORDS UNTIL UNINTELLIGIBLE, AND BURN THEM OFF FROM THE FACE OF THE WORLD, NEVER TO BE FINANCIALLY EXPLOITED EVER AGAIN, THANK YOU.
16 JUNE 1993
RE: “WHEN IN ROME, SAMPIENTRINI’S ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR MY LUGGAGE.”
TO: THE CORAL FROM: AUTHOR
GREETINGS.
MY FLIGHT ARRIVED AT FIUMICINO AIRPORT AT EXACTLY 9:30 IN THE EVENING. AS I STRUGGLED TO TAKE HOLD OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING AROUND ME, I REALIZED THAT I WAS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING DISORIENTATION, SLEEP DEPRIVATION, AND SEVERE BACK POSTURE DISJUNCTION WHEN TRYING TO POSITION MYSELF IN THE MOST COMFORTABLE WAY AMID THE AIRLINE FREEBIES THAT MADE MY SEAT CRAMPED. I STOOD THERE FOR TWENTY MINUTES AND WATCHED PASSENGERS FILE OUT OF THE EXIT HATCHES, AND ALL OF US WERE THEN TRANSPORTED INTO AIRPORT IMMIGRATION, AND THEN BAGGAGE PICK-UP. FROM THERE, I HAILED A TAXI AND INSTRUCTED MY CHAUFFEUR TO DROP ME OFF AT VIA SANTAMAURA, THE STREET WHERE I HAD RENTED AN APARTMENT FOR THE REST OF MY STAY IN ROME. THE REASON WHY I CHOSE THIS LOCATION FOR MY LODGING WAS BECAUSE OF ITS CLOSE, AND CONVENIENT PROXIMITY TO AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF ITALIAN RESTAURANTS AND THE VATICAN MUSEUMS WHICH I PLAN ON VISITING LATER ON IN MY TRIP.
AS I ARRIVED AT VIA SANTAMAURA, I NOTICED THAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME FOR WHAT WAS ABOUT TO COME NEXT. ROME’S STREETS ARE MADE UP OF SAMPIENTRINI PAVEMENT WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO LUG AROUND ANYTHING WITH WHEELS ON IT. I BROUGHT MY LUGGAGE OUT OF THE TAXI’S TRUNK, AS THE CHAUFFEUR HANDED ME HIS CALLING CARD IF EVER I NEEDED ANOTHER LIFT. I HASTILY ARRIVED AT THIS GRAFFITI-FILLED WOODEN FRONT DOOR WHEN I REALIZED THAT ARRIVING AT MIDNIGHT MEANT THAT THE ENTIRE BUILDING HAD LOCKED UP. IF ONLY I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO UNLOCK THIS USING THE DOOR CODE AND COMPLICATED INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED TO ME, THEN ALL WOULD BE SETTLED VERY SOON. FORTUNATELY, FIFTEEN MINUTES AFTER NO SUCCESS IN GAINING ENTRANCE, A MAN WHO HAD BEEN OBSERVING FROM A COUPLE OF METERS AWAY AND CLAIMED TO BE THE DOORMAN, HELPED ME IN UPON OVERHEARING THAT I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS ENTERING. LATER ON, AS I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I REALIZED THAT WHOEVER LET ME IN WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUILDING, BUT WAS A KNIFEMAN WHO KNEW HOW TO PICK LOCKS.
HOW DID I KNOW THAT THE STRANGER WAS PROBABLY A KNIFEMAN?
IT WAS BECAUSE HE BROUGHT A KNIFE OUT TO PICK THE MAIN LOCK.
I DID NOT REMEMBER WHAT SPECIFIC KNIFE HE CARRIED. BUT FROM MY HAZY VISION, IT WAS EITHER A KITCHEN KNIFE OR THE MURDER WEAPON TO A STABBING THAT I HEARD ABOUT IN THE NEWS IN THE MORNING. THE ONLY THING CERTAIN TO ME ABOUT THIS WAS THAT THE KNIFE WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO OPEN DOORS.
TO GET TO THE ROOM ITSELF, THE LOBBY HAD A WOODEN ELEVATOR THAT WAS A CRAMPED, TERMITE-EATEN, ONE-PERSON CAPACITY INCONVENIENCE BOX THAT YOU HAD TO USE. BUT SEEING SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME WAS SUCH A FASCINATION, GIVEN THAT I’VE ALWAYS DREAMT OF OWNING A LIFT INSIDE MY OWN HOUSE.
AND SO, I’VE FINALLY GOTTEN INSIDE OF THE RENTED APARTMENT. I PLUCKED MY LUGGAGE DOWN, WORE MY PYJAMAS, AND HAD A QUICK TOOTHBRUSH. I RAN TO THE BED AND FORGOT ABOUT ANY OBLIGATIONS THAT I HAD THE NEXT DAY. THIS WAS WHEN THE THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND—TRAVELLING WILL NEVER BE AS GLAMAROUS AS THEY SAY IT IS, BUT YOU’D STILL DO IT FOR THE EXPERIENCE, AND OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU WERE PRESENTED WITH.
LETTER #2
20 JUNE 1993
RE: “DRUNKS, SCAMMER, RATS, BROKEN GLASS, AND ROMANCE FROM PARISIAN STREETS.”
TO: OFFICE OF THE AUTHOR FROM THE CORAL
FROM: THE AUTHOR
GREETINGS.
IT HAS NOW BEEN A COUPLE OF DAYS SINCE I HAVE WRITTEN. I HAVE BEEN TOO PREOCCUPIED WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. I AM NOW WRITING THIS LETTER FROM PARIS AS I HAVE JOINED A BUS TOUR THAT HAS TAKEN ME ACROSS FIRENZE, PISA, THE RIVIERAS, MONTE CARLO, AND NOW, PARIS. LATER ON IN THE SUCCEEDING DAYS WILL I PASS THROUGH LUZERNE, AIROLO, MILANO, AND VENIZIA AS I MAKE MY WAY BACK TO ROME FOR MY FLIGHT THIS SATURDAY.
OUR BUS ARRIVED AT AROUND 5:30 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND AFTER SETTLING IN THE HOTEL THE TOURING COMPANY HAS ARRANGED, I HAILED A TAXI THAT TOOK ME AROUND PARIS. WHILE DRIVING, THE CHAUFFEUR COMMITTED NUMEROUS TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS THAT I COULD NO LONGER COUNT. AFTER TAKING A COUPLE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND VISITING THE SOUVENIR STORES NEARBY, I DECIDED TO ENTER AN OUTDOOR ESTABLISHMENT FOR MY DINNER CALLED “THE BRASSERIE DE LA TOUR EIFFEL.” THIS WAS LOCATED IN ONE OF PARIS’ BUSIEST STREETS AND SO, IT WAS PACKED WHEN I ARRIVED. FORTUNATELY, THE WAITER WAS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY GET ME A TABLE AS I WAS A SOLO DINER. I SKIMMED THROUGH THEIR MENU AND DECIDED TO TRY OUT THE DOS DE SAUMON VAPEUR—OR THE STEAMED SALMON LOIN IN VIERGE SAUCE ACCOMPANIED BY A HOME-MADE POTATO MASH—AND TWO CROISSANTS, AS IT HAS BECOME MY GOAL IN FRANCE TO TRY ALL THE CROISSANTS THAT I ENCOUNTER. ONE CROISSANT WAS FOR DINNER, AND THE OTHER WAS FOR LATER ON IF EVER I GOT HUNGRY AGAIN.
I SAT THERE ALONE AT MY TABLE FOR AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES WHEN A LADY APPROACHED, WHO I REALIZED WAS PROBABLY THE ONE I WAS GOING TO SHARE TABLES WITH. THIS PRACTICE HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED BY THE BRASSERIE DUE TO A FULL HOUSE SERVICE THIS EVENING. AT FIRST, I DIDN’T REALLY THINK ABOUT INTERACTING WITH THE STRANGER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, AS I WAS MORE CONCERNED BY MY STARVING STOMACH. BUT AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES, SHE INTRODUCED HERSELF AS IF SHE WAS EXPECTING TO MEET ME HERE. IT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I WAS TRYING TO RECALL WHETHER I KNEW HER FROM SOMEWHERE WHILE I WAS WRITING ON MY EXPERIENCES WHEN I VISITED A PERFUME FACTORY IN GRASSE. BUT NOW, WE WERE SHAKING HANDS AND I WAS INTRODUCING MYSELF. AT THAT POINT IN MY TRIP, SHE BECAME THE FIRST PERSON THAT I WAS ABLE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH FOR MORE THAN TWENTY MINUTES. AFTER A WHILE, THE WAITER BRINGS OUR FOOD OUT TO THE TABLE, AND BY THEN, I CAN ONLY RECALL US TALKING ABOUT COW BELLS FOR SOME REASON. I KNEW IT WAS AN ODD CHOICE OF DISCUSSION WITHOUT THE CONTEXT THAT CAME WITH IT, BUT THAT WAS THE THING THAT MADE ME LOVE MY CONVERSATIONS WITH HER. THE LONGER WE SPOKE, THE SMALLER THE WALL BETWEEN US BECAME. IT BEGAN TO FEEL AS IF JUDY AND I HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR OUR ENTIRE LIVES. THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, SHE SHOWED ME THE SHORT STORIES THAT SHE WAS WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT, SHE TOLD ME WHAT HER FAVORITE SONGS WERE, OR WHICH COUNTRIES SHE HAD ALREADY BEEN TO.
HOW COULD TWO PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE BE SO COMFORTABLE WITH ONE ANOTHER THIS QUICKLY? MY DINNER BECAME AN EXPERIENCE OF WANTING TO JUST LISTEN. AND THE MEAL RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, ALTHOUGH WONDERFUL, BECAME AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
THE FUNNY THING ABOUT EUROPE IS THAT BY AROUND 8:30PM, THE SUN HASN’T GONE DOWN YET, AND THIS USUALLY GOES ON UNTIL ELEVEN O’ CLOCK IN THE EVENING. AND SO, UPON LEAVING THE BRASSERIE, JUDY AND I STILL HAD “THE ENTIRE DAY” TO EACH OTHER. ALL THE SIGNS OF BEING TIRED WERE GONE AND I WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THE PERSON I WAS WITH. THE FACT THAT I WAS HANGING OUT WITH SOMEONE THAT OTHERS WOULD DESCRIBE AS A “BADDIE,” WAS THE MOST UNEXPECTED EXPERIENCE THAT I NEVER EXPECTED DURING MY STOP OVER IN PARIS. THE WAY SHE LOOKED AT ME AS SHE LISTENS, THE AWKWARD JOKES THAT SHE TOLD, OR THE FEELING OF NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN NEXT WAS PART OF THE THRILL THAT I WAS EXPERIENCING—I HAD TO TELL MYSELF EVERYTHING WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. WHEN I ASKED HER WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO NEXT, SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE WAS ALRIGHT WITH DOING ANYTHING AS LONG AS WE DID IT TOGETHER. I COULDN’T BELIEVE THAT OUT OF ALL THE PLACES HERE ON OUR PLANET, I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE THAT WAS ENOUGH TO MAKE MY BONES RATTLE IN PARIS! AS WE WALKED THE DIM STREETS, SHE HELD MY HAND THE ENTIRE TIME AND DRAGGED ME ALONG WHERE SHE WANTED TO GO. JUDY SEEMED LIKE SHE KNEW WHERE SHE WAS GOING BUT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, WE WERE LIKE A PAIR OF DRUNK LOVERS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IN THE MOMENT WHERE WE ACTUALLY WERE. CORRECTION: WE WERE A PAIR OF DRUNK LOVERS.
THE FUNNIEST THING OUT OF ALL THE EXPERIENCES THAT EVENING WAS HOW WE ALMOST GOT ARRESTED FOR PUBLIC DISTURBANCE AS WE KEPT ON LAUGHING TOO LOUDLY IN FRONT OF A CONSULATE. WHETHER THIS IS TRUE OR NOT, AS THE MEMORY SEEMS HAZY TO ME AS OF WRITING THIS.
AS WE SAT DOWN ON THE GRASS AND BOATS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES CRUISED DOWN THE SEINE, THE WIND BLEW UNUSUALLY HARDER. I OFFERED JUDY MY CARDIGAN BECAUSE SHE BEGAN TO FEEL COLD THAT EVENING. NOW, I WAS COLD, BUT IT WAS ALRIGHT, BECAUSE JUDY WASN’T.
LATER ON, I WALKED HER TO HER APARTMENT, PASSING BY ROADS WHERE STREET LAMPS LIT OPEN ONE BY ONE. SHE WAS CURLED UP ON MY RIGHT ARM LIKE A HALF-ASLEEP DRUNK AS I THOUGHT TO MYSELF: “THE NIGHT WAS ALREADY ENDING, WHAT IF I NEVER SEE HER EVER AGAIN?”
SHE TRUSTED EVERY STEP WE TOOK WHILE HER EYES WERE CLOSED AS I NAVIGATED THROUGH DIFFERENT DRUNKS, SCAMMERS, RATS, AND FLYING GLASS BOTTLE SHARDS THAT YOU’D ENCOUNTER IN A PARISIAN STREET AT MIDNIGHT. WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE FRONT DOOR OF HER APARTMENT WHERE SHE GREETED ME GOODNIGHT AND IMMEDIATELY ENTERED WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ELSE.
I COULDN’T BELIEVE TO MYSELF THAT WAS IT. BUT AFTER A GOOD THIRTY SECONDS HAD PASSED, JUST AS I WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE, SOMEONE PULLED MY HAND FROM BEHIND.
AND THEN, WE SHARED A KISS.
LETTER #3
21 JUNE 1993
RE: “FAILSAFE LETTER DRAFT 3”
TO: JUDY
FROM: THE AUTHOR
DEAR JUDY,
IF YOU’RE READING THIS, THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THIS LETTER IS THAT I WAS NOT ABLE TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOU PROPERLY, AND THIS IS MY LAST RESORT OF COMMUNICATION.
EVER SINCE WE FIRST MET, I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT WAS REAL, FOR EVERYTHING WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. I’VE ALWAYS HAD THIS DOUBT WITHIN MYSELF THAT WHAT WAS HAPPENING BETWEEN US WERE SITUATIONS THAT I NEVER DESERVED, OR WAS TO EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE.
BUT THE MOMENT THAT THE UNIVERSE INTRODUCED YOU INTO MY STORY, IT SEEMED AS IF I’VE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE TO DO EVERYTHING ALL OVER AGAIN AND LIVE. WHEN I LOOKED INTO YOUR EYES AS YOU TALK EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT, I COULDN’T HELP BUT FALL DEEPER INTO YOUR WORLD AND REALIZED THAT I WANTED A PLACE THERE. THE WAY THAT YOU JOKED AROUND WITH ME MADE ME FEEL LIKE SOMEONE FINALLY UNDERSTOOD ME. AND EVEN THOUGH I DID NOT UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE JOKES BECAUSE OF MY POOR HEARING, YOUR LAUGHTER WHEN YOU REALIZED I DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED REASSURED ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS CAPABLE OF ENJOYING MY INTERESTS ALONE, I REALIZED THAT YOUR PRESENCE AND OUTLOOK IN LIFE MADE MY EXPERIENCES BETTER.
IT IS DIFFICULT THE WAY THINGS GO IN OUR WORLD, AS IT SEEMS LIKE OUR LIVES WERE MADE TO NEVER CROSS PATHS. BUT IN THAT SHORT SPAN THAT I’VE KNOWN YOU, YOU’VE INSPIRED ME TO DO BETTER. YOU’VE TAUGHT ME TO SEE THE WORLD WITH AWE, TAKE THINGS EASILY, AND TRUST THE MOMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE FUTURE MAKES US INSECURE ABOUT A LOT OF THE THINGS WE LOOK FORWARD TO. YOU ARE MY REMINDER THAT THE MOMENT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING THAT YOU COULD HAVE BECAUSE NOW THAT I’VE FOUND SOMEONE THAT DEEPLY MATTERS TO ME, THE UNIVERSE TAKES IT AWAY IMMEDIATELY. NOW THAT I’M ABOUT TO GO HOME, I CARRY THIS BURDEN THAT A PIECE OF ME IS GOING TO BE TAKEN AWAY, AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THAT.
I DON’T KNOW WHEN WILL BE THE NEXT TIME THAT WE WILL EVER MEET AGAIN, AND SO, I WILL ALWAYS BE THE TOURIST PASSING BY IN YOUR LIFE, WHO WILL CONTINUE WRITING IN YOUR WONDER.
