A Letter to the Giftmaker - Chapter 2

"I'm so sorry!" The apprentice letter carrier's eyes glistened as she ran beside Edwin. Her navy blue postal coat whipped out behind her, much too big for her thin frame. She looked to be about his age, if not a year or two younger.

He turned his eyes back to the red postal carriage several blocks ahead. "Listen, miss, if thi–"

"Harriet," she said between heavy breaths.

Was she serious? He was not going to address a commoner by their first name.

"If this letter doesn't get sent, I will be reporting you to your supervisor."

"What?" She stumbled, falling a few steps back. Finally, she was appropriately concerned about her failure.

"Go away!" He shouted back at her. "I'll deal with this alone." He clutched the slick parchment in his hand, now not even trusting it to his pocket.

"I need to get back with my carriage," the woman said when she caught up to him again.

"He left you behind," Edwin said as the realization hit him. "Why?"

The woman turned her head to look at the brightly lit shops that they ran past. She chewed on her lower lip. "I just started, so he probably forgot I was apprenticing with him."

"You don't even look old enough to be an apprentice." Cold slush seeped through the hole in his shoe as he ran, chilling his toes.

The woman scoffed. "I'm the same age as you."

Ahead, the bright red carriage turned off of the main avenue and trundled through a metal gate. Edwin's feet pounded against the sidewalk, kicking up splashes of slush, but he wasn't fast enough. A block ahead, the wrought iron gate squealed as it shut and the metal latch clanged shut.

Thirty seconds later, Edwin slammed into the gate. A hundred yards away, the bags from the carriage were being hastily sorted. A few bags were tossed into the mail car, and the rest were hauled into the postal office.

"Hey!" he shook the bars, trying to get the attention of the postal workers. "Hey, I have a letter!"

"Listen, I can get the letter on the train," the woman said.

"How? Do you have a key to this gate?"

She glanced at her hands. "No, but I work for the postal office. The next train for sure."

"No, it needs to be on this train. It has to get to the Giftmaker."

"Oh." Realization spread across the woman's face. "It's a Giftmaker letter." She hesitated. "Aren't you a bit old to be writing to him?"

"It's not a wish this time. It's..." Edwin shook his head. "I need to get the letter on that train. Hey!" He shook the bars again.

"Is something wrong?" A young man, about the same age as Edwin and the woman, sauntered over to the gate.

"Hey, can you let us in?" Edwin's chest was tight. Why is everyone so slow today?

"I can open the side gate." The young man was dressed in a gaudy red coat with a blue tweed flat cap. He must work for the railroad.

"Yes, please!" Edwin hurried over to the side door.

The railroad employee opened it. "I'm Jonas Vielle." He held out a hand, which Edwin ignored. "But all my friends call me Jo!"

"Nice to meet you." The apprentice letter carrier shook Jo's hand. "I'm Miss Annesy, but you can call me Harriet."

Ignoring their trifling pleasantries, Edwin slunk behind a pile of crates and towards the mail car. A large, mustached man grunted as he heaved another two canvas bags full of post into the mail car.

"I'm glad to meet you," Jo said, trailing behind Edwin. "I've been wanting to meet some new friends!"

"Shh!" Edwin hissed at him.

"So, what are you doing?" Jo asked, optimism undeterred.

"We need to get that letter into the mail car." Harriet blushed slightly. "I accidentally stopped this gentleman from getting it to the post box on time."

"Shh! Would you two be quiet?" Edwin glared at the two, then snapped back to the mail car. The large man stepped out and slid the side door shut. As soon as the office door closed, Edwin sprinted across the platform.

He grabbed the handle and pulled, but the door stayed closed. He tugged and grunted, but the metal handle only bit into his hand more.

"Dammit!" Edwin kicked the ground. "It's locked!"

"Jo, do you have a key?" Harriet asked.

"No, only postal employees." Jo looked at her. "Shouldn't you?"

"I'm only an apprentice," Harriet said quietly, her eyes downcast.

"You're both useless!" Edwin said.

"Listen, I'm sorry about your letter. I'm trying to fix things, though."

Edwin huffed and turned to look around. He was mere inches away from the mail bags. The letter, ribbon crumpled in his hand, just needed to get into one. But the mail-car had only doors, no windows nor a roof hatch.

"You ought to forgive her," Jo said.

"Why? She's going to ruin my life," Edwin grumbled.

"She apologized."

"Well, I'll forgive her when this letter is in that mail bag."

Harriet looked away at her feet. She rubbed her arm, looking back towards the gate as if hoping for escape.

The locomotive's whistle echoed from the front end of the train, drifting through the frigid air to the far end of the platform.

"Well, I need to get back to work," Jo said.

"Work?" Harriet asked.

"I'm a steward, and the whistle means the train leaves in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes!" Edwin's heartbeat quickened and a cold trickle ran through his chest. He frantically tugged at the sliding door, but it stubbornly remained closed.

"Sorry," Jo said as he backed away, "I've got to go help the passengers find their seats."

Edwin sighed and jammed the letter into his pocket. What else could he do? As he stared at the rows of carriages, stretching far off to the steaming locomotive at the front. Soon, the whole train would leave and with it his last chance to get the letter to the Giftmaker. All because of this foolish apprentice.

"You're going to buy me a ticket." Edwin gestured to Harriet and strode across the platform towards the ticket counter.