The Letter
Words cannot describe how excited I am to become your wife. The subject of our engagement has been on the minds of many people in our small, humble town. It reminds me how the townsfolk people spoke of the everlasting glory of the Baudelaire estate. I can hear it in their whispers as they exchange talk from one ear to another. Like little birds chirping at one another in the trees.
Papa was considered one of the luckiest men when he struck gold in the early 1840s. Both he and my uncle founded the El Dorado Gold Mining Company.
Mama told me that he was more pure than those nuggets of gold he had sitting in the corner of his desk. Just like us, they were and still, so in love. He loved her so much that Papa built our sweet estate on top of a red dirt hill using antebellum architecture.
Papa wanted to make sure that the Baudelaire estate was a luscious oasis filled with the most exotic of plants. My favorite part of the garden was the gazebo that sat near the front of our house. I remember, as a little girl, I would sit in the gazebo and watch the town from below, from the cemetery to the rushing river, from the gold mines to the mountain ranges as well.
My life was like a fairytale, straight from the pages of my storybooks. As the years go by, I wanted my happy ending, and when I met you dear Matti, I knew my life had become complete. You were a vaquero and a partner in Papa’s company. I must admit, I was a little apprehensive when you approached me at the general store, since Papa had a strong dislike for Indians.
Matti, I loved how you were so charming and gentle with me when we spoke outside the store, not only were you charming, but also very handsome. Although I am ecstatic about our wedding, there is still a sadness that lingers deep inside of me. I wished Papa acknowledged our feelings and approved of our marriage like Mama did.
If Papa did, then our marriage would have occurred months before the Great Earthquake of 1860. Instead, through those grey days, I argued with Papa. He threatened to take me away from you, he threatened that he would take you away from me...from our love.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to mend those bridges that I ruined between Papa and I. After the earthquake took both the lives of Mama and Papa, it opened another door revealing that we would be together forever! However, on our wedding day, you never arrived my love. I waited for you, and waited, and waited, and waited.
I waited and you did not arrive. Where are you ma chérie? You’ve talked of love and everlasting bliss, whispering sweet nothings in my ear that sent tingles down my tiny little spine.
Why do you not come to me? Do you not see that our future stands before us with wide, open arms? In soft and delicate tones, I listen to the townsfolk gossip among themselves, whispering and whispering, it never ends. I live alone in this quiet manor and I patiently wait, and wait, and wait.
Until we meet again, your dearest,
Castilla
