1. A letter to Mr. John Doe
Charlie’s pov:
May 2017,
Florida
Charlie: 6 years old
CHAPTER 1: A Letter To Mr John Doe
″Charlie is a boy’s name.” Cassidy laughed along with the other kids.
Is it?
All the kids had been playing tag in the park when I asked if I could join.
I didn’t have anyone to play with here because all my other friends were still in Savannah while Mom, Dad and I came here.
They had just asked me my name and I told them.
″I’m not a boy,″ I mumbled as I looked down at my shoes, drawing circles in the mud with them. ″My name is Charlotte but I like Charlie.″
Mommy and Daddy always call me that.
″Can’t you speak a bit louder? It’s not easy for us to understand you from down there,” A boy said, causing another round of laughter between the kids.
Mommy always said don’t be mean to people.
But if they’re mean to you, be the meanest you can be.
I raised my chin up high as I told them, “Yeah, well maybe your brain should’ve grown a bit before your body did.”
″What did you just say to me?”
″She. Said. You. Are. Dumb.” I turned around to see a girl with curly brown hair and a mole above her lip.
She was playing in the sandbox with two other kids.
″I’m not dumb. She is. She asked us if she can play with us.″ He said it as if I did something bad. Like stealing.
″And?” The girl rolled her eyes.
″She is weird. She has a boy name and she is so small. She shouldn’t ask big kids to play with her.″
″What’s going on here?” A blond haired old lady with a side part asked the boy.
″Mommy, these girls are bullying me.” The boy fake cried with big fat tears rolling down his eyes.
I opened my mouth like Mr. Goldilocks, my fish does everytime he is annoyed at me for not feeding him.
The lady turned to me, screaming words at me I didn’t understand.
″Uh-oh, Karen alert. Run.″ The girl said as she dashed in the direction of the park’s gate.
My eyes widened as I stared after her before running after her. Soon I was ahead of her.
″Don’t leave me!″ She shouted behind me and I slowed down, looking back before pulling the girl to a stop.
″She’s not behind us.″ I panted for breath till stomach hurt.
Owie.
I looked at the girl sitting on the sidewalk, breathing with her tongue half sticking out of her mouth.
″You look like a cute little puppy.″
I laughed, showing all my teeth.
She looked up.
I stopped.
″You look like a rabbit and you got me on a Karen’s hit list.″
″What is a Karen?” I scratched my head in confusion.
Is it a bad word?
″A Karen is a wild species. One you should avoid at all costs.″ She told me, looking me straight in the eye.
I nodded in understanding.
″So, how are you going to pay me back for saving you?” She asked me with a grin.
″I-I don’t know.″
″I do.″ She gave me an evil grin. ″You’re going to be my slave for life.”
And that is how I became best friends with Mia for life.
April 2020,
Florida
Charlie: 9 years old
I jumped up from Mia’s bed and weaseled my way to the kitchen, “What do you have for this princess to eat?“, I asked as I jumped into the fridge.
Mia and I were having a movie afternoon and snacks were mandatory.
Benji, Mia’s older brother came out of the bathroom, brushing his teeth”What are you doing in our fridge? And why are you eating our food?!” He yelled, splattering paste everywhere.
Ohk. Ewww.
“So you don’t get fatter. See, this is why you don’t get dates. You don’t know how to treat a woman...you know what I am doing you a favour.” I scream back, wiping the toothpaste off my face with the back of my sleeve and making my way towards the kitchen counter.
He scoffs at me “I am so glad you’re not my sister,” he barks, “I may as well dig my own grave and roll right into it”
He gives me a final glare before he turns around and makes his way back to the bathroom while I stuck my tongue at him.
“Can you pwease give us some snacks? I ask Mia’s mom, batting my eyelashes and pouring out my bottom lips.
She rolls her eyes and starts putting together bowls of pop corn and the tastiest mac and cheese in the world.
Yippe!! Those darn puppy dog eyes always work.
She places the food in front of me and I start taking it to the room, “Hot, hot, hot”, I shout as I throw the bowl back onto the table and place my burnt fingers over my ears. Mia shakes her head at me and takes a bowl from the table to take it to
“Just like me,” Alice, Mia’s older sister flips her hair as she walks down the stairs in slo-mo.
“Why are you walking like a donkey who tripped on a cat and fell down on his head?” I poke my head out of Mia’s room again.
She rolls her eyes and joins us. We continue preparing for the movie marathon as more of Mia’s siblings files in.
Mia grew up in a very big family. She has two older brothers, an elder sister and four younger siblings where she wishes she was a single child like me. She doesn’t realize how great she has it. I’ve always wished I had a big family like her. I mean, don’t get me wrong I love my family but sometimes I wish I had someone to share my feelings with, someone to fight with and stuff like that.
Whenever Mia was sad, there was always someone to take care of her.
I was jealous of her for that.
“I love your mom’s food...Can I take her to my home?” I rubbed my belly with one hand.
“For the umpteenth time, the answer to that is no!” She shouted, “Now, shut up and watch the movie.″
Two hours later we stand by the door and put on our matching pink shoes.
“Let’s go, Benji. Take us to the beach. You can daydream about having a girlfriend another time.” Mia called as Benji snapped out of it and wiped the drool off his face.
“Jackets!” He shouted, reaching for the car keys.
“I was thinking...” I told Mia.
“You think!!!!” She gasped with placed a hand on her chest.
“Shut up and listen. I want to do something. Remember my dad’s story about her pen pal?” I asked.
″Oh, if I have to remember one more of your dad’s ‘back in my day’ stories, I’ll cry.”
“This one is good.” I assured her.
″Better be.”
″So, remember how dad said he met mom after they had been pen pals for a long time.″
″Yeah.″
″I want that too. So I’ll write a letter.″
Mia stared at me.
I stared back.
Half a minute
One minute
She blinks
I win
Charlie:1, Mia:0
Mia hit me on my head.
She’s just grumpy she lost.
“A letter? To who? The only person you’re supposed to write a letter to is Santa Claus and he lives is in north pole.”
But I’ve been sending all of mine to the south pole. Well, then how did I get my gifts? I’ll ask mommy and daddy.
“Mr. John Doe.”
“Who??”
“A stranger. Someone I don’t know.”
“Oh yeah. And how do you think they’re going to get that letter? You have to put a receiver’s address or else your letter will be sent to the Dead Letter Office.”
“So my letter will die?!” I asked her with wide eyes.
“No, dummy. It means nobody will read it.”
“Oh” I nodded while scratching my head, still not understanding.
“But I don’t have to worry about that cause I am not going to post my letter.”
“Then how are you gonna send it?”
“I am going to put it in this bottle and throw it across the sea. Didn’t you see the man in the movie we just watched do it?” I said showing the bottle in my hand that I stole from Dad’s wine collection.
“And you really think this is gonna work.”
“I sure hope so,” I said as I gave one last look to the letter in the bottle and threw it into the sea with all my might.
Please...let Mr. John Doe find it.
