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...no. You wanted to be productive, but you couldn't just ignore what you'd been reading about.
Even if all of New York wasn't in peril, the edges of Cooperstown were still too close to danger for comfort.
You sat down at your desk, the noise briefly awakening the small sprite child and tempting it over to your side. You paid it no mind, however, instead opting to pull out a blank sheet of your notebook and start writing.
<span class="mu-i">Ma...</span>
Already your pencil was off the paper. You stared at the word for just a moment, a brief war raging on in your head, before you continued writing without further proofreading.
<span class="mu-i">To say my life has changed is an understatement...</span> you began, going on to thank your family profusely for the nutberries.
Next up, of course, <span class="mu-i">it needn't be understated just how worried I am for you...</span>
This kind of flowery language was always Mabel's specialty. You were surprised you had it in you to pour out even a sentence of it...
Time flew past you as the scratching of graphite on paper overtook any thoughts you had. The hour mattered less than explaining every single event you'd dealt with in the past month alone. Attending to Shenanigan Gulch's problems, travelling with Steele (whom you never referred to by name for reasons that you found yourself unable to explain), befriending Mary and witnessing the feral dog's transformation and...
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...when the people in the inn's halls began discussing their filling lunches, you figured you should stop yourself.
The letter before you was now multiple pages of borderline histrionic recollection. Reading it over left you feeling violated. You hadn't been so vulnerable in years... yet you knew wholeheartedly that your family would appreciate such honesty.
Your heart warmed as you imagined them gathering around the letter, mama reading it to pa and the siblings. Looker would bark, his puppies demanding entrance to the family gathering as their father stuck his snout between their crowded forms, all of them gathering around the ancestral tree in the front to catch up underneath the shade. The cool autumn breeze would bring down a leaf or two, leading to the dogs rioting, Robbie complaining, Junior calling for peace...
Just as your mother finished reading over the letter, you did too. You stared at the desk as you folded the letter as best you could, slipping it into your empty rucksack until you could find it a proper envelope. The final sentence echoed in your head as you rose to wake Mary and leave the room for today.
<span class="mu-i">Best Wishes to you all, and may the New World treat you as kindly as my thoughts do.</span>
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