“Ten years?”
Eleanor had gotten used to the dread that came with each notification on her phone –– keeping up with the news had drained her, but out of a maligned sense of civic responsibility, she continued to do so. Of course, every now and then, the clouds parted and gave her respite to discuss something more enjoyable.
“Ten years since what?” Gwen asked.
“This music video is ten years old now!”
“So press enter.”
The screen flashed to reveal a lush green meadow, with a castle peeking out from one side. In the moat below, a pair of alligators gnashed their teeth. And in the middle of the screen, standing static, was a character: blue pants, red shirt, and bright yellow skin.
“So that’s you,” Eleanor said.
“I gathered.”
Gwen pulled the stack of letters out of their mailbox, and immediately caught sight of the yellowed envelope. A contrast not only due to its color and size, but also by its decoration: tiny stickers of a dinosaur, a fish, a llama, and a teddy bear surrounded their handwritten address. The package – the stamps indicated it had come from Australia – was addressed to Dania.
Near the bottom was a hand-drawn mouse creature, with a speech bubble reading “Do Not Bend Please.” Gwen flattened the package against the wall, soothing out the wrinkles that had formed after the envelope was shoved into their mailbox. The damage controlled, as much as it could be, she carried the mail into the house.
“Dania, you have a package,” Gwen called, dropping the package onto the center table of their living room. “Did you order something from Australia?”
“Mind if I put on some music?” asked Eleanor.
“Sure,” Gwen replied.
Eleanor scrolled through her playlists, trying to find a suitable jazz album – jazz was always her ideal genre to listen to while doing other work. Many a paper in college had been completed to the tune of Esperanza Spalding’s upright bass solos.
The Hanslick Girls 