Edwin Payne

A world where he forgets about the boy who sat with him while he slowly froze, who read him stories and made him laugh. He must have been hallucinating, the doctors tell him, delirious from the cold. He must have made up a friend to keep himself warm. And maybe they're right, Charles thinks. What was his name again? Edward? Evan? Charles can't quite remember, it was so long ago. It's not important anyway.

So Charles puts it out of his mind. He carries on living. Who knows what happened to the ghost boy in the attic? If he even existed at all? Maybe he's still there, with that rusty old lantern and those crumbling comic books. Maybe he's aimlessly wandering, looking for other souls to help. Maybe he's lost.

Ah well, Charles thinks, he'll never know.

literally letter threads are elite. that’s. that’s all the context we have here. also bc the language is obviously being changed slightly here. so, for clarification: the person receiving the meme, is the writer of the letter! the person SENDING the meme, is RECEIVING the letter! now. go write letters, u magnificent cupcakes, and DO NOT ADD TO THIS LIST!!! i will know, and i will hunt u down and curse ur potatoes to be soapy and bland and messy for all eternity.

[ LOVE ]:     the writer begins the first of a series of love letters to the recipient.

[ SORRY ]:     the writer delivers a letter of apology to the recipient.

[ LAST ]:     a letter sent in the aftermath of the writer’s death.

[ TWIST ]:     a letter sent in the aftermath of the writer’s alleged death, only to reveal that they are, in fact, still alive.

[ FINAL ]:     a letter written in the aftermath of the recipient’s death, where the writer knows they’ll never get the chance to read it.

[ INITIATE ]:     a letter written to the recipient in order to maintain communication between the two while the writer is far away from them.

[ FAREWELL ]:     a letter written to say goodbye to the recipient, where the writer knows there’s an extremely high chance that they’ll never see each other again.

[ REVELATION ]:     a letter written that reveals the truth about an event(s) that the writer believes the recipient may be misinformed about.

[ EXPLAIN ]:     a letter that explains the reasoning behind choices that the writer has made in the past, which they would like to explain to the recipient.

[ BAD ]:     a letter that delivers bad news to the recipient.

[ UPDATE ]:     a letter that updates the recipient on the writer’s life, or certain on-going events that are happening in their life.

[ AFAR ]:     a letter delivered by the writer from another country/city/planet/etc in order to reassure the recipient and let them know they’re okay. (not intended to be a back-and-forth, like [ INITIATE ] does).

[ HIDDEN ]:     a letter written and delivered to the recipient in secret, for the recipient’s eyes only, as a result of information it contains, or because of the person who wrote it.

[ UNSENT ]:     a letter written for the recipient, but which the writer ultimately never sends for reasons that the writer conceals, or may reveal within the letter itself.

[ MISTAKE ]:     a letter which is sent to the recipient by mistake, and which may contain sensitive information about the recipient.

[ UNVEIL ]:     a letter which reveals the truth about a plan that the writer previously and deliberately concealed from the recipient for their safety/well-being.

[ NEEDED ]:     a letter that the writer wrote for the recipient after learning of their recent struggles in their personal life, and which contains uplifting words of encouragement, support and other things they feel they should hear to help them through.

[ PILLOW ]:     a letter left neatly atop a pillow on the bed that the writer and recipient share, that is discovered by the recipient the following morning after the writer leaves the room/home.

[ FRIDGE ]:     a letter attached to the fridge with magnets for the recipient to read in the kitchen.

[ KNOWN ]:     a letter which the writer left in a place that only the writer and recipient know of, knowing that only the recipient would be able to find it first.

[ HELP ]:     a letter written by the writer to the recipient, asking the recipient for help.

[ STOP ]:     a letter written for the recipient which the writer intends to be their final letter to them, and which ultimately concludes all communications between the writer and recipient from that moment forth.

The subconscious clench of his teeth sharpened Charles' features, and he fiddled with the clasp on his backpack strap, unaware his anxiety was showing. "Y'know. Makin' a point that you do the most work here, the rest of us are slackers, something like that…"

Even as he spoke, Charles realized it was a more unkind thought than he had intended, unfair to assume of his best mate, and his irritation deflated a bit as he hopped off his step-ladder perch to get closer. He took a deep breath and tried to let himself relax.

Then Charles' put his chin on his shoulder and he snapped the book shut. It was almost a flinch and completely unwarranted and it only added to the foolish feeling he had growing in his stomach. "Astrology. Astronomy would likely be more useful."

It did not matter when Charles' was born because Astrology didn't mean anything. It did no matter if their Death Dates and times would change it because it was immaterial. And it most certainly did not matter that Edwin had a birth date, a death date, and a date out of hell.

"I got well shown today, didn't I?" he managed, voice brittle like the eggshells Edwin was no doubt walking on. There was nothing to add after that-- of course, his timely partner had been the one to pull him off their now-unrecognizable client mere seconds before the telltale signs of hell flooded the room.

(For once in his aferlife Charles had been grateful for the red light, the way it swallowed up the blood splattered rich over the ground and his knuckles alike. Colored the world the way it had looked in his mind.)

It doesn't matter would probably be met with a scuff at best and seen as pity at worst. Charles Rowland was the last person he would ever pity. He watched Charles study his own hands and ran an index finger along the edge of his book instead of touching him. "I could remind you about the times I have been, as you say, 'well shown' on a case. I believe you have been pressing me to learn some... defensive measures to that end."

That felt acceptable--a burden shared. If Edwin ever reached perfect perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about hell anymore but if that did happen, well, Edwin figured he'd have found himself back in hell.