Pen Pals

__Pen Pals___


Harry dived at his mate,

“C’mon Wales put some effort into it, if you really want it!”

“Gimme it!” he yelled grinning

Harry managed to grab the parcel, he had had it sent to another soldier to protect his identity. He and Katie had been conversing on and off for about three months, she’d sent him a picture, at his request, he thought she was really pretty, standing in a field next to a big bay horse, they got on, well as much as you can through emails, she had promised to send him something, and here it was.

He ripped into the parcel, scattering the paper everywhere. He looked inside, a newspaper with his fathers face grinning up at him, some deodorant, a few bars of chocolate, some socks, and a letter. He smelled the letter. He breathed in the perfume. It seemed like years since he’d scented a woman’s perfume, and it was heavenly. He had worried that she might think him a weirdo for asking her to spray a letter with her perfume, but to his surprise, she had understood. They had talked a lot about her life, his duties, what he could say anyway. He had learned of her heartbreak at her husband’s death, the tragic loss after a short illness. Hardly a chance to say goodbye. He could relate to that, he had told her he’d lost his mother suddenly, that it had devastated him, still did, that he could hardly bare to hear others to talk about her. That was as close to the truth he had got. Not lying but unable to reveal all. He was guarded by nature, his station in life had taught him to be more so.

He ate the chocolate as he read the letter, it contained stuff about life in general back on Blighty, something even he craved for. A lot of the letter was in good humour. A part brought him up short, about how she had watched a documentary on Princess Diana, that she wouldn’t usually but it had been on while she was studying and her son had asked her who she was, and she had explained. He wondered if he had somehow betrayed himself without knowing? Well, if she knew, she was dragging it out, surely by now, if she knew and was an email and tell type it would be all over the news? Maybe she knew and wanted more information? Maybe she knew and didn’t care? Harry rubbed his temples, how the hell did he get into these situations? To blow his cover now would put everyone at risk, make him the bullet magnet that the press had accused him of being.

He decided that the only way to go was to play dumb, he wrote a letter back to her, to go by ‘snail mail’.

‘Dear Katie,
Thanks for the bits and pieces, chocolate was lovely! The perfume was hmmm! Thanks for not thinking I’m a mad stalker or anything, I know that you said sometimes you crave for the smell of aftershave, that it reminds you of your husband, but still, it’s a tiny bit strange, so thanks for that.

It was sad when Princess Diana died, I was only young but I remember it very well, a lot of heartbreak. There are so many things that were good about her. Such a loss. I think though sometimes the press overdo it with the Royals don’t you? I mean they are only human after all, what’s the big fuss? They’ve turned them into celebrities these days.

I’ve put holes in all my socks so they will go down well, thanks for those too, going to go and hide my chocolate and read the paper you sent now. Thanks again, write soon, take care of yourself and the young fella,

Selaw (Real name’s Harry by the way!) XX’

He had put the Royals reference to try and gauge her reply, and signed it Harry so if she was playing him, hopefully she’d trip herself up.