Maya walks into the house, balancing the groceries, mails and purse in one hand, handphone and keys in the other. She went on to arrange her groceries, boil some water for her hot chocolate, add biscuits to Duke's bowl, water her plants at the Kitchen window sill and threw her washed clothes into the dryer. Her mind though, was elsewhere.
Sitting on the window seat at her study, she read n reread the 2 page letter 3 times. Savouring every word, the contents were melting into her heart like they always do. Smiling to herself, she was already travelling... between the lines, into the letter to where he was. The whistle of the angry kettle and Duke's unapproving whine jolted her out of her momentary journey, bringing her back to earth.
Placing her hot chocolate on her floral coaster, Maya sat at the kitchen table, picked up her pen and started her reply.....
She has to stop calling him with his surname, they are teenagers no more.
Hola!! Cómo estás? Got your letter today......
I know.. I know... technically I'm not in Spain, but this house is making me feel so very Spanish. Since this is the first time I'm writing from this new home, I think it warrants an introduction. Came fully furnished, interior deco by a gay latino couple who used this place as a holiday retreat (what a retreat it must have been.... *wink*). I do giggle at some of the pictures and decoratives, still unsure if they are "pornographic" or "exotic", but their impeccable taste is impressive nonetheless.
My favourite place is the kitchen. Very different from our's, no high-end gadgets, no "only silver-black-white's" here. The cups and saucers are mismatched, the mugs are of different sizes, all the 6 dinner plates are from 6 different dinner sets. I wonder if this was deliberately done. Small things that defy the norm. I can see the table that I'm using now have come from a very strong oak tree...
We had many moments in our kitchen, our ex-kitchen, didn't we? Kitchen is such a unique place of a house. Many kind of hunger could be fed here, many kind of thirst could be quenched here. It's where we had done our accounts, where we had our romantic dinners, our silly arguments, our serious discussions, our multiple and final separation. It's where we had come to laugh about our guests who were still sitting in the living room, where I had spied on our neighbours cheating on each other, where we found a baby kitten that Duke had hidden, and where we had cooked together and thought that that life was forever.
I've decided that I'll wear my hair long now, like you've suggested. They've reached my waist... Long hair is high maintenance but I'm trying. I'm wearing alot of lavenders and lilacs, I know you liked purple on me. No more coffee 4 times a day. In fact, I have milk before bed. I know this is gonna tickle you senseless, but hey...
Well, as usual.... there is no other way to end a letter except "abruptly".... like many things in our life.... Looking forward to your next beige envelope......
-Maya-
Maya folds the letter neatly and places it in a white envelope. There is a box at the top shelf in the kitchen. She places her letter inside the box, atop another white envelope that says "Letter No. 20", and slides the box back in its original position. She saw his letter on the table, left open, and decided to read it again. Carrying her mug to the sink, she wonders if the meaning of one's name has any influence in one's life.... her's being "illusion".
