The letter

In the midst of the darkness that had hovered the land of Arthena, Larissa walked in between of the busy crowd.

Even with the light that was mostly provided by the lanterns, the town was still busy and bustling. Holding a heavy bag on her hand that carried groceries, she ran towards a deserted alley that usually led to her house.

Every now and then, she kept on looking behind her and seeing nothing but her shadow that was projected by the moon, she could only sigh.

With each step that led her near her house, she became less frigid and her nerves became more even. Being a young woman, it was never safe for her to walk at night which made her nervous and when she got to the small wooden gate of her house, she internally thanked the gods for protecting her.

"Riss, what are you doing there instead of getting inside. Your uncle was about to come look for you."

She heard her aunt and once she had properly secured the gate with a chain that was connected to a wood, she started to head towards the house.

"What took you so long. If something would have happened to you, your uncle would have blamed me for your own carelessness." The woman scolded. Being used to how her aunt had been treating her for the last two years, she could only swallow the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"The grocery store was filled with people and I couldn't just skip the line."

She explained to her aunt who only gave her a stern look and luckily for her, before the woman could further fuel their discussion, her uncle showed up.

"Riss, you got us all worried. Thank god that you are back safe."

Due to the cold breeze that swept their bodies, uncle Chris further added,

"You both should get inside. Edgar has been waiting."

'Oh, that was why her aunt was waiting for her.' Larissa thought to herself and pursing her lips, she followed her aunt.

Just as her uncle had just said, the young man by the name Edgar was sitting on one of their worn out seats and upon noticing Larissa, he lifted his eyes and offered a smile to her.

Edgar belonged to a reputable family. Other than being young and handsome, he was the dukes son and now that Larissa held the man's interest, her greedy aunt had agreed for them to have a marriage alliance to which Larissa was yet to agree to.

"Good evening lady Larissa."

Edgar greeted and being polite, she answered back the greetings with a warm smile.

She and Edgar had been friends for months now and she had always valued their friendship but not once had she ever thought that she would ever come to like him more than she already did.

Still holding the grocery bag, she was about to head to the kitchen but her aunt did not allow her.

"Why don't you hand this to me dear. You should have a chat with Mr woods. I will be in the kitchen."

Once her aunt had disappeared through the door, Larissa took a seat that was a little far away from the dukes son.

Accepting Edgar's marriage proposal was something that she had been contemplating about for days but it was still hard for her to make a decision with the major reason being that she was not sure whether his parents would accept her. After all, she came from a poor background.

"I was to come here yesterday but I was told that you were ill. Are you alright?"

The man inquired and not expecting those words from him, her face twisted into a confusion. Not a second after, she offered him another smile.

"Oh that, I am fine now." She replied with the confusion still not fully wiped away from her face.

She could not recall being sick and it made her wonder why her guardians would say that she was sick.

+++++++

At the time of dinner, everyone was happy including Ella, her young cousin who was around eight.

Just like most times, her aunt was the one who did the talking and other than fakely smiling at everything that was being said at the table, she did not say much.

"I look forward to having more times like this Mr woods. After all, my niece here is so fond of you."

Her aunt said after the dinner.

With Larissa who was the one to walk the man outside, they came to stand in front of the wooden gate to have the man say,

"You don't have to feel pressured by my proposal. Whatever decision you make, I will respect it."

As if he had forgotten something, the man then added,

"Oh, I was told to give you this by madame Minerva."

Removing a brown envelope from the pocket of his coat, he handed it to her.

"Thank you."

Edgar did not stay there any longer and when his carriage was pulled towards the gate, he finally left.

It took seconds before Larissa got away from there and heading straight to her room, she finally opened a letter that was meant for her which read;

"greetings to you Larissa. I hope that this letter gets to you in good health.

As per your request in search for work, I am pleased to inform you that I have someone who is looking for a caregiver and knowing you well, I am pretty sure that the job suits you.

If the job does not interest you, feel free to decline and ignore the letter but if you do want the job, you know where to find me.

All the best,

Minerva."

The letter was short but it contained heart warming news that brought her joy.

"Nothing would make me more happier."

She whispered to herself and upon hearing her aunt calling for her, she quickly placed the letter below the pillow and dashed to the kitchen.