The Envelope

As William awoke on that cold February morning, thoughts of the night before thundered back into his head like a bolt of lightning on a dark summer night. For a moment his body was filled with terror, then he realized it was over, a new day was here at last. Was it even real? Could it have just been a nightmare that was so real he believed it actually happened? Of course it happened. His room was a mess. He was still wearing his clothes from the night before. There is no way this could have been a dream. He thought about his wife, who had left him nearly six months ago. He wished she were there with him. He needed someone, anyone, to talk to, but would anyone believe him? It seemed so unreal, even to him. There was no one he could tell, no one who would understand. If he even tried to tell anyone they would surely think he had lost his sanity. Even William questioned his own sanity as he remembered the events of yesterday.

The day before had started out like any other day for William. He woke up with his alarm promptly at 6:00AM.
He went to the door for his morning newspaper as he waited for the coffee to brew. Nothing interesting in the news again. Why do they even bother printing it he thought. William was hungry for some excitement but if he had known what was about to happen to him he would surely have stayed in bed. As he grabbed up his bag and put on his coat, the doorbell chimed through the empty house, like a lonely church bell on Sunday morning. Who could that be at this hour he thought as he sat his bag on the table and headed for the door. When he opened the door, there stood an older gray haired gentleman wearing a dirty, torn business suit. The man handed William a brown envelope, it was sealed but it looked as if it had been ran over by traffic. It was stained and wrinkled so badly that he could hardly make out his own name printed on the front of it. The man quickly turned and walked away and as he did William noticed the shoes the man was wearing, they were stained with dirt and oil. "Hey buddy" William yelled, but the man just kept walking. William closed the door and went back for his bag.

The man had not spoken a word when he gave William the envelope. He couldn't make out any return address on it. He had a few minutes before work so he sat down at the table for another cup of coffee while he opened the mysterious package. He cut the end of the envelope open and looked inside as he held the sides apart. Strange he thought, it's empty. Why would someone send him an empty envelope and why would they have it delivered in such a strange way? He tossed it in the trash and picked up his bag once again. As he looked over at the envelope on his way to the door he noticed what looked like a paper hanging from the end of it. He went to the trash and took the envelope out and there was a paper in it. Very strange indeed he thought to himself, he was sure it was empty. He unfolded the paper to read the words: "DON'T FOR GET YOUR KEYS". Well that's just crazy he thought and he threw it away again and headed out the door. When he got to his car and reached for his keys, his pocket was empty. He had forgotten his keys. He quickly turned back towards the house to retrieve them when he remembered what the letter had said. William threw open the door of the house and ran to the trash where he had throw the letter but it was gone. The envelope was there but nothing else. Now he started to question things, maybe he was just tired, over worked. Maybe his sub conscience mind was playing tricks on him, maybe he had imagined the letter. He sat the wrinkled envelope on the table and went to the bedroom to get his keys. When he came back through the kitchen on his way to the door, there on the table was the letter, folded neatly on top of the envelope. He cautiously but quickly opened the letter to read the words: "DON'T DRIVE TO WORK". The words worried him a little but he didn't have time to walk to work and he didn't believe in this sort of thing anyway. As strange as it all was he went back to his car and started it up. As he was backing out of the drive and into the street a car seemed to come from nowhere and struck his car with a force that pushed it completely off of the road and onto his front lawn. He tried to gather himself together as he looked at the other vehicle, there was a woman slumped over the steering wheel, she was bleeding and badly hurt. He quickly reached for his cellular telephone as he tried to get out of his car to check on the woman. He dialed 911 and told them he needed an ambulance then hung up the phone and ran to the woman's car. She was moaning painfully but wasn't completely conscience. William was scared, he had never seen anything like this before. What should he do? Should he try to get her out? Should he just wait? What could be taking so long for help to arrive?

The police were the first to get there. One of the officers began to question William about what had happened while another went to help the woman in the car. The paramedics finally arrived and moved the woman to a gurney then placed her into the back of the ambulance. William heard one of them say "we need to stop the bleeding" another one said "she's not gonna make it". Sirens and flashing lights filled the morning air. The tow truck had came and was hooking up to the cars when William finally turned to go back inside. He needed to call the office to tell them why he was so late. William opened his door and as he looked across the room at the kitchen table, he began to feel sick, it wasn't an illness that was making him feel this way. He saw the envelope there on the table and remembered what the letter had said. This time he knew that he hadn't imagined it, it was real, but how? How could something like this be possible? Who was the man that brought it? Why was he dressed the way he was?

William sat down with his head in his hands. What was going on he thought. Why was this happening to him? Just then the telephone rang. It was the office calling to see why he hadn't showed up. William explained that he had been in an accident and that he would probably not be able to make it in at all today. He hung up the phone then looked back at the envelope. The letter was nowhere to be seen, it had vanished just like before. He thought about the old man again. The letter had Williams name on it so it couldn't have just been a random delivery. He didn't know the old man, nothing about him looked familiar but someone who knew William must have sent him.

The minutes slowly ticked by and morning became afternoon. William was still sitting at the table, afraid to get up, afraid of what might happen next. This is ridiculous he though. He had to get up, he had to do something. He had no idea what to do but he knew that he couldn't just set there any longer. He went to the bathroom and washed his face then went back to the kitchen to fix a sandwich for lunch. His stomach was empty, he hadn't eaten anything since the night before. Maybe some food would make him feel better. He was very careful not to even look towards the table where he had left the envelope, scared that he might see the letter again. He took his sandwich to the living room where he turned on the television. He sat on the sofa and listened to the local news while he ate. During the traffic report he learned that the woman in the car had died on the way to the hospital, her name was not being released pending notification of next of kin. As he heard those words his stomach turned, he felt nauseous. If only he had heeded what the letter said. Was the letter something that could predict the future? Did the letter cause it to happen? William didn't know what to think. He wanted the envelope to be gone, he didn't want to see it ever again.

William went back to the kitchen to get the envelope and burn it in the sink. As he came into the kitchen where it was, he seen the letter, laying there on top of the envelope. He would burn it too he thought. He wouldn't even open it, just burn it and be rid of it all. His hands trembled as he picked them up. What did the letter say this time? Was it a warning again? Maybe it was something that would save his life. He had to read it, he had to know. He slowly unfolded the letter to read the words: "LOCK THE DOORS". Without thinking he ran to the front door and quickly locked it, then to the back, the letter still clasped in his hand. When he had the doors locked he looked that the letter again, it couldn't disappear he thought, if he held it in his hand. The letter was still there but the words were different. When he was finished doing all the letter had said, the house was locked up tight, the telephone was torn from the wall, the windows were blackened out with newspapers covering them all. The house was dark. Only one lone candle lit the area around the kitchen table where this had all started.

He sat at the table, holding the letter. It seemed to have complete control over his every action. The sun was starting to go down now but William had no sense of what time it was. He was terrified, setting alone in the dark, beads of sweat covered his face. He heard a noise from the back of the house, what was it? He looked at the letter to see what it would say about the noise but the paper was blank. Was something trying to get in? Was the letter going to let it get him? It was a thumping noise that slowly made it's way from the back of the house, over the roof to the front door. "What is it? Why won't you tell me" he screamed at the letter. Then just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Complete silence filled the house. He could almost hear his own heart beat. The silence terrified him even more. Was something coming for him in the dark? Something that he couldn't hear? He jumped up and ran for the light switch on the wall, but the lights didn't come on. He knocked over the candle that had been his only light in the house. Now he was in complete darkness. He ran to his bedroom, trying all the switches on the way. Nothing worked. He couldn't remember ever being in such darkness, no sunlight, no electricity, no anything, just the darkness. He scrambled around the room, knocking things over, tripping and falling. He was looking for a cigarette lighter or flashlight or anything that might give him some light. He tore away the newspaper from the bedroom window but it was useless, it was still dark. He had to get out of the house, but would the letter let him. He couldn't see it anymore but he knew it was there, he could feel it in his hand. He ran to the door but it wouldn't open, the locks were stuck. He was trapped.

Maybe it was better this way he thought. Whatever was out there wouldn't be able to get in, it wouldn't be able to get him. His head was filled with visions of the old man that brought the envelope and of the woman in the car. Did she have a family? Was she someones wife, was she someone mother? Was it her ghost that made the noise? Was she coming to get him? He had to find some light, he had to see the letter. He scrambled through the house, stumbling in the darkness looking for anything that would give him enough light to see the letter. Then he remembered he had his cellular telephone in his pocket. Would it work? Would the light on it be enough to see the letter? To read what it would say to him? He quickly reached for it and flipped it open. It worked, the light came on. He slowly lowered it closer to the letter, he could see words but what did they say. He wiped the sweat from around his eyes to read the words: "TURN OFF THE LIGHT". "WHAT?" He screamed as he threw the letter and the phone. Now what would he do, he heard the phone break when it hit the wall. Where did the letter go? How will he ever find it in this darkness? Maybe it was gone, disappeared like before. William found his way back to his bedroom, crawled in bed still dressed in his work clothes and covered his head. He was there for what seemed like hours, until somewhere in the night, he fell asleep.

William spent the day cleaning his house, the doors were unlocked and the lights worked once again. As he picked up the things that were scattered from the night before, he looked for the envelope. It was now where to be found. His cellular phone was broken beyond repair, he laid the pieces on the table and tried to use his home telephone to call work. It didn't work either. He looked around the house at the mess he had made, he looked down at his clothes that were torn and dirty. He needed a shower, that would make things better he thought. He walked towards the bedroom to get some fresh clothes when there on the bed, he seen it. It was the envelope. "NO!" he yelled as he turned to run away. Just then he stopped, he had to get it, he couldn't survive another day like the one before. He picked up the envelope and noticed that the name on the front was different, it wasn't his name. He didn't recognize then name. He quickly ran for the telephone book to look up the name that was written on the envelope. He found it, it was an address just outside of town. He quickly took the envelope and ran out the door, as he looked across the lawn at where his car had been he could see the torn up grass and remembered the woman who had died there in the street. He ran until he could hardly breathe, then he walked. All the while he was thinking of who the man could be that the envelope was addressed to. He didn't stop until he came to the house. He took a deep breath then walked up to the front door and knocked. The door opened and there stood a man who looked like he was just about to go to work. William handed him the wrinkled envelope then quickly turned to walk away. "Hey buddy" the man yelled, but William didn't stop or turn back to look, he just kept walking. As he walked he felt sorry for the man but he was glad the envelope was gone.