Letters to Monaora

-Oh my God!

'What a sorrowful afternoon this is...' He said to himself, expressing his anxiety about the evening in a tone of lamentation.

He put his hands together at belly level and paced around the tiny room, glancing at his watch every time he turned.

He would have lit a cigarette if his promise to Mona had not bothered his conscience, but he had promised Monaora that he would never smoke again.

As he paced, synchronizing his steps with the ticking of the clock, he suddenly thought of Bernard. Indeed, no one knew Mona's whereabouts better than Bernard. Because Berni was Mona's older brother and also Paul's best friend.

Wasting no time, he dialed and the voice on the other end said he had to leave a message. Minutes later Paul was startled by the sound of the phone ringing. It had to be Bernard. He picked up the phone in a hurry and his guess was right, it was Bernard. After a brief greeting, he asked about Mona. Paul's voice trembled as he told him that Mona hadn't shown up, even though it was well past the agreed time.

Obviously Berni didn't know much either. Mona had gotten ready and left around four o'clock. When he heard that, Paul's eyes went to the clock and it was nine o'clock. He hung up the phone and immediately went to make a call. The wind was directing the rain in the town that had just entered September. Ignoring the cold weather and the rain that was pouring down in torrents as if each drop was competing with his tears, he was visiting every place that Mona could visit, one by one, to get news from his Mona.

The hairdresser,

The patisserie he frequented,

Her friend Isabell.

No one had seen Monaora. Then Paul remembered the post office two blocks up the street. Mona would periodically send letters to her family out of town. "Maybe she'll stop by the post office and meet me after she sends a letter to her family. Her feet were already leading her to the post office.

As his steps melted one by one on the soaked asphalt, his phone rang on the way. It was his old friend Giovanni.

Gio said he had two tickets for the basketball game tonight and asked if Paul could accompany him. Paul, who was not much of a basketball guy, told Gio to wait to hear from him and that he would let him know in an hour if he could make it to the game.

If he could get another ticket, he would take Mona with him. He hung up the phone, wiped the raindrops off the screen and put it in his pocket.

Mona was in love with basketball. He loved Monaora so much that he was willing to watch this sport, which he didn't really like, just so Mona could have a good time. He had just approached the post office when a crowd attracted Paul's attention. As he approached the crowd with timid steps, he looked curiously at the person lying on the ground. Covered with newspapers so that only his feet were exposed, he had probably been hit by a car. Breaking through the crowd and entering the scene, Paul staggered for a moment at what he saw and felt the tip of his nose sting from the pain.

-Oh my God!!

-These are the shoes I bought Mona for her birthday two weeks ago.

-Monaa!!

-No! Oh no!!!

She didn't dare to put the papers away. She was so full she couldn't cry. Fortunately the wind came to her rescue and gently blew the newspapers apart.

Meanwhile, Mona's blood flowing into the rain and flowing into the city gutter was endless. For a moment, his eyes caught on the flying newspapers and his Mona, whom he called 'my princess', was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Suddenly their eyes met and they could only say;

- Paul... Mona could only say.

Paul's throat was in knots. Mona could barely move and handed Paul the rain-soaked papers wrapped tightly in her palm. Paul was still silent, what could he say anyway... As he opened Mona's palm, his eyes slowly closed, Mona was no more. When he opened the pieces of paper and looked at them, it hurt Paul once again.

Two basketball tickets and a letter addressed to 'Dear Family'.

* * * *

From that day on, Paul never missed a basketball game... And every week he sent two letters from the post office where he lost his 'Princess'.

One, from Mona's mouth to her "Dear Family

The other, from his own heart, to his Mona, who will never return.