The Space Mailman
Category B: Highly Commended (2023) Monash Short Story Writing Competition
Author: Liana Chen
The celestial stars and planets sped past me in a blur of transcendence and otherworldly hues. Alas I had no time to enjoy my ethereal surroundings as the gentle hum of my rocket ship nudged me on to my next customer.
As the universe’s one and only mail girl, I constantly found myself occupied with tasks to deliver news of both good and bad. Whether it was an envelope to a wedding or funeral, I was always the first person to be subjected to freshly sliced despair or uncorrupted joy.
The subtle whir of the engines slowly whispered away and from a distance I spotted the location of the labelled destination on the envelope and awoke from my dreamlike trance to pick up my pace.
Nestled behind the looming shadows was a little cottage with an elderly woman leaning out of the window longingly. As my footsteps became audible to her ears, she exchanged eye contact with me and I felt like I was being forcibly dragged into decades of desperation and yearning.
“I have a letter for you.” I announced while hastily handing the paper to her urgently stretching hands.
During these short moments, I watched her hungry expressions transform to aching joy and relief. With the peaceful hum of the stars accompanying her raw sobs, I felt out of place. In the bleakness of my mind, the beauty of the grandmother’s bliss overshadowed my dullness like a tsunami wave. Like a coward, I fixed my gaze into the sea of eternal stars instead of embracing the bittersweet scene. Finally, when I redirected my stare towards the old lady, her happiness grazed my heart and I unconsciously took a few steps back.
Ah… why did I choose this in the first place?
My footsteps must have shattered her emotional state and she raised her head abruptly, the dregs of her previous joy still residing in her eyes.
“Please, remind my daughter her home is always in my heart.” The elderly lady smiled.
Home? It had been so long since I had heard those words.
I nodded stoically, making my way back to my unattended rocket ship to embark on my next journey.
The next planet was completely different from the previous planet, it was bordered by rocks and the sky was blanketed by a heavy layer of smoke. I found myself staring at a large fortress in awe, adorned with jagged thorns and enveloped by a murky moat. As I walked, the atmosphere felt haunted and seemed to swallow my soul, leaving me panting for breath.
In a small room, completely walled by thick stone, a young boy sat stiffly in his throne, every muscle tensed as his eyes slid coldly over me, taking my figure in.
Wordlessly, the letter was handed between us, and I unconsciously stumbled back a few steps, determined to widen the distance between myself and this ‘Ice prince’. Unlike the previous loving desperation from the elderly woman, the boy furiously pried the letter open with a fearful desire, as if he was scared of a beast nipping his fingers from inside the envelope. I watched him read the first lines of the letter, anticipating his next actions.
Then, there was silence.
For a moment, I doubted if time was moving. The howling from the wind died down to a cautious whimper and the boy remained frozen like a statue.
But then, just as quick as it arrived, silence fled to be replaced by rage.
The child let out a wail, scraped raw with pain and agony. This was no longer the scream of a human but of an animal with no other purpose in life than to release the essence of anguish into the world. Each pained, gurgled breathe he took sounded as though he was choking on life, unable to accept comfort or relief. The small figure dominated the room with his gut-wrenching sorrow as his pain bled into the darkest corners. The young boy exploded with anger only to shred his outer shell to reveal the flesh of his wounded core of sorrow. Gradually, his anger died down to a sombre melancholy and quiet sobs and now the shadows, thirsting for vengeance and power, loomed over his fragile body.
What could cause someone to break their heart to an extent like this?
The tender breeze snuck into the room and tugged at my sleeves, beckoning me to depart. I left the room with the wind, subtly and swiftly, fluttering above complicated human emotions.
Why was I doing this?
By choosing the role of a giver of joy and grief- had I forgotten how to feel these emotions?
As I mulled over my dull existence, I found a strange letter mailed to no address. After frantically searching for the address to no avail, I decided to open it.
‘Dear our daughter.’
Clearly this was intended for someone else and I hastily began to discard the parchment until a line caught my eye.
‘Despite your honourable duty to deliver mail, I hope you remember your single promise to us.’
Promise? I paused. Eventually, despite the sluggish turmoil in brain, my heart delivered its own letters of memories to me.
‘Even with your constant workload to supply sentiments from different galaxies and planets, you are not to forgo your own. Whenever you feel yourself slipping away from reality, look at the sky and remember that we will always share the same space together.
Love, Ma and Pa.’
The rocket ship engines purred gently and awoke me from my blurry daze of bittersweet joy. I began my next journey to a new destination, however now my heart had aroused from its overdue slumber.
I was happy.