Return To Sender

RETURN TO SENDER – DECEASED was stamped on the envelope. Diana read it again and felt like she wanted to sit down.

The correspondence between Hildy and Diana had been going on for 3 years and Diana was going to miss her weekly letter from Sonora.

A phone rang, interrupting Diana’s memories. It was a lawyer saying that she was the sole heir to Hildy Goldthorpe’s estate.

On the drive to her home town, Diana thought about how she and Hildy had met. Both women lived on the same street in the small town of Sonora in Northern California.

Hildy would sit out on her front porch most days with a beverage, a journal and often with a book or two. If she wasn’t writing she was reading. There was a glider on the porch, but Hildy never seemed to be gliding. She was always sitting still with both feet on the floor. Diana would walk by and wave nearly every day on her way to work at the bookstore.

One day the Diana discovered the front porch writer sitting in one of the 3 big comfy chairs at the bookstore. Diana knelt on the floor by the chair and the long comfortable relationship began.

Diana and Hildy would only exchange waves from the porch to the street but in the bookstore they discussed books, current events, favorite recipes, nearly everything. Sometimes Diana would go to the bookstore on her days off just to spend more time talking with Hildy. The bookstore was their special place.

When Diana left for college, the women exchanged weekly letters.

As Diana parked in the narrow driveway of Hildy’s little cottage, she couldn’t believe this would be the first time she would set foot inside the private world of Hildy Goldthorpe.

The key that the lawyer gave her was on a keychain with a silver honeybee. As her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior she saw the small kitchen from where she stood in the living room, she also saw a doorway that led to the tiny bedroom.

Every wall in the living room had shelving. The shelves were loaded with books and journals and there was only one big easy chair in the middle. There was space on one of the shelves for a small 12” tv and a radio. A small table with a lamp stood beside the chair and on the other side of the chair there was a basket on the floor. The basket held all of Diana’s letters.

Diana stepped into the bedroom and as she opened the drapes she was amazed to see more shelves and every one filled to overflowing. Everything Hildy ever wrote was in this room. There were spiral notebooks, composition books and an entire wall of Moleskin journals.

Hildy’s lawyer told Diana that the “estate” consisted of the small cottage and its contents. The bank account balance was $217.53 and that would potentially pay the lawyer, but not much else.

All at once Diana missed frumpy fabulous Hildy. She opened all the drapes, sat on the bed and drank in the paper-filled room. On the nightstand was a lamp, a cup filled with pens and a red Moleskin journal. Diana picked up the journal and turned to the final entry.

March 3, 2011

The sunset was beautiful tonight, it seemed to last for hours. The sky turned from orange to pink to dark red as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

I feel like my sun might be setting too. I am leaving this entry for Diana, who has been my pen pal for these last years and brought me much joy.

My friend, I am so grateful for your friendship and correspondence over the years. As someone who is more comfortable with my books and journals, I was so happy to share my thoughts with you through the mail. Helene inspired both of us with her correspondence and I am so grateful that we both shared her knack for writing letters. I know you have student loans Diana, that is why I have socked away a little something for you. You will find instructions for recovering my gift in a small black book. It brings me some joy to know you will have to do a little searching in my home that I also gladly leave to you Diana.

If this is not the last entry in this journal it may even be more of a challenge.

Thank you Diana for your friendship these last years. I hope you can spend a lot of time reading and writing and enjoying my little home.

Til tomorrow – goodnight.

Diana sat stunned, tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked around the room at the hundreds and hundreds of journals. It seemed like most of them were black. How would she find “the little black notebook”?

The bookstore seemed like a nice break from the reality of Hildy being gone. As she walked Diana thought of all the letters and talks that she and Hildy shared. When she got to the bookstore she sat in Hildy’s favorite comfy chair, closed her eyes and just was.

The lights flickered indicating the bookstore was closing and Diana walked slowly back to Hildy’s. She was glad that she left the lights on at the cottage. Once inside she sat down in the living room and assessed the situation. There were books and journals everywhere. Diana took down a few little black journals and flipped quickly through each one, but there didn’t seem to be any clues.

She felt like she needed fresh air. She went to the little kitchen and found a glass, some ice and poured herself a glass of water. She turned on the porch light and went out to Hildy’s glider. As she sat, she expected the gentle sway, but there was no movement.

On further inspection Diana realized that the gliding mechanism had been jammed with a very small black journal. Soon the glider was moving freely and the small back Moleskin was in her hand. The little 3x5 book was securely closed with an elastic strap.

Her hands trembled as she carefully removed the elastic and opened the book. The book was hollowed out in the middle and there was a key neatly tucked into the space. Around the key were the following instructions:

This key unlocks your gift from me. Use your wits to figure out the puzzle. Please finish your education and do all the things you want to do in your life. Your friend, Hildy

What could this key open? She thought of the possibilities; safety deposit box, padlock, door or a treasure chest?

When Diana left for school her parents moved away from Sonora, so she would spend the night at the small house that she now owned. She called for a pizza and while she waited she took a closer look at the books in Hildy’s living room. Diana ran her finger along the spines of each book and she stopped at a very thin book and pulled it from the shelf. 84 Charing Cross Road was a book that Hildy and Diana both loved and it had been an inspiration for their own correspondence. Sitting down in the big chair Diana flipped through the book, missing Hildy. As the pages turned a small card fell to the floor..

The card read: In the yard there stands a small shed. The door is locked for all but one. When you find the key it may help some pay debts from the past and help you unlock possibilities for the future.

Of course, Helene! Diana thought back to the last entry in Hildy’s journal and it all made sense now. Helene Hanff shared her many decades of correspondence with a London bookseller in the lovely book 84 Charing Cross Road. It was the perfect place for a clue from her pen pal.

Diana went to the back door, she did not even realize this cottage had a backyard. She found a light switch and turned on an outdoor light. The key did fit into the shed door and she felt for a switch for a light inside. There was a single bulb that illuminated the shed and she spotted an ornate box that seemed out of place. After wiping the layer of dust from the box, she tucked it under her arm and exited the shed.

In the cozy kitchen she opened the box and there she found $20,000 packed in neat rolls and a small Bible she often saw Hildy carrying. It was more than enough to pay her student loans and her last year of college. She sat on the floor and wept with both sadness and joy.

Later Diana would write of this long incredible day in her own journal.