Okay, okay, so I took an hour and wrote. Sue me.
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Dear Mirta~
It’s been a few weeks since last I wrote. In that time, I’ve been studying. I’ve had my big beaklike nose buried in all the books I can find. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve learned! Did you know that with a simple gesture, a steady mind, and a flick of the wrist, you can lift objects into the air? Anyone can do it, really… it’s just a matter of learning HOW to do it. If I’d known how much fun this would be, I’d have become an adventurer instead of following in my father’s footsteps as a farmer.
No, that’s not true at all. I’d never give up the life I led. No magic or exciting adventure could ever compare with the simple joy of plowing a field in the morning and sitting with you in our reading chair in the evening. Now that you’re gone, though, I’ll be honest, honey… I love becoming a wizard. It’s so much fun. I’ve even taken some of my savings and purchased an outfit. It’s mostly purplish with flame designs, big sleeves and pockets to hold components in. I got myself a pointy hat. The guy at the shop said that wizards don’t really wear pointy hats- “they’re both outdated and cliché”, he said. I got it anyway. To me, when I was a kid, you weren’t a wizard without a pointy hat. I added a star dangling from its top. I’m sure you’ll understand the significance, Mirta.
Oh, you’ll not believe what happened today. Remember the Lumley couple from down the lane? Remember their son, the little hellion responsible for destroying your flowerbed and tying bells into our cat’s tail? Lox. Lox Lumley. Well, the wee bastard actually tried to pick my pocket today. Caught him plucking through one of my spell pouches. I whirled on him and actually used a spell. Flashed lights and colors in his eye so brightly and quickly that he was dazed. I grabbed him by the ear and began yelling “Lumley!!” I says. “What do you think you’re doing, stealing from an old man?”
“I weren’t stealing nothing, Mr. Bundlebrush, sir! I was just lookin’ fer a coin I dropped,” he says, rubbin’ his eyes and trying to look innocent.
“Why would you drop a coin in MY pocket, Lumley?”
“Remember that one time, when you bought a pair of new shoes, then they got dirty quickly because you’re always walking around in dirt? Bet that wasn’t fun, huh? Well, gotta go!”
“LUMLEY!!! Don’t try to change the subject! You’re not going to waltz away from this one, young man. Oh, no. You’re going to find me an adventuring group to travel with.”
The look on his face was priceless, Mirta. His eyes went as wide as the earflaps on an elf’s winter cap.
He says to me, he says “You’re crazy! You’re too old to adventure.”
“I’m young enough to have caught you, you weaselly varmint!” I yell. “Now go and find me a group of adventurers. I’m buying my ticket out of this town.”
He scampered off, bewildered. I expect to hear back from him by tomorrow. I’ll be ready, in my outfit. I’ve packed all my socks and good clothes, a blanket, a water tin, some rope, my spellbook, some rations, a few potions, and my favorite pipe. I feel ready. I hope that walking over a hill into the sunset is what I’ve always dreamed of.
Anyway, I should get a good night’s sleep. I’ll write more later… and hopefully, I’ll have something to tell!
Thinking of you always. I love you.
~Nuttin
I just started and "old fogie" character myself, with almost exactly the same background: wife just died, children all grown/growing up, recently became a grandfather, off to see the world, writing journal entries to his dearly departed wife...
