The envelope was blue, and the clock had stopped at four. Those were the two things everyone agreed on. Ada had left the letter on the hall table before going downstairs to collect a parcel. When she returned, it was gone. Her brother had been in the kitchen, her neighbour on the landing, and the clock repairer had just packed his tools.
Nobody wanted to accuse anyone. The letter was an invitation, Ada said, not money. Still, she asked all three to help look. Her brother checked beneath the table. The neighbour shook out a folded newspaper. The repairer lifted the clock and found the envelope underneath it. “There,” he said. “These things happen.” Ada looked at the clock rather than the letter.
“You fixed it,” she said. “I did,” he replied. “Then why is it showing four?” He explained that he had removed the hands while cleaning the mechanism and had not yet reset them. Ada asked him to lift the clock again. Its four small feet stood on felt pads. The envelope lay between them, unmarked. Her brother said this proved nothing. Ada agreed.
Then she turned the envelope over. A crescent of damp glue shone on its flap. “I left it open,” she said. “I had not put the invitation inside.” The neighbour looked down. “I thought it was the letter about my rent. I saw the blue paper and panicked.” She had hidden it beneath the clock while everyone looked elsewhere. Ada fetched a fresh envelope. This time she wrote the name before leaving the room.
This is an original fictional story. Its characters and events are invented. Created with AI-assisted writing for Mystavora.