Letters To My Palestinian Neighbor Novels & Stories

I nodded and slipped it into my wallet. At home, I took a shower, changed into my pajamas, and quickly climbed to bed. I opened the letter. Dear Nia, I hope this letter finds you well and that you will take the time to read this. I would have wanted to talk to you personally, but I respect your request to leave you alone and not show my face until I leave school. I would like to thank you for giving me the chance to know you, be with you, and love you. Just want you to know that you're really special to

Conversations with neighbors who smiled without knowing anything about the war being waged ten floors above them. Normalcy as camouflage. It almost worked. Until the envelope arrived. No postage. No return address. Just my name, written carefully, slid under the door. My hands were steady when I picked it up. That surprised me. Inside was a photograph. Not recent. Not staged. It was from months ago. Me, walking alone. Head down. Unaware. On the back, a single sentence: You were easier to reach than he thought. When he came home, I didn’t give him time to ask what was wrong. I handed him the photo.

God, when will this day end? I was happy to walk through the door of my home; happy to be back in my element and alone, away from everything I seemed to have ruined. I had received a letter with an Ohio address. I heard my heart thumping in my ears. Letters with an Ohio address always turned out to be bad news. The last time this happened, I received some unwanted pictures. To my surprise, it was Emett. I had tried to reach out to him and his brother a few times, but they never answered. I left voicemails, but they never called back. A smile came upon my face. This letter meant that they hadn’t gave up on me. There was a chance for us to make up and move forward with our friendship. I kick

They’ll kill my mother in my presence and still force me into doing their bidding by spying on you. I had no choice. And actually, I’m a bit sad that I didn’t get to see your child and surprise you with the name that I had given them. But oh well, life happens, I guess. Extend my greetings to Liam. I can’t even bring myself to write a personalized letter to him. Thank you for showing me what true companionship and friendship meant. I’ll never forget you. With love, Lea. I closed the letter and only then did I realize that tears had started to fall from my eyes.

“It takes courage to dare and change. “ I complete. “ Exactly.” I continue walking with my neighbor in silence. Enjoying the flowers and reflecting on the conversation. The cell phone in my pocket vibrates to let me know that a message has arrived. It's from Jonathan. Baby, what's up? The message brings me out of my thoughts, I'd better say goodbye to my neighbor and get back to my tidying. “ Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't think I know your name.” “ Pierre, Pierre Janout.”

It was a tide, in and out, and some nights the water came up higher than others. One evening the letter arrived, thin envelope with no return address, postmarked from a maximum-security prison somewhere in the outback. Cedric read it at the kitchen table while the others moved around him, quiet and busy, Lily doing dishes, Mia humming while she cleaned brushes, the dog snoring under the table like none of it mattered, which, in the end, was the point. The words were short, no games, no blame. [You won. I lost. But I don't regret anything. I loved you. I still do. That's the only truth I know.]

I paused a bit and sat on my bed, holding the letter to my heart, that one sentence still echoing in my mind like a sweet melody. I took a deep breath, my fingers trembling with excitement, and began to read aloud, my voice barely above a whisper. "My dearest Peniel, I miss you more than words can say." "Every moment I'm away from you feels like an eternity. The war is brutal, my love, and I've seen things that I'll never unsee.' "The screams, the blood, the loss... it's almost too much to bear. But I hold on to the thought of you, of us, of our future together."

This is our new way of studying together, our legs entwined while we study. I open the paper letter first and read it. ‘Hey Yorick! I know you didn’t expect to hear from me so soon, but since I wanted to encourage you to write me quickly, I wrote the day you left. It’s already too quiet here. How can you have so much of a presence here that I already miss you?

I wondered. I walked slowly towards the window with my arms wrapped around me. I grabbed the window handles to pull them back to close it but I stopped midway when I noticed the lights next door. Who could that be? The house beside us was empty for over a year. I squinted and could actually see the inside of the room through the window adjoining mine. Like seriously, I could strangle the guy who constructed these houses like that. So damn close! Anyway, we finally got some new neighbours. What an odd time to move in though, I couldn't help but think. I just hope they would be nice. My parents could have some pals.

The more he saw of Mel the more he liked her. “All that you’ve done or haven’t done, I think the person who gave me those papers did much, much worse. Any ideas who it could have been?” The smile fell from Mel’s face. “I haven’t had time to think about it.” A mischievous sparkle entered her eyes. “I’ve had a really annoying neighbor banging on my door, practically for hours.” “It wasn’t for hours,” Trent replied with a scoff. “It wasn’t even an hour. I’m not annoying either, just persistent. You know, you may have been able to avoid this if you locked your doors!”