(BOGGS,1)

Zakary Boggs

Ms. Lukins

Languages arts period 3-4

9 October 2017

The Messenger in the Woods

Hey come check this out! My friends shouted, I sprinted thinking it

was some sort of valuable find like a briefcase full of cash. Hey what are you guys

crowding? I looked over their shoulders to see what was a mailbox, it had no name, no address,

just a dirty rusty mailbox. What is it doing all the way out here? Luke questioned. Maybe its

just a joke, you know, somebody put it here to scare whoever saw it, let me see what's inside. I

replied.

I took a step ahead of them both to open the mailbox, I grabbed the dangling handle

coated with rust, hesitating as I pulled slowly, afraid if something would jump on me as soon as I

pulled down the handle. Boo! Connor startled me, jeez what was that for? Dont do that

again. I demanded. I peeked through the slight opening, What's inside? Luke said, I took a

closer look in the thick shadow, and saw the corner of what seemed to be an envelope. I pulled

the opening wide with eagerness and found what I thought I had seen, a letter which had an old

tint like the pages from a novel youd read from the library, with a wax seal tinted red engraved

with a crown that looked like it was a kings. I slipped my fingers under the paper, making an

opening to see whats inside. In the envelope was a piece of paper with the same color stain as

the envelope, The writing was faint and written in cursive, luckily I new how to read it. The

words on the paper said, Your fortunes lays before you Thomas, my heart froze, it had

known my name. Guys do you see what it says! I cried with fear.
 (BOGGS,2)

What! Uh, yeah I see, we should get out of here. Connor shrieked without a breath.

I dropped the letter and envelope with panic, we grabbed our bags and ran as if we were

being followed by a stranger. I looked back and Luke was still standing in front of the mailbox. I

shouted his name as loud as I could, Luke, come were leaving! He wasnt responding, I had to

get him. Zooming past the tall narrow trees, I saw Luke reading the letter and I grabbed his

shoulder, Luke come on we're leaving.

Thomas did you even read the rest? It says once given a letter stating a question it will

answer everything asked, this means it can tell us our future! Luke shouted. Youre crazy, and

even if it does I dont want to know, so come on lets go, I replied. Luke opened his backpack,

grabbing a pen and paper. Luke we shouldnt mess with it besides we can hang at my house, I

argued.

Sit down lets just try it out, Luke said with confidence.

Connor stood beside me as Luke wrote the question on the paper, How long am I going

to live for and how will I die? He put the letter in the mailbox, his hands were shaking, we were

all silent. He set his folded note on the bottom, then closed the hatch roughly almost breaking the

handle off. I felt the ground shaking behind me, racing to the wood post holding the metal box

itself,

What's happening! Connor shouted

What did you do! I shouted at Luke with a relentless tone. Luke opened the mailbox as

fast as he could, there it was, another letter with same look, almost identical, my emotions

shattered fear. He opened the note that was given, we all crowded around to see what it said,

Luke broke into tears. The note said that hed live till he was 36 and that hed die from a car
 (BOGGS,3)

accident with his wife and child. I was shocked, frozen with no words, but then again its gotta

be true since it knew his name I thought, he was only thirteen.

That cant be true, Luke cried, he wiped his tears. The note Luke was holding

immediately caught on fire in his hands without pain it seemed, burning to ashes, he dropped the

paper in a sudden movement on the ground as it dissolved into particles. I was scared for Luke, I

didnt want him to feel bad or frightened because of this note, I thought, and it could've been lies

too, could make him go crazy.

Connor grabbed the paper on the dirt next to Lukes backpack as well as his pen, Hey

we're not doing this again Connor, cant you see what it does, what it did to Luke? It was his

fault he asked that, besides Im going to ask a good question; what am I going to be when im

older? Again, Connor grabbed Luke's pen and another piece of paper from his backpack,

Connor wrote rapidly on the lined paper then put it inside the mailbox. Once again the ground

shook, vibrations rushing all around. Connor tore the envelope, wrinkling the note, indenting

through the words.With the choices that you make with your education and with life it will

guide you to a successful career. What? It doesnt tell me what Im going to be, oh well, at

least it says im going to be successful! Connor said with a tinge of disappointment.

Again the note blazed into flames then to scattered ashes in the air. I was filled with fear,

ready to leave, Im done with this stuff, its unfair, were supposed to support each other, not

make each other feel bad, do any of you think this is even scary? Im going to uncover what

this thing is! Like the others I grabbed the materials, pen and paper, and wrote, Tell me, what

are you, how do you know our names, and why are you here? I wrote viciously. I inserted my

note inside once more. The ground shook, this time the leaves were falling, the birds were

behaving chaotic in the skies, scrambling and dust was swarming over the dancing pebbles.
 (BOGGS,4)

Within a flash the mailbox before us was pulled under the ground crushing the flowers

surrounding it, vanishing from our sight.

We looked at one another with different expressions on our faces, sadness, happiness,

mostly confusion, but the most important part we understood each other and what had happened.

Lets get out of here, I said. I stepped past the thick roots stretched across the ground, walking

home into the distance with my pals. In the end we learned a valuable lesson that the future isnt

worth knowing for some.