Midweek writing prompt – delayed mail

Belated xmas giftThis week I received a very belated Christmas gift from my American cousins.

A Christmas present, in May! Apparently it set off from their hometown in November, spent a bit of time socialising with postal workers, skipped over to England, didn’t like the look of us, so hurried back, only to be dutifully re-sent to us. I can only assume it ran out of energy, so is now here, waiting to be unwrapped.

And what a great premise this kind of scenario makes for fiction writing. The letter that arrived too late, or fell into the wrong hands. The parcel that contained something unexpected, or sinister, or just, as someone I know once experienced, with a nibble taken from one corner and a sincere apology from a mail sorter who’d felt a bit peckish and couldn’t wait till their break.

What kind of interaction could this lead too? What misunderstandings might arise? Oh, there are so many possibilities!

Have fun with it.

If you write something prompted by this idea, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to publish it on SkyLightRain.com.