Chocolate & Mon Chéri (Chapter-4)

 

"What are you dooiing?" Baby Cora pushes herself up on my thigh and tries to peek into the letter. I smile ruffling her hair. Her hair is so soft and smooth. The strands feel great against my fingers. I just want to keep running my fingers through them.

"Communicating with my favorite person."

She tilts her head and her honey-dipping eyes bore into mine with curiosity, "Commu- What?"

I chuckle. Pulling her up and making her sit on my lap, I tear the page from the notepad and reply to her, "It's like talking but with writing."

Her mouth forms a perfect 'o' as she stares at the letter intently. I don’t know if she can read or not but my random guess is she probably can't.

"You’re just writing a letter!" she yells in realization and looks up at me, surprised. I chuckle again picking her up in my arms and standing up, "Yes, I am."

"Are you gonna give them this?"

I nod walking towards the ocean, "Mhm."

The shore where the waves are crashing down is where I stop. The cold water touches my feet making me shiver a little but I kinda like it.

"But I don't see anyone here."

I don't say anything in return, just throw her a smile. Putting her down, I kneel down beside her and start making a small paper boat with the letter. She doesn’t say anything either, just watches me.

As it's finished, I place it on the water and push it a little as another wave is moving back into the sea. I watch silently as the boat shakily tries to keep up with the strong roaring waves to make its way to him.

"It's gonna get lost in the sea!" Cora exclaims shaking my hand. I chuckle at her innocence keeping my eyes on the boat, "No, baby, it's not. It's the only way the letter can reach him."

She makes a sound which resembles, I don't know, excitement maybe because, after that, she suddenly gets really excited. Jumping up and down, she exclaims, "Can I try doing it too?"

I kneel down beside her. I push the locks that are covering her forehead and eyes due to the salty air. Looking her in the eyes, I whisper, "It's better to speak to them face to face while you still have them. Tell them how much you love them, why you love them, why they are so beautiful, and what about them makes you happy. Tell them anything you want and do it face to face, not by letters. Tell them till you have time. Otherwise, you’ll end up regretting it later, when they'll be no longer with you."

I don't know what she understood because those words are too hard for a little girl like her. But she just smiles like an adult and nods before turning her gaze to the horizon. I also follow her gaze and look back at the sea where the water has touched the sky. The sky has adorned itself with the reddish-pink hue of the setting sun. With the soft murmur of the ocean, it has created a nostalgic environment. The boat is no longer within my vision. I wish it actually reached my mon chéri.