Story: Zürich (chapter 4)

Authors: smfan

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Chapter 4

Title: Mailman

#4 - Zürich

I remember the mailman from when I was little had reddish hair, pale skin, green eyes, and a lollipop for me every time he saw me. I was the only one that ever got one, let alone one every time he saw me. His name was Valentin Amiel and he was my mother's best friend.

The other kids were always jealous, according to Mom when I came home dirty and bloody after she's shoved me out the house, and they said that he did it because he felt sorry for me, then they'd take it and shove me in the dirt in front of my own house. I recall Tommy shoving me on the sidewalk and giving Tawny the lollipop since, “Strawberry flavored ones are girly.”

Mr. Amiel is the only adult that figured out that I like strawberry more than grape and he always made sure to save me one. That was during the time my parents were going through one of their moods where they hated each other with a fierce passion and he always winked at my mom.

He was one of the ones that rang the doorbell every time so we knew he'd come and Mom would go and greet him. He came twice, once in the morning in his uniform, and afterwards he came in jeans for dinner. That was when he gave me my lollipop.

I don't think Dad ever met him and he probably never would have realized that we saw him all the time if it wasn't for the fact that I got into photography around that time. My mom got me a disposable camera and I snapped pictures of everything that I thought was interesting. If you count it now, I had three times as many pictures of Mr. Amiel as I did of everybody else put together.

Samuel likes to say that he was my father figure and my role-model because I looked like him. That was true from the pictures of him and me together that I made Mom take.

My hair is curlier and lighter but besides that we had the same skin tone, and eyes. I remember that Dad stared at it and his eyes turned cold. Well, colder than usual. I somehow doubt that anything has ever warmed him.

“There's a special spot in Hell for him,” Samuel told me once. “Hot enough to make him take that damn suit off.”

I doubt that. In every picture that my father had taken in his adulthood, he was dressed in a full suit or tuxedo and never a stitch more or a stitch less. The photo effected him harshly and I think that was the start of his full campaign against me.

Before it was toleration with a hint of disdain. Now it was full-out ignoring. That was also the time Mr. Amiel stopped coming over and giving me lollipops. Mom said his route changed and he wouldn't be our mail-man anymore. He didn't come by after work but he still gave me my lollipop whenever he saw me.

Sometimes when I look through my photos with Samuel he'll look at me knowingly and I know that it's a secret between the two of us.

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