The Picture On The Postcard
Jellyfish illuminate the murky depths. There is nothing else to see.
The Writing On The Postcard
Beneath the sea there’s another sea and beneath that another, each one as distinct from the other as the land is from the sky. And beneath even that there’s the true surface of the earth, as alien to us and as unknowable as whatever it is that waits below the clouds of Jupiter, whatever it is that still sleeps and dreams in the heart of the sun.
The Reaction To The Postcard
Tina: “Dad’s kind of strange really, isn’t he?”
Ethel: “Very strange.”
Daniel: “Maybe he’s a merman now!”
Tina: “He’s not a merman, Daniel.”
Ethel: “He can’t even swim underwater.”
Daniel: “So how is he even breathing down there at the bottom of the sea with all those jellyfish he’s friends with now?”
Claire: “He’s not breathing down there because he’s dead!”
Tina: “Claire can you please stop saying Dad’s dead. It’s very upsetting.”
Ethel: “And we all know he isn’t dead at all anyway.”
Claire: “Well he might as well be! And we definitely don’t know that at all, Ethel. For all we know he’s been dead for weeks.”
Ethel: “Then how come he’s sending us all these postcards?”
Claire: “He obviously sent them ages ago. And then he died before they arrived.”
Daniel: “Because he sent from SPACE! And UNDER THE SEA!”
Claire: “Exactly!”
Tina: “And also a nearby town.”
Claire: “Which town?”
Ethel: “One that’s almost but not exactly like this town.”
Claire: “That could be anywhere!”
Tina: “What about the one he sent us from the castle?”
Ethel: “And that one he sent from the woods? The woods aren’t far away at all!”
Claire: “What castle? Which woods?”
Tina (pointing out the window): “That castle! And those woods!”
Claire: “Yeah well maybe he forgot to post those ones until he was already in space. And then he died AS he posted them. And that’s why he forgot to sign his name to the bottom of them OR put a date on them to say when he posted them. It would also explain why that one’s all covered in blood.”
Tina: “Actually I think that’s just jam.”
Claire: “Why would dad cover his postcards in jam?”
Daniel: “Maybe Dad lives in the toaster now! And also the postcards pop out of the toaster when he’s written them! And then they land in some jam for some reason.”
Ethel: “The reason is because Claire spilt all the jam because she drinks it straight out of the jar like it’s a milkshake.”
Claire: “I do not!”
Daniel: “I do!”
Claire: “Daniel! You’re not supposed to admit it!”
_____________
Notes:
1. The postcard was written on May 16th, 2024
2. And the reaction to the postcard was written on May 22nd, 2024