SSRP: Familiar Souls Behind Strangers' Words

[emjay]

At the beginning of 2101, students from magical schools around the world were given the opportunity to partake in a pen pal program. Participants were given code names as a fun option to keep identities secret - because sometimes it's easier to tell a stranger things that you can't quite tell a friend. And then they were sent letters from a new acquaintance who might be from an international or a local school.

Regina De La Garza from Castelobruxo and Noah Martin-Pryce from Hogwarts were two such students matched up as pen pals. And this is an account of their correspondence.

Characters
Noah Martin-Pryce
4th year Ravenclaw at Hogwarts
Bouncy Bunny
(sweetpinkpixie)

Regina De La Garza
5th year at Castelobruxo
Glittery Dolphin
(emjay)

Quote:

Originally Posted by To Bouncy Bunny, From Glittery Dolphin

Hello new friend!

I hope this letter finds you well! A little about me - I was born just outside of London, but I currently live in Brazil where my family owns a private beach. Obviously I love to swim and soak up the sun's rays. Potions and Herbology are my favourite subjects in school. I love flowers especially, so I thought I'd enclose some dried freesia with your letter. I speak five languages with varying degrees of fluency and I hope to be a writer one day like my Papa. I don't have any pets, but I'm thinking about getting one. Just not sure what...

Please tell me all about you as well! Hopefully we have something in common, or we could simply celebrate each other's differences and learn more. Hope to hear from you soon!

*enclosed are several dried and pressed freesia flowers*

Quote:

Originally Posted by To Glittery Dolphin, From Bouncy Bunny

Amicalement,

I do not know what constitutes as worthy information for an initial letter of this nature, so I hope what I share is sufficient and does not disappoint. I am 14-years-old and fluent in both English and French and have a very strong affinity towards small, fragile things and wax seals. Most of which, the wax seal stamps I use, I design and carve myself. Perhaps, someday, I could design one for you? If you would like that, that is.

Affectueusement,
Bouncy Bunny

[sweetpinkpixie]

Noah wasn't sure how many times it was now that he had read over the letter, the anonymity making it seem unreal and perhaps even a prank. Or perhaps like the ones he used to write to himself when he was little - those fictional ones from that woman and the faceless man who had both brought him into this world only to abandon him. The fourth year was not unhappy with his lot in life and he was grateful every day for the two men who had adopted him and given him a loving home. But that did not mean the Ravenclaw was without his gaping holes in his spirit, his person, nor without yearings.

This person did not seem to feel this at all. They sounded happy, hopeful, and the sort of person who would perhaps overlook him unintentionally where they to pass him in the corridor seeing as the curly red haired boy was usually hidden behind a book or in a corner with his shoe box of mice. Most did not notice him - only the gentle spirits like Alexandre, Anna, Chloe, Belle, and now Picadilly seemed to. Though when he listed them like that...he didn't feel like he should feel as alone as he did day to day. This person felt a little like these people and his cloudy bright blue eyes scanned the bottom of the letter once more: Hopefully we have something in common, or we could simply celebrate each other's differences and learn more.

Hopefully.

A private beach, adores the sun, no pets, uses exclamation points for punctuation...Noah felt like he and this stranger could not be anymore different. Though while he instinctively felt this, he also felt a pull he could not understand. Perhaps it was the freesia, which had admittedly brought a small chaste smile to his lips and he had one beside as he finally set to writing back a few days later. He had needed to take the time to muster the courage to.

New friend, they had called him. That was rather presumptuous. He hoped he would not disappoint. He felt that his assigned code name may give the wrong impression - he was anything but bouncy.

Quote:

Mon cher Glittery Dolphin,

Your code name becomes you. I am afraid mine is a poor reflection of who I am and my older sister is the true bouncy one of the family whereas I am more the melancholy one.

Thank you for sharing about yourself. I have only ever read about Brazil and studied it's creatures, particularly the Amazon kingfisher and Black-eared Fairy, but have never been myself unless in a daydream. It must be a beautiful place.

My papa too is a writer - historian, essayist, and novelist - whereas I am a poet, or rather an aspiring one. Most of my work is written in French. So we share an interest for the written word which is quite convenient considering our correspondences.

Dad is a magizoologist, so I have grown up around creatures all my life and live on a golden snidget sanctuary in England. I myself keep mice for company and have six who currently reside in an enchanted shoe box. Several of them are rescue mice I collected after the cats and kneazles roaming around Hogwarts and the Ravenclaw common room chased them and, in most cases, injured them. I recently assisted a friend with matching herself with a rodent for a pet and, though I speak from a place of bias, would recommend that you consider them as you weigh your own pet options.

I wish I could fulfill your request to speak more of myself but, as I mentioned in my initial letter to you, I struggle with sorting what would be of interest to share. I hope my reactions to what you shared about yourself will suffice in filling in more details about me.

Chaleureusement,

I hope you do not mind my returning one of
your freesia with a wax seal of my own as a
gesture of goodwill as an extension in meaning
to your selected flora.

Surprised by how...easy it was to write all that. Perhaps because his pen pal resided in Brazil and therefore the chances of them ever running into one another were slim to none. There was something to be said for it being easier to confide in strangers, though he had never found much merit in that thought until now. Sealing the envelope with another wax seal of no remarkable design and delivered it to the Owlery the next morning.

.....and now he waited.

[emjay]

Regina had tried several times to start penning a reply to her new pen pal, Bouncy Bunny. Their initial letter had been short and sweet, but she wasn't sure how to respond. She had so many questions, though she didn't know if she should ask with this entire program being so secretive. On one hand, the mystery was so intriguing. She didn't even know if Bouncy Bunny was a boy or a girl! But on the other hand, the suspense was almost too much to bear. Plus, she was afraid that perhaps she was being overwhelming with her tendency to talk a lot and didn't know if she should simply respond to the short message or include a bunch of other things to talk about as well.

And so she was pleased to receive another letter from Bouncy Bunny, with much more to go on. She liked that they spoke French and English, something that they had in common, and she would be sure to use that to her advantage. And Regina was rather delighted by the returned freesia blossom under the wax seal. Pen to paper, she began again.

Quote:

Mon cher Bouncy Bunny,

I was so pleased to hear from you again! I suppose I shall take your word for it that you are melancholy, but you do not seem sad from your letters. In fact, you seem rather interesting and you’ve already told me quite a bit about you. Yes, sometimes reactions to what another shares does speak plenty about a person.

Has your papa published any books? Mine hasn’t, but he’s the editor of a newspaper here. I’m not sure yet if I’d like to work at a newspaper or write a book, but I like to make written observations and tell stories. I hope someday you’ll send a poem to me. I know those can be quite personal, but perhaps we’ll get to know each other enough that you’ll feel comfortable enough.

It’s really interesting that you go to Hogwarts. Many of my cousins and childhood friends go there too. Were you at Beauxbatons last year? I was just for last term in a foreign exchange program, so we might have even crossed paths without knowing it!

I’ll be honest that I’ve never considered a mouse as a pet. I suppose I’d thought more of a cat when I was thinking about a pet, but what qualities do you think rodents have that make them good pets. Do you have names for all your mice? Wow, living on a golden snidget sanctuary sounds really fascinating. What’s it like there? Are the birds tame and friendly?

I do love Brazil, though I miss England at times. It is very beautiful here, and luckily enough school is in the rainforest. I’m enclosing a picture I took during my last Magical Creatures class when we were studying Caipora. They kept hiding, but you may be able to see some peek out in the picture if you look hard and you’re patient enough. And thank you so much for the wax seal encasing the freesia. I think it’s quite lovely and I’d be so pleased if you really did want to make one for me someday.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Cordialement à toi,
Glittery Dolphin

Once finished, Regina sealed up her letter and headed off for the owlery to send it off to Hogwarts. Hopefully she'd hear from her pen pal again soon!