The Invitation -Part 1-

 

The Invitation

-Part 1-

It's a normal day. You're up and about taking care of housework and a few chores when you decide to check the mailbox.  As usual, there's a ton of junk mail, a few bills that need to be paid, but there, in between it all, is a single envelope that captures your attention.  The first thing you notice is that the cardstock feels expensive, and the edges are lined with gold.  It is heavy in your hand, solid.  Unlike any letter you have ever handled. You glance at the writing on the front and in the finest cursive, are the words "You Are Hereby Formally Invited". Nothing else.  No name.  No return address.  Just this beautifully intriguing invitation staring back at you. Beckoning you into action. Your heart skips a beat.  Almost nervously you walk back to the house anxious to open it and see what's inside.  You have a strange sense that it is something grand and are a little unsure if it even belongs to you. Maybe it was meant for someone else, and the mail person misplaced it in your box. Curiosity gets the better of you, so you grab your letter opener and with bated breath, slide it under the flap as gently as possible. As you pull the opener through the flap you are shocked to find how flawlessly and easily the envelope opens.  It felt so solid and strong in your hand you were expecting to have to use some elbow grease to open it, but instead, it moved through the paper like butter over a warm biscuit.  The hair on the back of your neck stands up as a rush of tingling goosebumps make their appearance all over your body. 

Feeling a bit reserved, you slowly slide the card out from inside its hiding place and you see a small card with an address you don't recognize accompanied with a date and time.  A simple two-word sentence is written on the invite itself.  All it says is, "Join Me." No reason, no announcement of a specific celebration, just two words that both excite and increase your curiosity.  You set the invitation down and marvel at this strange and obscure piece of paper and suddenly you know without a shadow of a doubt, that it won't be ignored.  It is impossible to ignore it. Part of you wants to toss it in the junk mail pile to be taken to the local recycling plant. The other part of you admits to a feeling of being drawn in.  Captivated even.  You stare at it, tap your fingers against the tabletop, and as you do, there’s a battle going on in your head that just so happens to be 'fought' and 'won' in about 5 seconds time and you don't even know it yet.  The outcome had already been determined, but you are unaware, still blinded by the simplicity and spontaneity of the moment.  Grounded by the feeling of your feet on the floor, and the noise of the t.v. in the background, you gather up the rest of the mail leaving the invitation where it sits and continue about your day.  

The day passes without any further thoughts of the intriguing invitation sitting on your table.  You take yourself up to bed after a long day, grateful that it's over and ready for some much-deserved rest. While you sleep you have a dream.  You dream of a glamorous party being held in a ballroom. The room is filled with flowers of every kind emitting a glorious perfume that tickled your senses.  Gold is everywhere, the cups are gold, the plates, the walls, the floor.  Diamonds, sapphires and rubies decorate the space.  Then there was the food, so much of it,
and music and people, it's all too much to take in. It's unlike anything you have ever attended, and as the hazy fog of sleep lifts its veil away from your mind, you wake up knowing this one thing... "I'm going!"

-TO BE CONTINUED-