The Telegram That Arrived One Day Too Late

Every morning, Agnes Webb looked out of her kitchen window. She looked at the front path and the small wooden gate. She was watching for the telegram boy.

It was October 1918. Agnes's son, Thomas, was a soldier in France. The army only sent messages when something went wrong. Agnes kept his last letter on the kitchen table. It was from September. Thomas wrote, 'The war is nearly finished, Mum. I think I will be home for Christmas.'

On the morning of October 28th, Agnes saw a boy on a bicycle. He wore a dark uniform and held a yellow envelope. Her heart stopped. The boy knocked on the door. Agnes opened it quickly.

'Mrs. Webb?' the boy said quietly. He did not look at her face.

She took the envelope and went inside. She opened it with shaking hands.

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU. PRIVATE THOMAS WEBB. KILLED IN ACTION. OCTOBER 26TH, 1918.

Agnes sat on the floor. She felt nothing. Outside, she heard birds singing, but the world felt empty.

The next morning, another letter arrived. It was not a telegram. It was a letter from Thomas. The date on the envelope was October 25th—one day before he died.

'Dear Mum,' it said. 'The war is over for me. I am coming home next week. Please make an apple cake. I have been thinking about it for months. Love, Thomas.'

Agnes read the letter three times. Then she went to the kitchen. She began to find the sugar and the apples. She made the cake anyway.

Later, her neighbor, Mrs. Porter, found her. The cake was on the table. Beside it were two letters—one yellow and one white.

'Why did you make it, Agnes?' Mrs. Porter asked.

Agnes looked at the cake. 'Because he asked me to,' she said.