The Letter Forwarded to the Wrong Address for Seven Years

The mailbox at 14 Crane Street had a broken latch. It stayed broken for seven years. The house was empty because the owner, Mr. Aldous, moved away. He forgot to tell the post office.

Many letters arrived there. Most were bills or advertisements. But one letter was different. It was pale blue with careful handwriting. The name on the front said: Clara Voss.

Clara did not live at number 14. She lived at number 41, three doors away. It was a simple mistake. A neighbor, Mrs. Park, found the wet letters in the broken mailbox. She took them home to dry, but she put them in a drawer and forgot them for seven years.

Clara was now thirty-one. Seven years ago, her best friend Daniel moved to another country. He sent her one important letter, but Clara never received it. She thought he forgot her. Daniel thought she did not want to reply. They stopped speaking. Seven years of silence followed because of one wrong number.

In April, Mrs. Park’s daughter found the old letters while cleaning. Mrs. Park felt terrible. She walked to number 41 and gave the blue envelope to Clara. "I am so sorry," Mrs. Park said. "I found this years ago and forgot it."

Clara opened the letter at her kitchen table. Daniel wrote that he would miss her. He wrote his new address and asked her to write back. Clara did not know if Daniel still lived there, but she picked up a pen. She wrote: 'Daniel, I only just received your letter.' She sent her reply to the old address. She did not know if it would reach him, but she had to try.