The Mailman
The postal lobby is open all night. So when he comes to work in the winter there’s usually an old bum or two sleeping in the relative warmth. He wakes them gently, then sends them out into the cold morning. But he doesn’t have the heart to scold them. His bosses at the District threaten his job, if he cannot keep the lobby clear. And his wife threatens to leave him, lest he lose his government pension. Yet the only things he truly fears are his imminent death, and the one letter he has yet to receive - the one that makes sense of it all.
Published in