The postcard appeared in Jake and Ally’s mailbox one morning in early March, among the bills and equipment catalogs. Jake removed the rubber band from the bundle, plucked the one friendly looking item from the financial jetsam that had washed up on his little island this fine morning, and examined the image on the card. It was a photograph of a Himalayan mountain goat perched on a craggy cliff. Jake flipped it over. The postmark was smudged, but the stamp said NEPAL. The few lines of handwriting were in a slanting scrawl that reminded him of lyric sheets he had once handled.
Dear Jake,
The Greek isles were beautiful. Nepal is truly awesome. Next stop, India, where I plan to stay a while. Found your address at an internet café in Kathmandu. Hope you are well. You can put it out now. Buy a nice house. Burn this.
B
The End