When John started hiding his current location beneath the stamps, Mary thought it was a lark. A bit of fun that slipped right under the government’s noses. What harm could it cause?

That was before Mrs. Collier discovered her German boarder, Albert, was a spy. He often sat alone in the parlor, nursing a broken ankle, while Mary dashed from one chore to the next. In her ease with him, she’d become careless, leaving the letters strewn about. Even carrying them to the bomb shelter, in hopes of writing back. 

Tonight, after counting every letter to be sure none were missing, she read them one last time, and burned them. Albert hobbled in as the pile of ash cooled in front of her.

“Foolish girl,” he muttered.

Perhaps he thought it was an accident. Well, let him. She wouldn’t be the reason they lost the war. Not on her watch.

Many years ago, my in-laws spent a winter writing out their family history to present to their children. They typed it up, had it bound, and presented each of their children with a copy. Years later, while I was clearing out a file box, I stumbled across my husband’s copy. While reading through my mother-in-laws escapades, I constantly chuckled until I got to the part where her grandmother accidentally harbored a German Spy. 

She’d often spoken of being a child during that time. How she went to bed one night and woke up the next to find all the men gone. No goodbyes, no explanation. Children were meant to put on a stiff upper lip and continue on despite the holes left in their lives. But never had she shared this story, which was both funny and terrifying. 

Apparently, while sweeping his room one afternoon during a cleaning session, she found his suitcase under his bed. She moved the case to clean under it, and somewhere in the process of returning it, the case opened and she discovered it was full of money. Terrified by the implications, she called the police, but the boarder never returned. As it turned out, MIL’s grandmother also never took in another boarder during that time.  

That family story may have inspired Albert. I confess it came to mind as I was rereading what I wrote, but there’s no case of money in my story — only forbidden letters.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Action: Someone receives a forbidden letter. Word: Ash