Couriers of the Sunny Isles - Part 3
It’s been almost a year since we spent any time with Leo on his quest to become a Courier. So let’s hop back into the Sunny Isles and see how he’s doing?
When I first created this story, I thought it would be a good picture book or an early reader. But as I wrote more and more for the world and the characters, I realized it was become a chapter book.
Honestly, I think the biggest issue with this project is that I don’t know how to format it and approach it for young readers. It’s too big to be an early reader, but the world isn’t meant to be as intense as a middle school or young adult book.
One day, if I can secure an agent, I might revisit this story in earnest and see if they can think of a way to share it with the world.
Until then, enjoy!
“You know,” Maxwell said, smacking Leo on the shoulder and snapping him out of his daydream, “You never really thanked me for saving your butt all those years ago.”
“Yeah, well, you never paid me back for the chocolates you ate.” Leo took a playful swipe at Maxwell’s back, but Maxwell quickly dodged the smack and took off down the street. Leo stood there for a moment longer. His hand went to cheek and traced the shape of the scar under his left eye from the cut he got that day. Being beaten up wasn’t very nice. But meeting Maxwell was. And then the mystery girl. Perhaps, he thought, that day wasn’t so bad. He took off after Maxwell.
The two friends dove around street corners and down pathways as they made their way to the south side of town, where the town butted up against the coast of the island. Eventually, the Post Office came into view. A towering building with a glass dome ceiling and a mural painted over the giant front door. The mural showed two faceless Couriers on the backs of their thresh bird passing a letter between their hands. The doorway of the Post Office was two large oak doors stained a deep red and covered in a pattern of vines carved into the wood. It was an imposing door for an important building.
They stepped forward and pushed the doors open. Inside was an open lobby, brown, green, and blue. A large desk stood across from the main door, and a young man sat there going over papers. This was where people would come to drop off the mail they wanted delivered, but the people who filled the lobby now were not here to send any letters. The room was filled with other young people all eager to try and become Couriers. Maxwell walked straight forward to the man behind the counter.
“Hey, Ford.” He said, slamming his bag on the desk. “Have the routes been posted for the day?”
“Not yet,” the young man replied, shoving Maxwell’s bag out of his space. “Bellfree and the Chief have been preparing the test, so I’m putting them together.” Ford, the man at the desk, was tall and strong. His dark skin and short hair bounced as he wrote on the paper in front of him. When he finished the sentence he was working on he looked up. No more than his mid-twenties, Ford was a young man, but too old to be a Courier anymore. Once you go to be too old and too big, and couldn’t fit on your thresh any longer, you were asked to retire. Ford was clearly a retired Courier, but why was he still working at the Post Office?
“Well, give me something easy today.” Maxwell joked. “I have a friend here to take the test, and I want to be back by the time he passes.”
“Oh, he’s going to pass is he?” Ford chuckled and looked over at Leo. “Nice to meet you, Maxwell’s friend.”
“Hi. I’m Leo.”
“And I’m Ford. Let me take your name down for the test.” Ford pulled out a big stack of papers and scribbled Leo’s name on a list. When he was done he looked up. There was a moment where Leo’s gaze met Ford’s and Ford seemed to know the question hanging in the air. “You’re curious as to who I am?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know who Bellfree is?” Ford asked, like Leo didn’t know the answer. Bellfree, the Postmaster, was the head of the Couriers. All of the other Couriers and Post-Offices scattered around the isles answered to him. The Post Office here on Meadowlark, being the largest and most centrally located in the seas, was his main base, but from here he could reach the whole of the Sunny Isles. No one was more important than Bellfree in the world of the Couriers.
“Of course. He’s the Postmaster.” Leo answered. According to legend, Bellfree was one of the first Couriers. One of the first to tame a thresh and take to the skies. One of the first to make a delivery. He helped build the Couriers, helped write their rules, and helped train the next group. Now, his job was to train new recruits, manage routes, and keep the Post Offices stocked with supplies.
“Good,” Ford said. “I’m his apprentice. I help him plan routes and manage the Post Office.” Ford was a big deal then. He was just below Bellfree in terms of authority, and above the Chief Courier.
“Do you know where the chief is?” Maxwell asked.
“I think out back?” Ford said unsure of his answer.
“Ok. I got to pass along some info. Watch out for my buddy, Leo, would you?”
“I’ll do what I can, man.” The two bumped their fists together, and Maxwell gave Leo a short wave before disappearing through the doors behind Ford. Leo was left alone with the others here for the test. Alone in a sea of people he didn’t know.
He walked around for a bit seeing what everyone was doing. Some were talking in circles, some were sitting on the floor reading or chatting, and some were pacing and rubbing their hands. He saw one girl, with tan skin and black hair pulled up in two pigtails leaning against a wall tapping her foot on the floor. He saw two people who looked almost identical, save for one was a boy and the other a girl, sitting back to back as they hummed a song. Their curls swaying with the music. Leo finally found a spot removed from the rest of the crowd and waited there for instruction.
Several minutes later, Ford stood at his desk and cleared his throat. “Alright, everybody, listen up.” The room got quiet and everyone turned to look at him. “It’s time to start this test and see which of you will be joining the ranks of the Couriers. May I introduce the Post-Master, Mr. Bellfree.” The door behind his desk swung open and a short old man hobbled out. I mean short. Leo was amazed that Bellfree stood shorter than him. His back was hunched, and his face was wrinkled. His mustache was grey, frizzled, and wrapped around his cheeks. Bellfree slowly made his way around the desk and looked out at the sea of eager faces.
“Hello everyone,” he said in a soft timber. His voice was raspy and aged, but also gentle. “I see we have a lot of you ready to take the test? How do you think you’ll do?” The room erupted in a happy yell. Leo, surprised, joined in late. “I’ll tell you this up front. Not everyone here today will be accepted as a Courier. I hope you know this.” The energy in the room got quiet now. No one wanted to think about failing. “But if you are smart, resourceful, and remember what it means to be a Courier, then you should do just fine.” The room felt at peace now. People were ready.
“So, if you will follow me. Everyone will have a room all their own to take the test. Once you’re in your room, you may begin the test. The first twenty of you that finish and bring me your test and pass will become Couriers! Any questions?” Stunned silence.
They were only taking the first twenty to pass? There had to be over fifty kids in the room. Time was now no longer on Leo’s side. He felt like he could do well on the test, but now he was racing everyone else in the room. Before he could even raise his hand to make sure he understood the stakes, Bellfree spoke again. “Good! Let’s go.” And with that, he and Ford led the line of kids through the door and into the main Post Office.
The door gave way to a massive room, wide and open with large windows and an opening in the roof. Along the walls were cubbies and ladders and stacks of letters and packages. In the center of the room was a giant glass container that looked like an hourglass. Only, instead of being filled with sand, this was filled with letters. Several Couriers stood around the bottom of the container and sorted the mail as it came down and prepared it for the next stage of delivery. Around the rest of the room, various Couriers ran from side to side moving letters and exchanging packages. Leo guessed they were all getting ready to depart for their routes.
Everyone who was working in the office had the distinct air of a Courier. They all looked different: short, tall, thin, round, tan or pale, but they all had the uniform of a true Courier. Each member wore the famous deep, bright blue jacket with a hood that made the uniform distinct. Designed to keep them warm and safe as they traveled about, each hoodie also had each Courier’s specific number printed on the back and the shoulders. These numbers were used to figure out who was who and who was in charge.
As Leo looked around he could see numbers like “43” and “16,” and even the highly ranked “7.” According to the rules, most numbers didn’t matter, they were just a way to keep track of everyone. But a few numbers were important. Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, were Litenaunts who could help with big tasks and special deliveries. They were something special. But nothing compared to number 1. The Chief Courier.
The line began to move away from Leo and he sped to catch up. Bellfree and Ford led them down a hallway off to the side that was dotted with doors. When they reached a door, Bellfree looked at the list Leo saw For writing earlier and called out a name.
“Fili?” One of the identical twins, the boy, stepped forward. Ford handed him a packet of papers, a pencil, and Fili went through the door. The door shut and the line moved. Stop after stop, door after door, the group whittled itself down. Leo was worried that the others might finish before him.
“Leo?” Bellfree’s voice was clear. Leo snapped up and made his way to the front. He took his packet and pencil.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” Bellfree smiled. The door shut.
Leo looked around at his empty room. There was a small desk and a chair. He had no time to waste. The paper smacked down on the desk and he got to work. Most of the questions were easy, in Leo’s mind. What to do if you’ve lost a letter. What to do when you’re lost at sea. What to do if you’ve fallen off your thresh. Those silly kinds of questions they had to put in there for safety reasons. Like Leo would ever fall off his thresh?
It had taken him some time to get through the packet, but Leo felt like it really was a short test. And just as he began, he flipped the test over and smacked the pages on the desk. “All done,” he mumbled to himself. Now he just had to return it to Bellfree. He gathered his things and made for the door.
But then Leo noticed something and his heart sank. Across the top on the back of his packet it was written “This test belongs to Lissa.” That was not his name. He was certain of that. Was there a mistake? Did Ford give me the wrong packet? If he took the test back to Bellfree now, he would be turning in someone else’s test. He could get in trouble, or they may understand what happened. But there was one thing Leo knew for sure. They would not have HIS test. Leo thought for a moment before realising what he needed to do.
If he had Lissa’s test, odds were that maybe Lissa had his test. A simple mix up. Or, someone else should have it. If Leo went out and found Lissa, he may be able to find his missing test. He ran to the door, swung it open, and ran into the hall. Several doors were already open and rooms were abandoned. Leo went up to one of the doors still shut, and knocked on the door.
“Excuse me?” He said, nervous.
“Um, yes?” a voice said from the other side.
“Is this Lissa?”
“No. This is Carl.”
“Oh, sorry Carl.” Leo didn’t know Carl. He kept moving. He tried several doors with several knocks but never found Lissa. Only people still taking the test and grumpy that some random kid was interrupting them. Leo would be mad at himself too.
Eventually, his search led him back to the room with the large letter sorter. Couriers were still working on sorting letters, but he saw a lot of the other kids taking the test running around as well. They seemed to be trying to get the Couriers to help them, but the Couriers ignored them. They walked right by and continued with their tasks, talking to their friends and laughing.
“There can’t be this many confused kids,” Leo said to himself. He looked at the back of his test again, and then at the herd of lost kids and the deaf Couriers. “No,” he realized, “this is the test.” Leo ran up to the fist kid with a test he could find.
“What’s your name?” he asked eagerly.
“Tommy, why?”
“Nevermind.” Leo brushed past him. He went from person to person, trying to ask them their names. He was trying to find Lissa. But it was hard with all of this commotion and noise. So many people, such a large crowd. He stumbled his way through the crowd for what felt like hours, but was really only about 30 of the most excruciating minutes of his life. Leo realized what he needed to do, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t want all the eyes on him.
Leo took a deep breath and thought about his idea. It was stupid, but it would probably work. He grabbed a small crate used to carry bundles of letters, flipped it over, and stood on it. With a deep sigh, he looked out at the crowd, who didn’t even see him standing up. He said, “Lissa?” and looked to see if anyone turned to look at him. The noise of the room drowned out his call. He tried again. “Lissa?” this time a bit louder, a bit more nerve wracking. He could feel his ears getting hot. No one turned to look at him, and he was beginning to get frustrated. He would not let this moment be the thing that kept him from his dream. He sucked in air through his nose and shouted“LISSA!”. Suddenly, everyone stopped and looked at him. All eyes were on Leo now. Leo began to sweat immediately. “Sorry,” he mumbled, and hopped off the crate.
Slowly everyone went back to normal and seemed to forget his outburst. But one girl kept looking at Leo and took a step forward. “What?” She said. Leo gasped. He made his way to the girl who responded. It was the one he noticed earlier, with the black hair in pigtails. “Why’d you shout my name?” She asked when she finally got close to her.
“You’re Lissa?”
“Yes. What’s up?”
“You don’t have the right test, do you?” Her eyes got wide and she clutched the packet she held in her hands.
“How’d you know that?” she asked, nervous.
“Because I think I have yours,” he held up his packet to show the name on the back. Lissa gasped as she read her name written on the paper. She turned the packet in her hands over and looked at the name written there.
“Are you Leo?”
He smiled and nodded yes. Thank goodness it was just a simple mix up for them. The two traded their packets and now stood with the correct name on their papers. “How do you think they got our names mixed up?” Lissa asked after they traded tests.
“I think that is the test. Seeing what we do when we realize the mistake.” Leo muttered.
“Oh,” Lissa replied. “I don’t get it.”
“Me neither. But, we need to get our tests to Bellfree and Ford or we might not make the cut, remember!” Leo saw her surprised look. She had forgotten about the cut off for the tests. She agreed and the two ran through the mail sorting room back toward the front lobby. They worked their way through the crowd of people in the room and burst through the front door.
“Is it too late to turn in our tests?” They shouted as they stumbled through the door. Bellfree and Ford sat at the single desk in the lobby and looked at them as they stood up and calmed down.
“Did you finish your tests?” Ford asked.
“Yes,” They both held up the test packets.
“But,” Bellfree cut in. “Did you bring us the right tests?” The two of them smiled.
“Yes,” they said, turning their papers around to reveal their names. Bellfree smiled as Ford took the papers and added them to a small stack. There were a few other people in the lobby already, sitting and waiting for the test to be done. Leo and Lissa went over and joined them.
It was there that they learned no one had the correct test at the beginning, they switched the names on everyone’s test so that two people had each other’s test and would need to find each other to switch. Either you noticed and tried to fix it, or you didn’t notice and turned in someone else’s test. Ford was sitting at the desk grading them all, assigning the right score to the right person.
“Hey,” Lissa said, sitting on the floor next to Leo. There was a group of people sitting together and laughing on the other side of the lobby, but Leo had removed himself and sat underneath a window. Lissa had watched him from across the room and decided to join him. “Thank you for your help with the test today,” she said as she sat down.
“No problem. I’m just glad we figured it out.” Leo made little eye contact.
“Do you want to come and sit with everyone else while we wait for the results?” Lissa asked.
Leo thought about what he should say. He wanted to be able to walk over there and join the others. He wanted to be able to joke and laugh with people his own age. He wanted to be included.
“No,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know anyone.”
“You know me,” Lissa smiled. This was true. She stood up and held out her hand for Leo. Leo took a deep breath, grabbed her hand, and stood up. They walked over to the group and sat down. Leo introduced himself and sat there silently. The rest of the group greeted themselves, sharing their names, and went back to talking. No one made a joke at Leo or was mean to him. No one stared at him or made him feel out of place. He was just a part of the circle, and for now that was enough.
And as Leo sat with the group, listening to their stories and jokes, the minutes did not feel like minutes anymore. Before he knew it, quite a bit of time had passed, and Ford finished up his list of names. He stepped forward with Bellfree and got everyone’s attention. “Alright, listen up everyone. We have the results and the names of those of you who passed.”
“When your name is called, please walk back through the doors to the sorting room.” Bellfree explained. “If you’re name is not called, we are sorry, but we hope to see you back next year.”
“With that, let’s get going.” Ford cleared his throat and began reading names. It was so quiet, you could hear every breath and gasp in the room as people waited to learn if they made the cut. There were only twenty spots, and a lot more of them than that. With each name and excited voice hurrying through the door, the odds of your name being called shrank. Leo began to tap his foot.
“Fili,” Ford said, and the boy twin smiled, stepped forward, but then immediately looked back at his sister, as if waiting for her name to be called. Sure enough, the next name on the list that Ford read was, “Kili.” The two happily ran through the door.
“Lissa.”
She let out a small yelp and beamed with excitement. She turned to Leo and said, “see you soon,” as if to give him hope. But Leo wasn’t so sure. Lissa made number fifteen and there were only five spots left. Ford kept going, reading name after name, and Leo felt his stomach drop. He didn’t hear his name. He didn’t hear his name. He wasn’t going to hear his name. He was never going to hear his name. And then, Ford read the final name on the list.
“And finally,” he spoke, pausing to look up at the room of people, “Leo.”
