Dearest Sue,
Imagine my surprise when the new owner of Granny's house came over to the Pony the other night and handed me a letter. I was afraid it was a complaint of some sort, but he gave me a warm smile and left.
When I looked at the envelope, I nearly fainted. That was Granny's hand writing! Later he told me that he had found this letter under a squeaking floorboard he wanted to replace. Granny had left me a letter! For me to find when she was gone. It feels as if she had spoken to me again, from wherever she is now.
She wrote that she knew I would sell her house, because it would break my heart to live there alone. But then she also wrote that she had saved some money all the time and purchased a house for me in one of the neighbourhoods near Bree town. Imagine that! She asked me to go and see Tilly Groves, tell her my name and she would give me directions and the key. And so she did. And the house I found is simply lovely! It is huge and wonderfully situated, I have a lake and a willow tree and a garden to plant flowers - everything I could wish for. Actually, it even seems a little too large; I don't have nearly enough furniture for it. Well, I will take my time to decorate it. Just so you know, I have a guest room, too, so in case you want to visit Bree, you can stay with me for free and don't have to pay for a room at the Pony where you won't find sleep anyway because of the noise and music from the bar. My neighbourhood is nice and quiet, except for some birds chirping and the twigs of the willow rustling in the breeze.
Looking for paint and tapestry and furniture and flowers for the garden keeps me and my thoughts busy, and it makes me happy to work and create things and see what I can do with my two hands. I guess granny took even that into account; otherwise she would have had the house completely furnished. I know her; she thinks things through, always. Outside it is autumn, the leaves and grass are getting brown, but to me it feels as if it was spring. While the paint inside is drying, I sleep outside in a hammock under the trees. I will sleep there as long as the temperatures will allow, it is wonderful!
After sleeping at friends' places or at the pony for the last few weeks, it is so great to have a place of my own. I feel like starting my life anew, and I guess Granny knew that I needed exactly that. And after all, I am not alone. I may not have relatives left, but I still have many friends I can count on, including you, dearest Sue. I don't know how I would have made it through the first time without you! And the new owner of granny's house is very nice, too. He had not thrown the old furniture away as I had told him to, but put it into storage for me and was happy to send it to my new home. This is how I came to have some furniture at all in the first place.
Can't wait to welcome you here for your next visit!
Your old friend
Malyn
A new home, a new beginning, a new morning
