Our assignment is to write a letter to a stranger either imaginary or real. It could be someone we met once or someone we saw across a room.
Dear Eva,
I live in the house that you once owned and inhabited and I have so many questions about you, about our house, and about the land that is now University Heights. However, as this is a monologue and not a dialogue, I’ll keep my questions to a minimum and fill you in on how our house is now and what the world is like.
Our house was built right before America entered World War II. I know you were a Russian Jew who came to this country in the years right after WWI. I wonder what it would have been like for you to be a young woman in a country far from home. I also wonder why even though you were married our house was owned only by you. That seems odd at a time when it was difficult for women to get credit in their own name.
I imagine you in the years of the war having a victory garden and doing your part to contribute to the war effort. Our home is sturdy and I imagine it was just as sturdy when it was first built. There is a solidness to the brick that holds love and peace within its walls. I’ve decorated our home in peaceful colors and it is my sanctuary. It’s messy and I’m sure your sensibilities would not be happy with the clutter and the unwashed dishes, but it is home and I’ve larned there are more important things that unwashed dishes in the sink.
Like you, I own our own in my name only as there is no Mr. to be found. I’m an independent woman and although there are days when I long for love, I also love my independence and I don’t want to share decisions around our home. I want to be able to paint the walls pink if I so choose. Those are things that if you have a partner, you can’t always do.
I do know that I am only the fourth owner of this house, if you discount the banks who owned it when it was foreclosed upon. And I am proud to own this house although there are a lot of times when I feel that I don’t do it justice because I don’t have the time or the money to take care of it the way that it deserves to be taken care of.
Oh Eva, I really wish I would have gotten to know you and learn who you are. Based on what I have learned, I know you are brave and strong and independent and those are all qualities I greatly admire.
Much love to you Eva and if you are still around, please know you are always welcome in our home.
Raine