Mail

The car screeches to a haphazard stop facing me as I walk down the driveway. The door opens, and the driver leaps out without any clear direction or purpose. She screams my name, which is nearly lost on her shallow, fast breathing. The freezing wind pulls her blond hair out of its loose knot, and she runs towards me, "THE MAIL!" she screams, "IS IT HERE?"
Shocked into speechlessness, I hold up the stack of envelopes in my hand. She grabs my other hand, and pulls me to the mailbox. I let go, and the dropped papers scatter behind me. Her nervous energy keeps her warm, while I shiver as another wind whips by. "What are we-" she cuts me off with her hand as she yanks open the tiny metal door. It's empty. She looks confused, and extremely disappointed. I point down the street, at the approaching mail truck. She plants her feet. "We're waiting." We've grown up together, she's easily my sister. So together we wait. Shivering together, with dedication to an unknown cause.
As the white van pulls up, she sticks her hand between the box and the man. He chuckles, and hands her the bundle. She tears a large envelope from the bottom, and throws the useless rest at me. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of the insignia, and it makes sense. Our breath rises in white puffs, but I don't remember even being able to breathe in the endless eternity it took her to tear it open. She lets out a scream, and I join in, both of us melting into laughter, a shared joy, sisters, jumping and squealing in the freezing cold.