GOING POSTAL: You've Got Mail

One must confess that one is not tech savvy. Technology, in fact, is not in my genes. I am still considered a geek by my folks, though. I was coming clean about this un-21st-century trait of mine to a friend who shifted to Pune recently, when she suddenly asked for my postal address. Postal address!
"Expect my letter in a few days," she said nonchalantly. Letter! I am not one of those web masters, agreed, who can control every action, reaction and communication with the click of a mouse. I would still never sit down with a pen and paper when an e-mail is so much simpler. "Writing letters would be too much of an effort for both of us. Talking on the phone is fine," i suggested, laughing at her Victorian idea. To my surprise, my friend was serious. I gave up, both the argument and my address. I knew anyway that once she settled into the new city and workplace she wouldn't have the patience to write a letter to a friend, especially one who happened to enter her life just two months back.
Two weeks later one called her up, having completely forgotten the letter. "Have you received my letter?" she asked me first. "It has been over 10 days." This girl had actually sent me a letter! I replied in the negative.
I couldn't help laughing and hurling some abuse at the postal department - after all, haven't they been perfect for that since time immemorial? All said and done, though, it would've been nice to receive a 'real' letter. I saw an envelope on my table the next day, after coming back from office. It was the letter, slightly wet! Although it had been pouring in the city the whole week, the last three days had been comparatively dry. That means the letter had been gracing the letter box for all that time and one hadn't even bothered to check! I grew nostalgic for the days when one used to check the letter box daily for letters from cousins. How things had changed in just seven years! I dialled Maria and it all became abundantly clear.
"I have written things in the letter that would have taken just 10 minutes to say over the phone. But it wouldn't have been this special. And the postal department is not that bad, after all." I am inclined to agree.