The Envelope

The white envelope fluttered down to the carpet. In the kitchen, Seb Shaw put down the spoon he was using to make himself a cup of tea. He walked through the hall towards the front door. It could be a birthday card,’ he thought. He’d had enough of those over the last week, and the mantelpiece in the living room was almost full of cards celebrating his 40th birthday. The only people who had really celebrated with him though were his friends and family. They’d had a small party in the evening to mark the event. However, he would have quite happily spent the evening on his own, nursing a quiet pint in the pub and reading the local paper.

Shaw regarded the envelope lying on the doormat by the front door. It was impossible for him to see what was written on the front, although he was fairly certain what it was as he’d been expecting it all week.

He picked it up off the doormat and walked back into the kitchen to finish making his cup of tea. He looked at the front of the plain white envelope. There was nothing on the front other than a small transparent window through which he could see his name and his address, and a pre-paid postage label. He tapped the envelope on the kitchen worktop until the letter inside slipped down, revealing the words ‘PERSONAL FOR: MR SEBASTIAN SHAW’ written in bold capital letters.