I noticed a slip of paper pinned to the noticeboard at the east of the town square, requesting 'victorian-style letters' to be sent to this address - so, well, je suis ici! I hope you and your extended relatives have been faring during this summer; I heard some talk of a sickness in this town, and do hope that you remain unaffected.
As you well know by now, mon ami, I have been travelling around Northern Europe during these past months in search of poetic inspiration. Do not jest at me, as I know you will, Abraham - I take my writings very seriously, and the mountain ranges I have found on my travels have provided much creative material for my upcoming anthology. We must visit them together. I dare say the air at that altitude will do wonders for us both - especially for you, as you have spent the last decade in the choke of the city. Alas, the grand beauty of the Alps simply cannot be communicated through language, and it would be a damn shame if you were to let their magnitude be lost on you.
Many regards to your sister. Are her writings gaining success? I do hope so - her wordcraft is incomparable. Perhaps invite her, too, on our trip. She would appreciate the romantic landscape with much respect, as I, too, would admire her presence in that beautiful scenery.
I stay in lodgings above the tailors, so do write back to that address. My regards to your family, and to you of course, dearest Abraham. I find myself reminiscent of our college days.
It is with much gratitude I recognize your acknowledgment of that silly piece of paper. Ah! I put that wretched thing up not too long ago in hopes of a mere sliver of attention from someone, anyone, who would be generous enough to quench my thirst for written exchange. And when I least expected it, here you are, my dearest; and here you are.
Typically I would poke some slight, harmless fun at your—let us say in kinder terms—unabashedly romantic prose, but I will refrain from doing so purely because your sincerely consumes me entirely. It might be just because I've caught that accursed illness you speak of, but perhaps I also miss our days at Oxford as much as you do. But, as you know, I am not a sap of any sorts.
Regarding the Alps, I would absolutely love to visit those scaling slopes with you! Oh, know how much I adore the mountains! And I'm in complete agreement with you; Alpine air would do a true wonder for my lungs. You really were (and are) right about the city, it truly is terrible! Ah! Snobbish air of the rich, oh, how it infects me! The sole clean air I've managed to inhale is the lousy comforting smoke of my cigarettes. . . And only that is temporary!
My sister is doing well, if you are that desperate to know. Anastasya has managed to escape the suffocation of the city, and now she lives somewhere in the countryside. It's been far too long since I've seen her; my journalism keeps me busy, I'm afraid. You do bring a wondrous proposition, though—it would certainly be a good way to reconnect with her if she were to accompany me to this hypothetical trip to the very mountains that inspire you so. I'm sure you two would get along fine.
But it's better to reminisce on the past rather than things that haven't occurred yet. Hopefully I got the address right. Maybe when I can finally find balance between my work and my life, we can enjoy the beauty of this world together, just as we once did.