A Lowly Maintainer's Letter

A letter sent to Op Etru from her lover Ed Obla.

Purpose

It was written by Obla for the first anniversary of the day when he and Etru met, about two weeks after an attack on the university had prompted her family to acquire a shelter in the Ralenlos Mountains and prepare for moving there. Knowing that he would not be welcome among her relatives, Obla instead suggested that the two of them might find a safe place elsewhere. Some lines could even be taken to imply that he wanted to cross the border and seek refuge in enemy territory.

Historical Details

Background

This letter was written during the Final War which concluded the long-standing conflict between the Rilanga Union and the Ran-E-Zu Confederation.
Both the author and the addressee lived in the nation of Leokolriz which remained neutral through most of said conflict but eventually joined forces with the Rilanga Union in the year 18 NZR. Even before that alliance, a considerable number of wealthy Rilanga families had been living in Leokolriz while people of Ran-E-Zu ancestry were rare.

History

Obla and Etru met in the spring of 2 NZR when the Final War had already been raging for two and a half years. He was working as an apprentice maintainer at the University of Kiv Mingumisel where she was already studying for an advanced degree in psychology.
He was repairing the electric wires for the lights in the library building when Etru tripped over his toolbox. After helping her up, he offered to invite her to lunch as an apology for leaving it in the way.
Etru soon realized that her family would not approve of this relationship. Her father came from a family of academics, artists and other mental workers, and therefore considered maintainers below their standard. At the same time, the fact that Obla's grandmother had been a Ran-E-Zu was not going to sit well with the conservative mindset of her grandparents and her brother.
Consequently, they kept meeting in secret. However, when the main auditorium hall was destroyed and the university was closed down, meeting there was no longer an option. They turned to communicating via letters and Obla learned that Etru's family was preparing to leave for a shelter in the mountains.
Etru took his letters with her to the shelter, but kept them well hidden. This one letter was especially dangerous to the relationship with her family, due to the implications that she considered not only leaving them for a lowly maintainer, but going as far as defecting to the enemy.

Public Reaction

The love letter was likely to change Etru's standing in the family for the worse. Although she had clearly made the decision to stay with her family, Obla's suggestions had the potential to raise questions about her loyalty.

Legacy

Long after the Final War, this letter found its way into the Denfa Sasmi Museum as a testament to the personal tragedies hidden within the global catastrophe.

Read the Document

A Lowly Maintainer's Letter

Rilangun

Rufirusre Etru,
va vuvemare sil lul sa konlaz sa atrefe no piga, kos pito ire kepusi. Va ra mazepabre kesi sil i sa va pakre dore gu. Sa atre va pinabre. Lul sa manliz vu lul va tametgi hakre va pinabre, kof va va itgarefe sil dedu va irefe reheresi nontat.
Iba gol kontil vuz bogu rugonduzre, tud gub panfare nontat. Rel gol ikevureda regva miprero, ta miz goni tundare. Hab seva vunga va ire fipreda, a bogu tud rul regva kedre fiba firero - di va ire godureda si pintug, sil lul Do Lezam sa irero rebireda liko. Va ra gusendire, za e mustik bogu zagsi ire ki vok pihasreda, ingo lul regva dok ampu redure fire.
Va vuvemare vuf sil i sa va tambulre dorefe. Sil tuki sa va ire dorefe, di kof sa tagag bozpig lul sa unted va ire dorefe.
Va ire vutreda, fis pise - pise hil - o mud pu rempa dedu va kepobre dorefe? Va domere si apipmi, sil lul sa id zare kos bogu kereni gu. Ibalevo ingo Urem ire gudreda nontat. Va rebire, za o lul sa id sa ire matkup, vupus ret.
Hat va ire pireda a bogu pu, reb lul va vobnutgefa nuzrero. Va pire, sil ingo keb zug dedu va defre vutgo, dedu va irefe ampi. Va ire vuntol, sil e ibluketga rep rul lul ampu ire fizire nontat. Kos bogu udegi kevepuf rep ra ire gu, zaf a rubusre vudore, pa tagag tud ked bof gonduzre.
Sa va halkodre. I sa vudore vuf va halkodre. Ta sa ireni kehu, ma va kereni, va domere gu si panlos.
Va tumure, sil sa irefe tangisi, lul va tahi. Sa hakrevo rutadre.
Obla

English

Beloved Etru,
I hope you keep your soul as bright as is possible nowadays. It tears me apart that I can't meet you. I need to hold you. I need to feel your breath on my skin, to assure myself that we are both still alive.
Even two weeks after that attack, many walls still crumble. Yesterday we nearly lost two colleagues when a ceiling collapsed. I keep getting bad dreams about the many people we had to dig out - and I am infinitely grateful that you were never an admirer of Do Lezam. It scares me how the powerful on both sides keep fueling the fire while the rest of us must pay the price.
I really wish that I could go with you. That I could be by your side, to be your ally against those narrowminds.
I keep wondering, if maybe - just maybe - the two of us could flee somewhere else? Of course I know that you will not leave your family like that. Even less so while Urem is still healing. I admire how loyal you are to your family, despite everything.
Nevertheless, I keep thinking about that place where my grandmother grew up. I think, as long as we stay away from the sea, we would be safe. I'm confident that most people in the rural areas still follow their ideals. They are not like those false politicians who talk about tolerance but attack young students.
I miss you. I miss talking to you for real. I really don't know what I'll do when you'll be away.
Please be careful, my darling. Feel kissed.
Obla

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by Kathrin Janowski

Type

Text, Letter

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

1 NZR, Uvonoma 12

Authors

• Ed Obla

by Kathrin Janowski

by Kathrin Janowski

Further Reading