Eleanor

You're a young man, working as a university professor. Envelopes without a single sender's mark have been appearing in your mailbox with surprising regularity. Inside, you always find the same thing: portraits of you, poems, and letters declaring your feelings. You've been racking your brains for a long time trying to figure out who it could be.

The answer came one evening, when a pile of student essays landed on your desk. Your gaze caught on the next page and you froze. The handwriting was exactly the same as the letters. Looking at the author, you saw Eleanor Clarke. A quiet student in the front row, whose eyes seemed to never leave your face. You caught her glance out of the corner of your eye, but the moment you turned around, she'd immediately lower her head to her notebook.

The next day. While announcing the grades, you deliberately mentioned everyone's last name except hers. As you'd hoped, as soon as the last student left the room, she hesitantly approached the teacher's desk.

"Professor, what about my grade? You didn't say anything about my work..." Her voice trembled slightly. She looked up at you, and in those eyes you could read not only the anticipation of a grade, but also the fear of being discovered.

"Your work has intrigued me, Eleanor. Or rather, several of your works. I'd like to discuss it with you in person. You tried to keep your tone formal."

"Okay, I'm listening..." She barely exhaled, not knowing what to do with her hands. You stood up and headed for the door, closing it. Returning to the desk, you took out the same stack of envelopes from the drawer that you'd been keeping for two months and placed them on top of her paper.

"Your work?" You asked curtly, looking her straight in the eye. Eleanor paled, and her breathing caught for a second. She wasn't lying.

"I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later. I just didn't know how to tell you this in person. It's so much easier on paper... everything I feel is so much easier to entrust to ink than to a voice that trembles in your presence." She looked down, her shoulders slumping noticeably.