i hope you need this

He found a photo in the mailbox, and it wasn’t addressed to him.

The picture was of a small boy holding a dandelion, with hand written words at the bottom that read:

i hope you need this

The photo lay atop his water bill and the morning paper. It curled at the edges and left no indication as to who it may be from. He looked around, as if whoever put it in there was hiding behind a bush, giggling at his reaction. But it was a on a Tuesday, and most of the neighborhood was working or getting an education--not pranking their neighbors with photographs of small children.

He studied the picture again before, with a shrug, taking it inside along with his other mail.

The thing was, he liked routine. Everything had a place. All of the bills went into the small basket on the counter, and he always set the morning paper on the dining table before eventually chunking it. However, there hadn’t yet been an exact place for unexpected and unaddressed portraits of children.

Without giving it much thought, he lifted a yellow smiley magnet off the face of the fridge and stuck the photo underneath. Looking at it this way, he chuckled to himself. On the fridge, it looked like a family photo of sorts. Maybe a distant cousin or relative that he would only hear from once or twice a year.

That wasn’t the case, of course. He hadn’t the slightest clue who the kid was, with sandy blond hair and green eyes, holding the yellow flower towards the camera like an offering, a huge grin plastered on his face.

With a sigh, he grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and filled it with freshly brewed coffee. He didn’t bother adding anything to it. On mornings like these he preferred it black. As he sat at one of the wooden chairs at the table, he glanced at the newspaper he’d brought in. He normally wasn’t one for a daily peruse of the city's news, but he felt that it would distract him from the green eyes on the fridge.

After reading all about the new shopping center, and even looking through obituaries, he began folding up the paper. Before he could, however, the back side caught his eye.

‘Missing Persons,’ it read, and he thought that would be it. A couple of criminals and teenage girls, except for one.

A set of green eyes and a wide grin.

***

When he had put the photo in his mailbox, he hadn’t intended for him to take it so well.

He hadn’t really expected him to take it at all, really. Maybe leave it in there for the mail to pick up the next day, or at the very least throw it away. But he watched as he shrugged and brought it inside and shut the door behind him.

He wondered if he would figure it out. He noted the newspaper that he had brought in with him, but it was probable that it was heading straight for the trash. Perhaps he wouldn’t find out at all, and the photo will lay in his garbage before being forgotten forever.

The thought was intriguing, and he was interested to find out where the photo would lead him.

He knew he would need it.