Dear Dalton,

It’s been months since we have seen each other or spoken after the incident. This letter is my way of telling you I am not handling the separation of Rodan and Gator well. Without you, my Saturday nights of wandering the cold, abandoned streets of Portland aren’t the same. You were my partner in crime and the brother this only child never had. My days are now spent lonely and bored out of my mind. I no longer get the same excitement in my life that I used to thrive on. The memory of that night remains trapped, never leaving the dark, twisted caverns of my mind. I felt shame from the peers of our group; they wouldn’t accept me back or have anything to do with me. I became nothing.

School has started and it is the main focus of my life. I am doing well and seem to be on the path to graduating. I do miss our long summer adventures in Portland, but experiencing an arrest is the wake up call I needed to mature closer towards adulthood. I am less than a year away from turning eighteen and becoming a legal adult. That lifestyle I once lived no longer suits me. I am growing up and having many plans in the future that I need to fulfill. College, at the top of my list, would be put on the line if I were to get caught again. That isn’t a risk I want to take, so this is fair well and good living. I hope you stay safe and out of trouble. Later dude.

From,
Rodan, age 17