The Letter

Bill found himself frozen with conflict as he stood right before the mailbox, wondering if he should send the letter.

When he had started writing the letter, there had been nothing in the world that could stop him. His emotions ran from confusion to depression to anger and everything in between. What else does one feel when finding out, accidentally through an unrelated third-party, that your whole life had been pretty much a lie? His parents weren't his biological parents, but actually his aunt and uncle. How does one keep that a secret for 24 years? More importantly, why keep it a secret that long?

"We didn't want you to worry about it," was the reply his mother gave.

"Your birth mother has her own life now and doesn't care to be bothered with us," said his father--his real mom's brother--with a heavy, venomous voice. "So we don't bother with her."

After a week or so of research, Bill had been able to find out more about her. She had given birth to Bill when she was just seventeen years old as the result of an relationship she was having with an in-and-out of jail drug addict almost ten years older than she. Though she originally wanted to keep her child, she could not (or refused to, whatever the case may be) give up her partying lifestyle. Her brother Ryan had just finished college with his degree in finance, and he and his fiancee Lillian somehow wound up taking care of the baby, as neither thought the child should suffer for his mother's actions.

Then, when Bill was just shy of his first birthday, his mother came home and announced that she was moving to New Mexico with some friends to open up a restaurant. Ryan asked her how she was going to support herself and the baby, and then the argument started, and one thing led to another and soon, Ryan and Lillian were Bill's legal guardians. His mother walked away and didn't look back.

So Bill grew up thinking his parents were his parents, and his sisters Rose and Sarah were his full-blooded relatives. That his parents cared for him and gave him every opportunity in the world that they could. Bill idolized his father so much that he even went into finance just like him, and is now up for his second promotion in three years with his company. His girlfriend Rachael moved in with him seven months ago, not only to be closer to the school she teaches fifth grade at, but also to see if this relationship is for the long haul.

Everything was great until this dropped on his head like a ton of bricks.

Which eventually led to this moment. After researching and tracking her down online, he was able to find his birth mother--Victoria Green. Still not married, it seems, or at least not currently. Living in Nevada now in a small town just north of Las Vegas. Not much else was listed, except for a mailing address.

Deciding to take a chance, Bill wrote to her. He started by saying who he was, and that he was hoping this was the right Victoria Green because he just found out within the last month or so who she was. He then laid into her. Why didn't she ever check up on him, how could she choose friends over him, does she ever think about him now? He mentioned that Ryan and Lillian were amazing parents to him, but he wanted to know what his birth mother was like. And, perhaps, could she write back?

It was a huge risk. This could be the wrong woman, or she wouldn't want to read it. She may be perfectly content not thinking about her first born son. But as Bill thought about it, the answer became clearer. He honestly didn't care if the letter made her uncomfortable. It should. She chose comfort over him more than twenty years ago, and now she needs to pay for her actions.

He pulled the door down, slid the letter in, and slammed the door shut again, raising the little red flag on the side.

Done.