Perhaps this long trip wasn’t a waste of time after all. Who would think that I, Richard Roy, would actually have friends ?
Mom, this has been the best summer I’ve ever had. When you first told me I was going to a sleep away camp for the next two and a half months, I was p***ed off. But then I realized that my summer would be stress free because you wouldn’t be around. Now, I hope you don’t take offense to the fact that me being away felt like a vacation away from you. Seeing how you sent me here, I figured I would tell you about my experiences here at Fort Deen.
First off, let me tell you about how when I first arrived I was greeted with a warm hello and smiles. Every one at Fort Deen was respectful of each other and truly got along, regardless of their true inner opinions. After that, I proceeded to the office where I checked in and eventually got my room, which resembled a 1970’s hotel room. The room consisted of two beds, a radio, and an out of date television. After a week or so, I finally meet my roommate, his name was Doug. Just by looking at Doug, you could tell he had a troubled past. As time went, on my hypothesis began to take hold in my head; because we were roommates, it was almost impossible to avoid him. Eventually we became friends and he trusted me with his secret past. He told me he had never seen his actual parents and that he had been bouncing from foster family to foster family. He was also saying that some how his biological parents were somehow involved with this camp. You’re probably thinking to yourself, how could you possibly be friends with a kid who has never seen or even know his parents names, and yet thinks they’re related to this very camp? My initial reaction was wow how can you possibly know that? I mean it’s not like they told you to meet them here My God you’ve never even seen them or said a single word. After our talk it was easy to see that I was being a bit insensitive and my opinion was completely out of line I finally told myself to shut up and I went to sleep.
That next morning was extremely awkward and I felt hideous about being so insensitive, I finally had a legitimate friend and I was out casting him because of a child hood fantasy. I decided that instead of causing Doug to feel ashamed I figured I would help him solve his troubles. When I finally returned to my room I found Doug on the top bunk holding a note close to his chest. When he finally noticed that I was standing there he took the note and threw it at me. He looked down at me and told me to read the note.
Hey Doug, I know your past and I understand what your going through. That’s why I went through all this trouble of tracking you down. To be completely honest, when I went to your original foster home they said they sent you to Florida. When I made my way to Florida the other foster care said that they sent you to Minnesota. At the beginning of the summer I found out you were at Fort Deen and once I knew you where there, I finally had my chance to come into contact with you. Doug, this going to be hard to hear, but I’m your mother and I want you to know that you do have a family. As a matter of fact, your twin sibling is in the very camp your in. His name is……
When I finished reading the letter I realized what was wrong. The letter had been cut off , and was missing the siblings name. I finally figured out why Doug was in such a bad mood all the time. He knew that his actual family member was here and that was it. To be in the camp with someone that is supposed to be important to you, yet not knowing exactly who they are, that must be excruciating. Later that night around 8 pm someone knocked on our door. It was our counselor he said that. He had a letter for me. When I asked who it was from he said it was anonyomous. I hoped it would have been a letter from you giving me some cash, but in the envelope was a half piece of paper with just my name on it. At first it didn’t make any sense, but then it hit me this was the missing piece of Doug’s letter. I searched and searched until I finally found the letter and the ripped messages aligned perfectly. Do I, Richard Roy, actually have a brother?