"Did you miss me?"
He glares, an expression so fierce I shrink away.
"I missed you as much as I would miss a lung, I could hardly even breathe without you."
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Opal has been through a lot in her life, many things t...
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Keifer POV
Dear Opal,
I miss you, and I don't really know how much longer I'll be here. I can't handle being here. I'm going crazy.
There's not a lot going on. Nothing new. Nothing to report.
I've been away from home for way too long. Montana seems almost like a distant memory. It snows here often, but it's not the same. It doesn't smell the same, or feel the same. Not without you.
The people here are in denial about what's happening. They don't really care about what happens to them, or where they end up. They don't look to the future. I'm not shocked, not even a little. They try to forget why they ended up here in the first place.
How is it back home? I'm sure you're still drowning in snow. Don't have too much fun without me. I might be tempted to escape and come back home.
Write back soon, I want to hear from you.
-Keifer
I hold the letter in my hand tightly, the envelope wrinkling while I walk through the camp. My boots stomp in the snow, crunching what remains of the white fluff. I don't make eye contact with anyone. Passerby's wave or try to greet me. I don't want to be seen, so I completely ignore them. I want to be completely inconspicuous.
Technically, I'm not allowed to have contact with anyone besides my family. So, this is risky.
Opal is family to me, and that's all that matters. They don't need to know that, they would never understand, and I would be punished for it. The news would definitely make it back home, and Dad would have to talk to Opal. I can only imagine what he would say to her. He's not exactly good with stuff like that.
I made her promise to never expose our relationship. That was years ago, and she's assured me in letters that she has kept that promise. Opal has no idea why I would ask something like that of her, but the answer is simple.
It's for her own protection. If everyone knew about us, there would be heaps of gossip and pity towards her. She would get rejected just like me. Opal would have to deal with my own mistakes as if they were hers. My parents could retaliate, ensuring that we were kept apart.
There's so many fears I have about what could happen to us. Oblivion, forbidden love, it's too much to bear.
The office is so close, right in my line of vision. The place where I will send the letter, I can practically taste it.
It's early yet, and I finished writing the letter before the sun even rose. It's hard to sleep for me, impossible to focus. So, I busy myself with other things so I can forget where I am. Reading, hiking, swimming. All while in the dark of night. Sometimes I shift, but that's not exactly encouraged here. What is encouraged is discipline and blind hatred of those who aren't as powerful as you. It's a harsh place to live. A difficult place to survive.
