Earl couldn’t leave his mother. Without her, he would have left at once, but there wasn’t a sure way he could be on his own. The only person he knew other than his family was Alder, but he barely remembered anything from their meeting. His parents decided together to let him keep his job as an employee, but he would begin living in a separate apartment, of course, owned by his father, and would handle his living expenses alone. His father told Earl if he wanted so much freedom then he would take away his money privileges. Earl thought he would feel much happier, having the freedom he once yearned for but being away from the only people he knew became very lonely. His dead-end job felt deathly boring and the money he made barely scraped his apartment expenses. He was surprised one day when he met Ms. Marie outside his door with a letter addressed to him.

“I found this letter in the mailbox this morning. Seems like they didn’t know you moved out.” As she walked off he opened the letter and began reading,

Dear Earl,

I hope you have been doing well after what happened last week. I wish I could have stayed to help you more, but I didn't want to interfere any more than I had. I thought since I never got to give you a full explanation about the night we met, I ought to write to you. It might also be a bit of my selfishness to get to know you better. Anyways, that night nothing bad happened, I promise. You were very drunk, and I couldn’t leave you to wander alone, and it was also my vase that cut you. I brought you back to my place and bandaged your hand. You were out quickly and that was it. The rest of the story you remember from that morning. I hope this letter explains everything correctly, and if you don’t mind, I would like to find a time where we could meet, so you can ask me any questions that concern you. I’d also like it if we could restart and meet correctly. To be honest, I’ve lived in London all my life, but I have never made a friend. I can't keep hiding from everyone... What I’m trying to say is if you of course wanted to, could we try to restart? I’m glad we met and I hope to hear from you soon. 

Sincerely,

Alder Harris

The lines, 'I can’t keep hiding from everyone,' ran through Earl’s mind, and he questioned, Why would Alder hide from people?

He didn’t know much about Alder, but he seems to be a good person.

He’s only looking for a friend... He thought as he rolled over to the other side of the bed. It has been hours since he read the letter, but he couldn’t get it off his mind. Questions kept forming in his head,

Should I answer Alder’s letter? Is he trustworthy? What if he’s lying? His head felt as if it would explode at any moment. After a sleepless night, he decided to answer the letter. If Alder is willing to reach out to him, even after it was his fault for barging in on his shop, then he should at least give him a chance.

He answered! Alder gushed as he slowly opened the small envelope and unfolded the letter,

Dear Alder,

Thank you for reaching out, it was nice to hear from someone after these past few days. My parents decided that I would begin living on my own. I didn’t realize how nice it was to have family around even if they annoyed me to no end. I haven't talked to many people either. My parents have excluded me from the outside world my whole life, and now they have given me all the freedom I have dreamed of, but... Strangely, I feel so lonely. I know nobody in this whole city other than you. Maybe together we could help each other reach out and find new people. Let's plan a time to meet soon. If you have any source of technology let me know, it would be easier to message than send letters.

Best Regards,

Earl Hughes