Dear Hollis

Dear Hollis,

I feel like I’ve been with you since the beginning. You were a troubled child at first who just wanted one thing: a family. The child care agency put you in many different homes but you ran away. You weren’t fond of the old families only because you couldn’t relate to them. Not because they were mean or abused you or anything like that. You’re just a very artsy person and you love to draw, some people just don’t get that. You ran away from so many different families that you lost count, and you didn’t like one of them. Then, you met the Regan’s. They were different from any other family you’d ever been with before. Steven grew to be your best friend, and Izzy and the Old Man weren’t far behind. You loved this family more than you’d ever loved one of your chosen families before. This time was different; you  didn’t want to run away.

You started behaving and you just enjoyed life as much as possible. You spent every day with Steven; laughing, playing, loving life. The Old Man gave you a drawing notebook and colored pencils so you could express yourself by drawing. He knew how much you loved drawing and the whole family wanted to see some of your beautiful drawings. Steven and the Old man always told you about how beautiful the view was from at the top of the mountain. So, of  course, you wanted to draw it. The Old Man also said how dangerous the journey was getting up the mountain though. You desperately wanted to draw the view, so you decided you’d go up the mountain by yourself when no one was home. Well, that didn’t go so well and you ended up crashing down a hill in a truck with Steven. You’ve messed up a few times, but in the end, you turned out to be a great kid that the Regan’s loved to have in their family.

Sincerely,
        Bella Mouradian