"Killings" Letter to Matt

Dear Matt,

I am writing this letter because I have some comments that occurred to me as I read the story. First of all, I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose your own child. Secondly, to see the man who killed him walking around like nothing happened? That must be devastating and I understand that you feel completely uncomfortable by this and therefore feel the need to carry a gun with you. I sympathize with you when you say that you tried so hard to keep your children safe when they were growing up and that you didn’t worry about the future. However, I wish that you realized what you did at the end of the story earlier. At the end, you realized that you and Strout are similar because you both have families. You also realized that Strout and your son, Frank, are also similar because now they are both dead and they are the same person buried under the leaves and snow. If you realized this earlier, you could have prevented yourself from killing Strout and having to live with the reality of what you did. I realize that you thought that killing Strout would make everything better, but it probably hasn’t. Maybe your actions have made it easier for your wife because now she does not have to live with the fear of seeing Strout again. However, I don’t believe it has made your life any better. In my opinion, your murder of Strout has ruined the lives of many other people that you did not take into account. For example, just as you, your wife, and you children felt after your son was murdered, Strout’s wife, her children, and family will also feel this pain. Even though Mary Ann was not happy with Strout, she will still be sad at what happened and Strout’s two children will have to grow up without a father. I know that it is too late to take back what you have done, but you must ask yourself the question: was this the right thing to do? In my opinion, the answer is no. There were other options that you and your family could have taken to get away from this than murder and you should have taken the time to consider some of these options before murdering Strout. As I said, there is nothing you can do to turn back time, so you will just need to face what you did and do your best to overcome it. This process will be long and will require patience but you must pull through. You need to pull through for your family.

Sincerely, Martin Inch