The change of mind

Peter Anderson was born in Oxford, United Kingdom. His father, Roger was military and worked in the British government, in the area of intelligence. Peter considered him as his best friend. They always went fishing together and they took long bike rides. But his favorite hobby was to climb mountains and camp at the top. His mother, Ross, worked as a teacher. In her free times, she liked to prepare delicious dinners and baked bread for her family. Ross and Roger were always mindful of Peter’s education. Since Peter was a child, he had always said that he wanted to become a war pilot and fly fighter planes. In his neighborhood, he was the leader of his friends because he was genuinely nice and friendly. He liked to help other people. His great virtue was listening to the problems of his friends. He had many friends in his neighborhood, but he had a special one named Emma. She was the cutest one there. She was intelligent and shy. Like Peter, Emma already knew what she would like to be when she grew up, she wanted to be a surgeon, liked her father. She had lived opposite Peter’s house since he was born.

When Peter was celebrating his 18 birthday, he received terrible news. His father, who was the leader of one military intelligence squadron was attacked by terrorists, losing his life immediately. Roger received war honors as a hero of the nation, they gave Peter’s mother the flag of England and to Peter, the honor’s medal. Since that day, the day of his birthday, the life of Peter and his mother changed. There was no comfort for both. Peter lost his best friend and his adventure friend. His mother lost her life partner and her husband. Since the death of his father, Peter became a rebellious person. His mother stopped being a teacher and fell into a deep depression. Her days were endless thinking of how sad it was to live without her husband’s presence. Peter's mother could not overcome the sadness and died submerged in a great depression leaving Peter helpless. Peter became a bitter and violent person when his father died. He moved away from his friends, his loved ones, and his great friend Emma to whom he was attracted. He stopped studying. He was completely abandoned. He plunged into the underworld of drugs and alcohol. He was a hermit; his surroundings were violent and dark. He was involved in violent meetings and fights with anyone who denied him a bottle of alcohol. One day, they knocked on the door of his house and it was Colonel Thomson. He carried with him a letter that Peter's father had written days before he was attacked by the terrorists. It could not be delivered before because they had just found parts of the plane where his father was attacked. It was a long and extensive letter. In the letter his father told him how much he loved them, he told him of the great love he felt for his mother, for his son and for his country. He told him about the things he was doing for his country and how proud he should be to be his son. He asked him to take care of his mother (now deceased) and himself. That he should not abandon his dreams like his studies, that he should not feel guilty because he had chosen to serve his country. That he should not let Emma go since she was the woman of his dreams. That he should not choose the easiest and darkest path because it was not going to lead him to anything good. That he should fight for his dream of being a pilot, that he should not let the years go by or he would never be “a good son”. After finishing reading the letter, Colonel Thomson gave him a big hug and Peter for the first time after a long time felt that he was not alone and in that hug he understood that life had not ended, that life continued and that he had to fulfill his dreams. After that long hug, Colonel Thomson told him that he was not alone, that he had a mission to fulfill. That he should follow in his father's footsteps, that drugs and alcohol were just a disguise for not accepting reality. That there were no culprits and that he should fulfill the promise he gave his father.

After many days, Peter decided to rebuild and order his life. He thought of his father's letter and everything he had said to him, and the last thing he wanted was to disappoint his parents despite being dead. He sought professional help to help him with drug and alcohol addiction. He was admitted to a hospital to heal his body, after that, he entered the special forces of the United Kingdom. There he developed as a member of the Intelligence service of the Army of Great Britain like his father and finished his military studies with honors. When that great stage ended, he decided to start another one, and it was to get back his old friends, especially finding Emma. Emma was now one of the best surgeons in London. She was always at a distance from what was happening in Peter's life. The meeting of Peter and Emma was like the beginning of the end in their lives. Peter proposed to Emma. Emma became the mother of their 3 children: Ross, Roger and Alessander in honor of Alessander Thomson, the colonel who changed Peter's life by giving him the letter that for many years had been lost and that was found by his father’s great friend, who had decided to look for the son of his best friend so that he would know the great honor that it was for him to be the SON OF A NATIONAL HERO. Peter taught his children that promises are kept and that the worst decisions in people's lives affect others.