Letters to Phoenix
by
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A therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens. One boy. One girl. One love. Two families. ... THE AFTERMATH.
Letters to Phoenix
His eyes are blue, sky blue, and shiny. Hers are the golden eyes of a waiting tiger. His hair is fire - orange tips and the black smoke at the roots - wild and long. They walk hand in hand, oblivious, ethereal, loving the touch, the smell of her perfume and of his cloves. Intertwined fingers kiss. Night after night, they watch the stars from their separate bedrooms and wish for one to fall. In their madness, they make mad promises, and she can still see his blue eyes, smell his skin, hear the last - I'll never leave you, - when his long hair falls to the floor. *** Nakedness and terror and the steel door of the seclusion room; her terror, his panic, empty rage, the last smile etched in her mind, his last tears. Two men talking. Sixteen. The word rings in the empty hall. Difficult teenager. Behavioral problems. Opposition defiance disorder. Yes sir, of course sir. We will see to that, sir. Top rated boarding school, sir. Yes, we have fully trained personnel. His girlfriend? There will be no visitations. Don't worry, sir. We'll fix him, sir. *** Long hair swept into a trash basket; blue eyes glazed over with fury. Locked doors, barred windows, wire beds. She walks through empty alleys, crying, choking, whispering his name. He will never see her. She will never touch him. She wraps her arms around her waist in a vain want of comfort. The walls are deaf and cold. He slams his head over and over. Blood drips from the undamaged skull as the impotence and emptiness wrap them both so very gently. *** We will fix him, sir. It’s ok
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About the Book
Derek has just spent his sixteenth birthday locked inside Farmstead, a behavior correctional facility for troubled teens. Now, he devotes every waking minute waiting for his girlfriend, Emma, to visit. But when she does not appear day after day, he takes out his frustration on an orderly and the steel door that separates him from everything he knows and loves.
Emma has no idea what has happened to Derek. When she finally learns where he might be from a beloved school counselor, she works through her grief by writing in her journal—addressing Derek as Phoenix. She lovingly wraps a birthday gift for him and takes it to his parents to deliver. As time slowly passes, Derek and Emma attempt to go on with their lives without each other. She thinks he has forgotten her: he thinks she has forgotten him. Six months later when she finally receives a clue as to Derek’s whereabouts, Emma pens a personal ad in the newspaper, hoping he will see it. But as she waits for his response, Emma has no idea that there are people determined to do whatever it takes to alter her destiny with Derek.
Letters to Phoenix shares the tale of a rebellious teen and his one true love as they battle seemingly insurmountable odds to be together.
About the Author
Julie Deshtor grew up in the Soviet Union during the turbulent 90s, and moved to the United States shortly after the Soviet Empire collapsed in 1991. A bilingual author, Julie writes both fiction and poetry, as well as translating poetry and lyrics. She brings her rich cultural and life experiences to her fiction, exploring the psychological struggles of her characters with compassion and insight, as they navigate the murky waters of modern society.
Julie currently resides in Utah, USA. Her interests include art, world literature, zoology, anthropology, and urban subculture.