Writing Wednesday | Prompt Ten

We grew up together. I was the best man at his wedding. He is the godfather of my child. I have n't seen or heard from him in almost 7 years, but how could I turn my back on him? I did my best to check in on him from time to time after Elizabeth died, but selfishly I became too wrapped up in my own respondsibilities I neglected to be there for my best friend after losing his wife, something I honestly did n't feel remorse for or even think about until I heard he was going to prison. No kids, no real family. It was always just me and Elizabeth in his life, so there was n't a shot in hell I was going to turn my back on him now. 
 
 I arrived at the prison just before noon. The gloomy weather almost poetically portrayed how I felt that day. I did n't know what to expect when I saw him. I had n't a clue what I could possibly do for him or what he wanted for me. But I did n't tell anyone where I was going or what I was doing. 
 
 The guard walked me down to Anthony's cell. It reminded me of a night back in college when I had to pick Anthony up from the police station for a drunk and disorderly. We made eye contact and both immediately started laughing.... only this time, it was far from funny. He was thin. Too thin. It looked as if his skin, which had a greyish tone to it, was running from his bones. I assumed it was from the drugs, which actually got him into this mess. A drug deal gone bad. A young kid, only 13 years old. Apparently the kid's older brother was a big dealer in that housing development, and used his kid brother to spread the product. Well, the kid tried robbing Anthony, pulled a knife, and Anthony was able to over power the kid and take the knife from him. During the struggle though, the kid ended up falling onto the knife. Problem was, Anthony just ran. The police did n't find the kid until a few days later, but someone was able to ID Anthony and they picked him up later that day. 
 
 Once he got up from his bunk, he just said,'Greg' with a head nod, and waited for the guard to leave us alone. The conversation was relatively short. No catching up, no reminiscing, just straight to the point. I still was n't sure what exactly I was doing when I left the prison. I just had directions to his place, instructions on finding whatever it was I was picking up, and an address. 
 
 When I got to his place and walked inside, I could tell almost instantly that something had gone bad in the refrigerator. The smell infected his entire apartment. After some digging through the clothes and trash that were thrown about everywhere, I was able to get to a box that was more tucked away and just out of sight than hidden. I opened it up, and in the box was an unsealed envelope, and two little, plastic green army men figures. 
 
 Unsure of what I was looking at I took the box onto the couch and placed it on my lap. I examined the toy pieces for just a second and then opened the letter that was in the envelope. It was to the boy's mother from Anthony, `` I can not express how deeply sorry I am for what happened. I took your baby from you. I do n't want your forgiveness, or even your understanding. I'm writing to you to tell you that I stayed with your son. I know that I stole him from you, but I did n't want him to die alone in the dark because of me. He had the army men in his pocket, and was playing with them before I approached him. I could tell he just wanted to play with his toys, and he should never have been there in the first place. Regardless, they belong to you. I wo n't ever forget what I did, and I welcome the consequences for my actions. Goodbye.'' 
 
 I went back to the prison on my way to bringing this note and toy soldiers to the mother to talk to Anthony about all of this. I approached the guard and when he saw me, he jumped up from his seat with a face that said it all before he even started to talk. As soon as I left the prison, Anthony hung himself in his cell. He was a good man, but I hope he can find Elizabeth and be at peace now.
