Allegra

My cousin Peter lost his battle to opiate addiction a few summers ago. We were a year apart in age and raised as siblings during summers on Cape Cod. Somewhere along the way, Peter took a different path. The smiling, curious young man I grew up with was overshadowed by a demon. His loving parents, my aunt and uncle, struggled to help him find his happiness again. To help him find the person who loved the ocean and knew everything about it’s inhabitants. Opiate addiction has not only taken my cousin Peter, but also my first real love. My boyfriend Erik succumbed to the disease not long afterwards. I think of them everyday, and wish that I had the strength to help them, to take their pain away. I wish they are both able to find the peace now that they fought for in life. Love always, Allegra.