Where’s Neil?A story for Gabrielle Kirkpatrick

Written by Neil Kirkpatrick

To Gabrielle,

Merry Christmas! I hope to experience grand adventures and awesome parties with you someday! Keep stayin` in the green!

Love, Neil

December 2013

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Once upon a time, there was a family of six. They were named Mom, Dad, Genevieve, Gabrielle, Joseph, and Neil. They lived in a rainy city, and had lots of fun together when they weren’t yelling really loud!

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Neil went to college, and Genevieve had fun! Joseph was loud and smelly, and Gabrielle was sweet and smart! Mom and Dad were pretty cool too. Everything was great!

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Every once and a while, Neil would come home from college to eat all the food in the house, use all the gas, and say hello to Gabrielle. Gabrielle was always happy to see Neil!

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One day, Neil graduated from college. He was done! No more college! Hooray for Neil! What now?

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“I’m going on adventures and to lots of parties!” Neil said. “Time for me to move out!” “Finally,” Genevieve and Joe said. “About time,” said Mom and Dad. But Neil was moving far away from home. Much farther away than college.

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“When are you coming home?” Gabrielle said. “I don’t know,” Neil said. “Maybe not for a long time.” Gabrielle didn’t know what to think about that. “One day, you’ll be a Big Girl, and you’ll get to go do Big things too!” Mom said. “You can always talk to me on the phone!” Neil said.

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Neil said goodbye to everyone, and was on his way! Things were fine for a while. But soon, Gabrielle started to

miss Neil. It felt different. At least when he was in college, he would come home once in a while.

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“Where’s Neil?” Gabrielle asked. “I want to talk to Neil.” “He’s at his new home,” Mom said. “I want adventures too,” Gabrielle said.

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But then, Neil called Gabrielle! “Hi Gabrielle,” Neil said. “How are you?” “Fine,” Gabrielle said. “How are the parties?” “Great!” Neil said. “I’m making music, writing stories, and meeting all sorts of cool people!” “Call me!” Gabrielle said.

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And at Christmas, Neil came home! He saw the whole family, and gave everyone big hugs! Especially Gabrielle! “Hey Gabrielle!” Neil said. “I missed you!” “Hi Neil!” Gabrielle said. Maybe things weren’t so bad.

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Gabrielle got older, and one day she finished high school! Now she was a Big Girl! “I’m going on adventures and to lots of parties!” Gabrielle announced. And she decided she’d start by going to visit Neil.

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He lived in a medium sized house with red paint and fuzzy carpets. There were guitars everywhere, and a cat too! “This is my new house,” Neil said. “Nice house,” Gabrielle said. “You can come here any time you’d like!” Neil said.

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Gabrielle ate all Neil’s food and made a big mess. “Aren’t you still going on adventures?” Gabrielle said. “I had fun, but now it’s time for me to have my own home, and to write awesome music and cool stories,” Neil said. Neil’s home was far away from Oregon.

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“When you go on your own adventures, sometimes you don’t live at home anymore,” Neil said. “Sometimes your adventures take you far away.” This made Gabrielle feel lonely. “What about Mom? Dad? Genny and Joe?” she said.

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“The best part about having a family,” Neil said, “is they are always there. You can always call, you can always write, and you can always go back if you need to.” That’s not so bad, she thought.

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One day, Neil was sitting at his house with his cat making a song. “Where’s Gabrielle?” he wondered. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Gabrielle! “Hi Neil!” Gabrielle said. “Hi Gabrielle!” Neil said. “How are you?”

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“I’m on an adventure!” she said. “Awesome!” Neil said. “But we can talk anytime on the phone! I have to go now. I’ll send you a postcard!”

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“I love you Gabrielle,” Neil said. “I love you Neil,” Gabrielle said.

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And she was off, in search of grand adventures and awesome parties!