The Number One Dad

Audience: 18-24 year old males

Purpose: The purpose of this internal monologue is to provide insight into the mind of a loving father. Young adult males are a medium between child and soon-to-be father, and therefore can benefit from reading the thoughts of a struggling dad.

The blue sky, the dark mountains, and even the mist above us, all staring at me, laughing. They know what I've done, they're aware of my mistake.

I can't even bare to look back at my son, I can feel his disappointment. For weeks I had promised Brandon a magical hiking trip, but now, on top of a cold and dark cliff, I don't even know where we are. I'm stupid for not asking for a guide, I don't know what I was thinking. Just trying to be that "#1 Dad" I guess...

The one chance I get to prove to Brandon that he can still trust me as his dad and I screw it all up. Maybe it's a good thing he's living with his mom now. She's probably up in the mountains, laughing at me, just like the rest of the world. Brandon deserves better then this, he deserves a better father then me. A good dad isn't supposed to get his son lost in the middle of nowhere. I'm just hoping for a miracle to save us now. I would do anything to get my son back home, even if it takes sacrificing my own life.

It's going to be dark out soon, and I need to make a plan. All I can think of is either finding a safe shelter to spend the night in, or trying to retrace our steps and find a way back out. On top of all of this there's still one more problem. I haven't even told Brandon we're lost yet, even though it's becoming more obvious by the second. How am I supposed to tell my son that we're lost and we might not make it back...

I just love Brandon so much, regardless of the outcome I hope he can forgive me. Good old Mother Nature has a strange way of doing things, and maybe Brandon and I got lost for a reason. Hopefully we get through this and become closer. Hopefully I can become that "#1 Dad".