Absence.

It's been a long while since we saw each other, huh? NeoShadows is finally back in the swing of things again.

Now, the big question: why was I gone for so long? And, sadly, it's the same reason I vanished last time.

The cartel.

My uncle was killed last time, and that hit me hard enough as it was. But this recent hit was much more impactful.

I don't like my dad. I've hated him for the longest time because of his way of life and his belief in strength. I won't blame my sins on him but I did pick up a lot of my worst habits because of him. And I've had to deal with bits of his 'business' life invading my own as a child and was lucky to escape when I could. I could go on, and on, and on, about all the reasons why I had hated him for the longest time, but I let that toxic bile go long ago.

He was still my dad; I did love him. Not all those days were bad; there were good times and precious memories- if blurred.

He 'vanished'. It's no secret to many in my family, and my relatives in Mexico, what happened to him. Because of his dealings, connections, and actions, there most likely won't be a body. Even if there were, that would only be worse for our hearts to see the gruesome corpse. The final nail in the coffin on whether he could be alive or not came from my relatives in Mexico: stop asking questions. Don't look for leads, don't dig into what you shouldn't, and let it go- you don't want to be next. There won't even be a funeral or...anything to cement his passing but acceptance of what we can't ever be sure of.

As you can guess...I couldn't be myself.

I was depressed. Really depressed. I tried just to drink it all away again. Lose myself in some terrible habits and just focus on work and family. That was no state to be writing, let alone thinking about it.

But I got over it. Or, at least, I've recovered. Enough to crack my fingers and try to write again.

This post isn't the Monthly Update. Oh, don't worry about that. I've been building up some content to announce my return. You'll get the update right after this, so don't worry. I just wanted to get this out of the way, you know?

Let's get all this shitty depressing crap out of the way and get back to enjoying some tasty dishes, huh?! Ain't ya starving? Then let's get these useless excuses out of here.

The Update's coming up in a bit, so let's see what I've been cooking up!