2818 Revelation Road
Springfield, IL 92836
October 20, 3173
Captain Beatty
1283 Kerosene Avenue
Springfield, IL 92836
Dear Captain Beatty:
I wish to resign from my job as a fireman. I feel I can no longer fulfill the duties of a fireman without having a guilty conscience later. The job of a fireman demands that I burn books and I do not believe in burning books anymore. I regret to inform you that there is nothing you can do to change my beliefs. The idea of destroying someone's thoughts and feelings is one that truly sickens me. Everyone is free to thing however they wish, so please do not take my resignation as insult to you, Captain. I respect your ideals and you feelings. Therefore I ask that you please respect my ideals and feelings by not being suspicious and calling an alarm on me. There are many people in the world who do not like burning books—Clarisse McClellan is one example. Not all people who despise firemen house books. I can not tell you if I have books or not, but I ask that, out of trust in my as a former fireman, you do not judge me as someone whose house needs to be burnt.
Thank you for having faith in me as a fireman. Even when I was a fireman in doubt, you were there for me, offering me words of assurance. You calmed me by saying that what I was going through was normal for all firemen. Although we now have different beliefs, you will always be known as the only adult who any concern about me: my friend.
Sincerely,
Guy Montag
Note: This fanfic is AU since there's really no point in the story where Montag could actually write and give this letter to Beatty before he dies. I apologize for the return address being in the middle as it is not proper for a formal letter. It got messed up when uploading as a document on and I can't figure out how to make it move to the right. If you know how to make it align right, don't hesitate to leave a review or a pm. Hope you enjoy!