My Not So Called Life My mother was a person how tolerated everything. She tolerated the way I cried, when I did not want to eat or even when I did not want to sleep. My mother gave me all the love she could, until she died when I was six years old. My grand-mother was the only family known left, but she did not want to take care of me, because my mother was a person who traveled a lot and she did not know who was my father. For her this was a sin. She had not enough money to take care of me. I was left in the streets, cold, hungry and worst of all broken hearted. I met new people, the people who introduced me to my new best friend, the Marihuana. The first time I tasted I almost threw up. But I felt that I needed more of it so I got more. I felt that if I did not have more of it, I could not live without that. It reminded me of my mother, without her, I had no life. I felt like if my life had gotten better, but when it was over, I felt depressed and I needed it more and more each time. My best friend took me away all my depressions, the hunger. It made me feel happy. One day, I got an overdose of marihuana that I almost was dead once. When I got up I found my self in a bed, with tubes all around me, I was scared, I was terrified, What had happened to me? Was I O.K.? A nurse came by and she asked me: �What is your name and last name?� � Brent Smith� I replied �How old are you� the nurse asked � Ten� I answered She took an injection and took me out some blood. I remembered the way the other kids injected them selves. I also remembered that I wanted to do the same thing, but they told me that first I had to pass a test in which I had to steal some money, and kill the person. I thought that I was not ready to kill some one because I still remembered what my mom had taught me. I also could steel remember that my mother told me to never have drugs, but I stupidly forgot about that. I started to wonder why I was here, but she injected me again, I felt the stuff going throw my veins, and from what I still could hear was the nurse saying that I had gone into coma. I saw a tunnel, from which shone a very bright yellow light. For the first time I felt happy, I do not know why, the kind of happiness I had felt before my mother left me. I saw some movement at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to know what it was, but I had no rush because a force was pulling me towards it. But every time I thought I got closer to the light, the light was farther away. I felt very stressed because I new that if I got there, my life would get better. But then I saw that something was approaching to me and I realized that it was my beautiful mother. I was so happy that I would have cried if I could, my heart would have pound if I had one. I asked her: -�Why did you leave me, you knew that I needed you� � I know, but I needed to rest, I am so sorry� � But why?!!!!!� I replied, I felt tears in my eyes. I was soooo sad when she left me and now she is in front of me. Was I dead? I wondered. �I was sick� she answered � Why do you take drugs, I told you they were not good for you� she said as if she had a pain in her heart, something in her throat. � I took them because I was hungry, cold and worst of all depressed. They became a big part in my life, they were like you.� I told her. � Mom, I am dead?� I asked her � Yes, but you should not be dead, you have to go back, and promise me that you will go to a rehabilitation center, and do not take any more drugs. After this, please go to an adoption center, show the picture of your father and stay there. He will go there and look for you. He will treat you well and he will give you all you need. What is all that you want?� � I want to find my father� I told her � No, what I mean is like material, games, clothes, what? � I want something to entertain my self. Like a Nintendo 64� I answered As she said that, she went toward the light and disappeared. I felt another force that pulled me to the living world. I saw my body and the doctors trying to bring me back. I heard one say: � 1,2,3,4 now� That took me back to my self. The room was full of joy. The nurses and the doctors were hugging and kissing they were very happy. The doctors explained me what had happened. I was to about to become a vegetable if they did not do that to me. They had desintoxicated my body, but I had to stay for to weeks so I could be rehabilitated. I told them I had no money to pay all this and they said: � Do not worry, this hospital is to help kids with problems� � Would you please do me a big favor� I asked � What is it?� one doctor asked � I need to find my father, I do not know him, but my mother gave me a picture of him and told me that things will be all better with him� �We will see what we can do, show us the picture and we will try to contact him. Does he lives in the U.S?� � I think so� Two days passed and the rehabilitation process began. The process consisted of talking to a nurse about my life in the streets, then socialize with other kids in rehabilitation, and doing some artwork etc. Everything was all right until the day a kid in the rehabilitation showed us some drugs. He showed us the drug I wanted to taste. Some kids took it. He asked me if I wanted some. It was the drug I most wanted in my life, but I remembered about the person who I most loved. I said: � I�ve allways wanted this drug, but I made a promise that I would not take them again� � A little bit wont do any harm, take it� he said scornfully � You take it, I do not want to take it. Leave me alone� I answered angrily � Every single one of us has agreeded to try it� he replied � Leave me alone, I do not want it� I stormed out of the room, and told a nurse about it. I told her no to tell them that I was the one who told her. The kids were grounded. Thank God that in one week I will finish the treatment. I will be very glad to leave, and I will hope that I can start a normal life again. But I am sad because my father has not been found yet, and if he is not found, I will have to go to an adoption center. The other kids have gone there and they told me that they treated you really bad and if you are not adopted fast, they will make you work for them. I am happy because in ten days the kids will be forgiven and I will be gone before they might beat me up. * * * Two days after this, the doctors told me that they had contacted my father, the doctors said: � Brent, your father will be here in three days. He lives in Florida and you know that it is very far from California. Still, he has decided he will be taking care of you.� � I feel so happy. Now I do not have to go to the adoption center. Does my father have any other kids?� I ask � I do not know. He will talk to you and you can ask him anything you want, O.K?� the doctor said. �Hey, Doc, in art class, may I do something for him?� I told him �I do not know, I will talk to Ms. Clark to see what we can do. I thik she will say it is O.K.� The next day I went to art class, Ms. Clark said that it was O.K for me to do something to my father. She is such a great person. Ms. Clark had blue eyes and was very thin. I asked Ms. Clark: �What should I make for him� � I think that you should do something, to express how you feel about him in a 3-D model made out of clay� � I think that that is a great idea, I will do him a 3-D happy face out of clay.� The Happy Face turned up magnificent beautiful, in the back, I wrote: Dear Father: I never knew you, but my mother told me that you will be great father and you will take very good care of me. I hope that I will be a son that you will be proud of and please do not get a bad impression of me for being in this place. Sincerely, Brent Smith The days passed quickly and the day I would met my father arrived. I was really nervous, because maybe he will not accept me because of my past. He is suppose to show up at five p.m., it is four thirty and I am really nervous, would he be mean or a nice guy. I am really hysterically nervous. What if he has a wife who hates kids that are not her? What if he takes drugs or is an alcoholic. I also wonder if he would be a good father. A nock in the door took me back to reality. Was it my father? � Come in� I said � Hi Brent� It was a doctor, thank God. � Your father is here, he is also nervous like you, he will came in awhile, because I need to talk to him, get everything ready� �O.K. I will got to your office before I leave� MY FATHER IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe it. Do I look presentable? I looked my self in the mirror. I was wearing Blue Jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that one of the Doctors had given me. My hair was combed very nicely. I was so nervous that my hands started sweating. I wiped them on my jeans. I heard some noises approaching to my room. The door opened: A tall young man came in, with the doctor behind him. The doctor said: - � Brent, this is your father Nicolas Andrews� My mother had not given me my father�s last name, I wondered why. His hand reached mine. They were very cold and sweaty. � I will leave you alone so you can talk� I looked at him again. He looked like if he were rich � Please do not hate me for have consumed drugs, I have left them� � Do not worry, I will take care of you and do not worry about the drugs, I believe that you have left them� my father said warmly � Do you have a wife, other kids, do they hate me�.� � Do not worry, I have a wife, who is very anxious to meet you, and you have a two year old brother, who is called Collin� my father interrupted � What is your wife�s name� � She is called Maria Delvoux, she is french� � They won�t hate me or treat me bad right?� � Do not worry, they will love you� I took his hand and went to the Doctor� office to say good bye. � Hi, I came here to say good bye, and thanks for everything� I said � I have a gift for you� He took a box wrapped in gift paper, he gave it to me and I opened. I t was a Nintendo 64. I was so happy. I wanted this all my life. � I do not know how to thank you�� I told him � Just promise me that you wont take any drugs� � I promise and I also promise you that I will write you every time I can� I promised I left the office and got in the car. I asked my father what had happened between my mother and him. � It is a long story, but we have a lot of time, your mother and I love each other a lot, but she got pregnant and we started fighting a lot. She went to California and we lost contact. You were born and I did not know about it. She gave you her last name and I am proud of her, because she gave you a good education�� he said sadly * * * After three days, I met my new family, Collin looked a lot like my father and Maria came to be beautiful and a great person. She took me to the movies, shopped with me and was like my second mother, but I will never forget that my real mother was the best one in the whole world. My live was much better now.
Copyright © 2000 Natalia Pedroza |