What you think does matter

Broken – no other choice 1980 I am sitting at my desk desperately hoping the school day flies by. I really don’t like it here, things haven’t been going well and being the class outcast once again is taking its toll on me. There’s a knock at the classroom door, one of the office administrators walks in and calls the teacher over to the side. Soon two large men dressed in dark suits walk in and one of them whispers something into the teacher’s ear. The classroom is silent; everyone is trying to listen in on what is being secretly said between them. We are all anxious, curious about what is happening. The entire classroom turns to look at me in shock when the teacher calls out my name and motions me to come forward. “Take all your stuff with you.” She says with this tense ring in her voice. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I couldn’t help but smile on the inside, do you see me, that’s right look at me, I am important. As I put everything I had into my bag, all

Broken – no other choice I’ve never been to the movies, I wasn’t sure how to respond but if this was an added bonus to getting out of school early – I am all in. As the men in the front seat quietly talked to each other I spent my time looking out the window. I was thinking about how great this would be for me, tomorrow I would be back in school telling all the kids how I spent the day at the movies. I would finally have something that would make me special, make me important and something that will make them all very jealous of me. They parked the car and quickly walked me into the theater, they didn’t even pay for a ticket, they just flashed their badges and continued to walk me right in. The room was dark, they directed me to a seat three rows up from the front and smack dab in the middle of this humongous brightly lit screen that showed dancing cartoon popcorn and candy characters. This was the best day of my life. The movie started and the title popped onto the screen – Ai

Broken – no other choice Broken, a small boy faces a grave decision all on his own. Life has been a series of hardship, horrific circumstances and unbearable heartaches. The decision is obvious - the only way out is to end it all. The choice is clear; in order to escape this life of sorrow there can only be one inevitable course of action. What do you do when you are broken? When hope, is all but a shattered dream that has long ago slipped through your fingers like shifting sand. Tired of the pain, the sorrow, the desire to give up can overwhelm you. Who do you call when there is no one to call, when the person who should have protected you – abandons you? Based on a true story The flood of memories overwhelmed me. My heart begins to sink, my entire chest increasingly hurts with every pounding heartbeat. Tears begin to flow, streaming down my cheeks. I was having difficulty breathing; I was struggling to hold back the endless waves of emotions. My mind ran back and forth as it r