This story has been ours since the day I met you. You just didn’t know it. The past few years have been dizzifying, and I don’t understand it. Yet, I don’t mind, as long as the memories never fade with our youth. According to a good song I know, we’ll either die young or live forever… so far so good. And I know we’re still young, but my mind is way ahead of me. We’re young and wise, comfortable with the oddest things, and meekly strong. I’ll go home when I am called home, but first, you have to know this story. The story was originally mine, you just added color to it, and you just added sense to it.
Let me tell you about a girl who loved everything. Her name is Samantha, but she prefers that we call her Ella. What Ella loved was life, but what Ella loved more than her life, was her first ever boyfriend, Justin. Before we go into their story, I have to tell you a little bit about Ella.
Even as a baby, Ella loved everything; she loved summer and winter, rain and sunshine. She always forgave people for doing wrong, and encouraged them to do their best. Some people called her a ray of sunshine, some called her a blissfully aware child, and others called her “Soul” because she had so much so early in her life. Ella had jet black hair, dark brown eyes that changed shades with her mood, tan skin, and was kind of tall for her age. Ella was considered beautiful, expressive, funny, kind, and a well-rounded intelligent girl who knew right from wrong. Yet, she was never told this out loud when she was in her awkward years because she was shy, drawn, and quiet. That was when Ella was told she had anger management problems by her doctor at age eight, and every year that passed she got more violent.
When she turned ten, her mother enrolled her in an at-school anger management class. This did not help Ella much, because now the students knew of her problems and teased her for it every day and class. At age eleven, she began to have thoughts of suicide; she felt like no one would ever care for her when she left her parents’ loving arms and into the world’s cruel ones. But every time Ella tried to kill herself, something in her stopped her, and she couldn’t figure out what.
“You’re a coward, Ella. That’s why no one loves you.” She told herself this every day, tearing herself down for a lack of friends and the poor communication she had with the family. In fifth grade, Ella was told that she made honor roll again, and she lined up with the other honor’s students to go to the assembly. On the way there, she thought of how effortless these grades were to get; and how her parents never went to anything she participated in since her baby sister, Leah, was born.
Maybe they’re tired of me too, Ella thought, maybe that’s why they don’t bother to go to these things any more. The assembly started, all the parents were seated; all except mi- but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw her father there, in the front row, in his military uniform. Ella felt her heart beat hard; she almost didn’t hear her name being called.
“Samantha Endradi,” a teacher from the podium called; she walked over to the teacher.
“Congratulations Samantha,” the teacher said to her, handing her the certificate and shaking her hand.
“It’s Ella,” she corrected politely, and looked towards the crowd; her father was getting up. Ella’s heart sank back to its original place, of course he wasn’t staying. But he wasn’t getting up to leave; he walked towards her, and gave Ella a hug.
The crowd awwed, as her father looked down at Ella and said, “I’m so proud of you kiddo.”
That’s all she needed to hear for her heart to feel warmth again. Samantha forgot all about the teasing, the tears, and the long nights she stayed up to look at herself, pointing out her every flaw, hating every little imperfection she had. It had been awhile since she stopped caring about her looks, she couldn’t remember the last time she had really smiled… but Samantha liked the feeling. More than anything, she loved the warmth that surrounded her heart, melting the icicles and frost that had been covering it. She missed that feeling so much, Samantha wanted to cry. Then she realized she was calling herself Samantha again; she hadn’t done that since she was six.
But the warmth didn’t last three days because of the kids still teasing Ella. They not only made fun of her for her anger management problems, but also her ADD, high reading level, good grades, her struggles in math, and her weight. What hurt Ella the most was the teasing about a beauty mark that was to the right of and in between her upper lip and right nostril. Ella prided herself on this mark; it set her apart from her mother, whom she took her looks after. To top it off, Ella was the tallest girl in the fifth grade that often tripped or was tripped. Ella wanted the pain to end, but she somehow stopped herself every time. One day, after coming home from school, with her eyes red and puffy from crying, Ella flopped down on the couch. Today, Ella had just snapped at her only friend after she fell out of the chair.
“SAMANTHA,” Ella’s five-year-old sister, Leah, yelled running to her.
Leah was tall for her age, like Ella was
Ella groaned, “Samantha’s tired Leah, we can play tomorrow, Samantha promises.”
Leah was holding a book in her hands; Oh Geez, she remembered.
Ella had promised yesterday that she’d read Leah a story when she got home. Why does she have to have such a good memory? Ella thought as she looked at the book Leah was carrying: “I Miss You: A Story for Kids with Parents in the Military.”
“Okay, Leah, I’ll read you the story,” Ella opened the book and read, “ ‘Alyssa’s daddy works for the Air Force, today her daddy told her that he was going away for awhile, and needed Alyssa to pick up the slack when he’s gone. Her daddy says that he knows that this won’t be easy at first, but he knows that Alyssa will do her best for him, her brother Tommy, and their mother because Alyssa is very important to the family.’ ”
The story goes on about how Alyssa copes with her dad being gone, even though it’s really tough on her social life. It was the last paragraph that caught Ella’s eye:
“‘After a year, Alyssa’s daddy came home and told her how proud he was of her. ‘I know it was tough for you Alyssa but you stuck it out like a champ. If you weren’t around, I don’t know what we’d do. Our family wouldn’t be strong if we didn’t have you. Remember that you’re here for a purpose that’s all your own, and if you weren’t here, things would probably wouldn’t go so well.’ ”
“Yay,” Leah exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I love that story!”
Ella smiled, “I do too Leah.”
She smiled because she finally realized why she didn’t end her own life; it was Leah. Not only that, it was her mom and dad, who supported her in the littlest of ways. The other kids didn’t have parents that came up to the school for a parent-teacher conference that they themselves set up; maybe that’s why they skipped. Maybe it was because their parents didn’t care, that they didn’t care either. Then Ella thought of something she didn’t before: there’s a time and place for people of Christian faith (such as herself,) have to go but it wasn’t her turn. Ella never considered that before, but the conscience beneath her conscience did.