Saving Laura

I, uh, I’m sorry I didn’t make it for the funeral, I, uh wasn’t sure that you’d want me to be there. I had some work to do anyway. Things are always busy at the social service department. Like right now, there’s this little girl, her name is Laura, she’s only five and she’s the kid of child that you just want to cuddle. She has big, sad, brown eyes, and you can tell she’s not like other kids. She lacks the life and spark of a healthy child; she has the look of a child who knows that they’re not wanted. I know that look, I saw it every day when I was growing up; all I had to do was look in the mirror. But Laura is lucky, she won’t have to grow up like me, I found her a home today. A good home, she won’t hurt anymore and maybe, just maybe, she won’t grow up to be like me. She won’t have to wonder if she was ever loved, she won’t have to wonder if she’s crazy or if her mothers the crazy one.

The Triborough Bridge, do you remember that mother? The day you tried to kill me? We were on our way to the airport, you were taking me to meet my plane so that I could go see dad in Paris. Grandpa was in the front seat and

. . .
If you keep your mouth shut long enough, someone’s bound to give you a hint. So I dove headfirst from the backseat onto the brake. I wanted you to feel as alone as I did.

But sometimes I couldn’t help taking, so I probably said something wrong. You told me to give you the keys and you promised not to try and kill me again, and I gave them to you.

So that’s why I wasn’t at your funeral mother, I was making sure that Laura, sweet little unloved Laura, didn’t have to live like that. Do you remember what I asked you? I asked you who would feed the dog while you were dead.

When we finally got to the airport you didn’t tell me good-bye, or that you loved me, just to have a good time in Paris because you’d be dead when I got back. I knew that you hated it when I ignored you, maybe that’s why I did it. I wanted to make sure that no one ever made her feel like she couldn’t speak or smile or become something one day. He thought you were kidding, but I knew better, I knew that you’d hated me since the day I was born. You were the crazy one, you drove us all away, you’re the reason that dad left, the reason Jonathan never came home from college, the reason I can’t find a bathroom in a crowd of people.

Common topics in this essay:
Lenox Avenue, Pennsylvania Jonathan, Sigh Janice, York City, Paris Grandpa, Triborough Bridge, Ive Ive, Thats Im, mouth shut, wont wonder, wont grow, kept mouth shut, stopped car, told keys, kept mouth, day tried, car middle,

Approximate Word count = 1045
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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