Life Uncensored Volume 3
Art (family violence)
by Ryan Arseneau
Photo (family violence)
by Mitchell Reid
Is It My Fault?
by M. J. Spear
Dear Son,
We've gone out for a little while. Amuse yourself. No guests. Don't answer the
phone unless it's someone you know. Same goes for the door. Don't leave the
house. We'll be home around 10:30. Be good!
With love,
Mom and Dad
Xoxoxoxoxo
Hmmm, I have the house all to myself for an hour, Darryl thought. He played some video games and ate some junk food. He heard the car doors slam. He knew that something was wrong. He groaned. Not again! He ran up the staircase and sat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the moment he could talk to his mother.
"Darius, please, be reasonable," Darryl's mother pleaded. I wonder what happened this time?
"Be reasonable? Be reasonable! You be reasonable, Aryll!" Darius, Darryl's father yelled. Will he hit her this time? Or will it just be a yelling match?
"Darryl, are they fighting again?" a little boy whispered, catching his attention.
"Yes, Daniel," Darryl whispered, as Daniel sat beside him. Darryl put his arm around his little brother, Daniel. I wish Daniel didn't have to hear this.
"Are they ever going to stop fighting?" Daniel asked. Darryl pulled Daniel closer.
"I don't know, Daniel, I just don't know," Darryl said. "Go to bed, Daniel.”
Photo (Addictions)
by Mitchell Reid
Addictions
by Twyla Wilband
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Art (homelessness)
by Andrew Pettipas
Photo (homelessness)
by D. MacLean
Photo (homlessness)
by Mitchell Reid
Jeremy
Nicole Merritt
Jeremy sat by himself on the stairs leading to the public library. Many disgusted looks were thrown his way. He hung his head, hiding his face from the world that had rejected him. Jeremy was 17; he had scraggly brown hair with pale green eyes that appeared to be sunken in his thin, gaunt face. His clothes were dirty and bore many holes, his sneakers were missing the laces. After some time he stood and slowly sauntered down the stairs and began to walk down the street. People kept their distance, even people he once considered friends. Some pointed and laughed while others held their noses. Inside Jeremy was crying out in rage over the injustices in the world, but to the world he looked untouched and his face remained emotionless.
He abruptly turned into a shadowed alley way and sat in a corner, hidden away from the world as a tear silently slipped down his cheek. He cried for himself, and for the solitary world he lived in.
When Jeremy was only 9 both of his parents were killed in a car accident, then he was quickly shoved into foster care. House after house, none were for Jeremy. Jeremy was the kid no one wanted. Bounced from one home to another until he finally decided he had enough, at age 16 he left the program and decided to face the world on his own.
For a while he had been ok. He moved in with a close friend, he even had a job. But one day his friend's mom decided she’d had enough of his "freeloading" as she called it and kicked him out. Not long after that he was fired from his job as he had no way to get there. Jeremy tried to find a new place but, in the time he needed them the most, his friends disowned him. So Jeremy was left to live off the streets scrounging for any spare change or bits or food he could find. He even stopped going to school, tried of being left out and treated like dirt. Unlike most, he now met the stereotype of “homeless”.
So to the world it appeared as if Jeremy Hill had vanished off the face of the earth. But he was there, watching from the shadows the life he once knew. The weeks passed and Jeremy lost sense of time. He spent his days looking for shelter, food and money. Many nights he spent out in the rain, hunger pains gnawing at his stomach. But in spite of this he always tried to stay positive, to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
One day, all of this changed for the better. Jeremy was sitting on a curb begging passers-by for a little spare change when he spotted a young woman. She appeared to be about 25, long red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was dressed pretty nice, so he automatically thought she had money. As she walked by he stuck out his hand and gave the young woman puppy eyes, asking for money. She smiled and told him she had no money; but she said she could help him in another way. At first Jeremy was hesitant to trust the young woman, but she didn't look like she could do him any harm, so he agreed to listen to her advice.
She started off by telling Jeremy that only 2 years ago she had been homeless. Now, 2 years later she had an apartment and she was working in a very good position at the local bank. Jeremy didn't believe her, but yet she seemed to understand everything that he was going through. She told him of an organization that could help him, called "Helping Hands." It was a program where he would be given a new life. For the first little while he could actually stay at the shelter, and they would help him get his education and get back on his feet.
Well this didn't sound too bad, so Jeremy willingly followed her. That was a year ago; now Jeremy has his own place and is working as a mechanic, something he had always wanted to do. He always carries around extra change so he can give it to those who are sitting on a curb, their hand held out for money. But before he gives them money, he always tells them a story. It begins with " One year ago I was just like you........."
Photo (homelessness)
by Cameron Ross
Check out Highlights from previous issues of Life Uncensored and see what it's all about.
Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4