My Life

MY LIFE

I’m going to tell you a story. My Story. A Story of change, grief, trials and finally hardship. It might sound absurd, but its just life.

I’m a thirteen-year-old boy. I have no life. Literally. Don’t get me wrong here. I used to have a happy one back then when my grandparents were alive, but now my life is a mess.

I suppose I should start at the beginning. I used to live in Manila when my grandparents died. I was one of the many illegitimate children born there. My grandparents were Filipinos but my dad was a member of the Royal Navy. I hardly saw my father till after my grandparents passed away. However, I did have a happy time in The Philippines with my grandparents. I love them deeply.

That all changed when they died. They took a part of me with them. I watched their condition got worst day by day by a car-accident. It broke my heart into pieces.After they passed away, my father came and took me away from the only life I had ever known. He brought me to his hometown, Kuching, Sarawak on his own ship. I had never been so close to my dad so I was lonely the entire journey, still trying to deal with the profound loss of my grandparents. It got worst when we reached Sarawak. I was sent to live with one of my uncles. I was a stranger there. I was forced to a new school, forced to learn new language and adapt to the new surroundings. My uncle’s family was okay but I was lonely. Very lonely. I spent most of my time locked up in my own room, crying and looking at the picture of my grandparents, I really miss them. My uncle’s family did not know how to help me, so they kept away from me. I spent three miserable months in that place.

Then things got better. I was sent to live with another relative. My aunt was a widow with an only daughter. I had liked my cousin from the first time I laid my eyes on her. The feeling was mutual and we became very close in no time at all. She was the first person I could really talk to since my grandparent’s death. She had also experienced the same sense of loss when her father died. Together with her mom, she helped me deal with my grief. They become like a second family to me. Wads lost have started to return to me.

I had starting to adapt to a new life here. Everyday I would get up early in the morning and go to school with my cousin. School was fun with my cousin around. I also made a lot of new friends. After school we would hang out together at the mall or any other places of interest. My new friends immediately accepted me as one of them. Life was really returning to normal.

Just as I was beginning to enjoy life again, the second bombshell dropped. Out of the blue, a lawyer came to my aunt’s house and said that my maternal relative wanted custody of me. My jaw literally dropped when I heard that. I had never ever met them before ! All that my grandparents had told me was that they had an argument with my relatives and that day they had never spoken to each other since that day. It had happened before I was even born.

The lawyer said that my relatives are looking for me since they heard the death of my grandparents. Now that they had found me, they wanted me to live with them, as I was my grandparent’s only grandson. I told the lawyer frankly on the spot that I did not wanted to go and he only nodded grimly before departing.

A few days later the lawyer returned, saying they my relatives was taking the matter to court. We were all shocked and my aunt said she would fight for me, whatever the cost. She hired the best lawyer she could find and the date for the custodial battle was set.

However, even from the beginning, we could see that we are going to lose. The judge was clearly sided with my relatives from the first day. My heart sank with the knowledge that I was going to leave behind everything I had come to love again. Sure enough, at the end of it all, the judges ruled they my relatives had the right. We’ve lost.

Saying goodbye was hard. Very hard. I couldn’t help crying for hours, knowing I might never see my beloved aunt and cousin again. It has almost as painful as the time when my grandparents passed away. Everything I loved was in Kuching. I just couldn’t bear leaving it all behind. It had become part of me. Finally I had to say goodbye. One last hug, one last look.” Remember Me”, my cousin whispered. Then I was gone. And my heard broke again. It hurt so much.

Now, as I’m telling you these things, I’m in an aero plane, on my way back to the Philippines. I have no idea what’s going to happen to me, and I really hate all this. I have no idea why God is letting these things happen to me. I hate it. I Guess I just have to start over and hope for the best, for to grow is to chance, and, as you can see, chance is inevitable life. And yes I promised myself I would , yes I would come back to where my second family are.

WE ALL HAVE BEEN PLACED ON THIS EARTH TO DISCOVER OUR OWH PATH, AND WE WILL NEVER BE HAPPY IF WE LIVE SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEA OF LIFE.

Jame Van Praagh

Distance Will Never Be The Limit When We'll Meet
Again Nor Where The Rainbow Ends But The Sky.