Left Behind Child Short Story

At 15 years old, and growing up without knowing the hardships many America went through to carve out a good life for themselves, I wanted to get the perspective of a family member and their experience growing up in a time much different from our own. Recently I had a chance to sit and talk with my great-grandmother. Having mostly grown up with my mother’s side of the family, also having my middle name being parallel to my grandmother on that side, and hearing he stories they would tell, I decided that I wanted to get to know my Dad’s side of the family a little better, so I picked up the phone and made the call to my Grandma Toman, as we call her. Being as she lives so far away, it’s hard for me to get together with her often, so this one phone call really gave me the chance to get closer to her. In this day and age, as the screens on our phones are getting bigger, and we grow closer to our devices, we drift apart from our families.

Everything around me began to blur, including the line between reality and something strange, a place where nothing exists. I could feel myself detaching, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was unplugged and could not find the cord to reconnect myself, my thoughts were screaming over one another and it became impossible to single one out. Everything was fake in that moment, my memories, my feelings, my family, my friends, it was all a hoax that I was stuck in, that I had to be released from. Feeling deceived and unhinged, I remained inert and supine in bed. I covered my face, which was daubed with my tears, and listened to my thoughts all telling me the same thing. I sat up and began to wobble towards the stairs. I heard my sister call out, “I’m leaving Emma!”, and my anxiety intensified. Everything blurred into a combination of panic and tears as my sister tried to calm me down. It took hours to bring me back to

After making the decision to leave it divided up my family in more ways than one. For a while, I always asked myself how could my mother do that to me, at that age, what did I do so wrong. My family

I would wake up at 3 in the morning to make food for my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Every morning after making food, I would then attend my class. Luckily for me, there was school. It was a good way to pass time during the day. After school, which would be around 4 p.m., I would carry gallons of water in wheelbarrow and gather some water for my family. There was no one to help me. Everything I did, was on my own. It was a struggle for me while growing up. I couldn’t ask for anything because it would be disrespectful, so I never bothered to ask them for something. They weren’t my parents. I was lucky enough for them to let me live with them. As an hmong orphan, no one really wants to love you, and they feel as if you are a burden. The only thing I had to offer to them was me, to be a slave. I worked hard to keep them satisfied. And it was fairly difficult. I’ve always wondered what my life would have been if I hadn’t left my parents and siblings back in

The bell tolls. I stumble downstairs in a drear. I can’t stand it, I can’t stand this heaviness, this heaviness in the air. I could scream. My feet begin to thud, thudding down the stairs. I shove the front doors open. To hell with the repercussions. I run. I run like I have never run before. I let it all drip away. The fog thickens around me, clouding my vision, tripping me up. It’s the fog of me, the fog I’m releasing. My toes sink in the grass, squelching and sinking. I’m light as air now. It’s like I’m painting, but not painting in my head, I’m painting on canvas. I’m building sculptures. I’m shaping sand.

It was February 12, 2006 when our feet touched the “land of the free”. Like many others living in a third world country my parents wanted a better life for their family and through a D.V lottery they finally had the chance to pursue what many would describe as the “American dream”. We stayed with my aunt and uncle. I was excited that we were starting a new life in a different country but little did I know that these several months would be the most challenging and difficult time for my entire family. my mother finally gets a job as a housekeeper, I was too young to understand then but looking back now I realize how demoralizing that would’ve felt for her considering she had such a respectable job back home. My father was always the type of person to keep his

They filled me with the images of two invincible grandparents who were to always be the same. Fun, energetic, and strong enough to carry me through any adversity. These illusions were shattered by my visit back. They had aged so much in the years I was away. On the plane ride to Guangzhou, I painfully remember the anxiety I had as the plane ascended and descended. My grandmother had developed heart disease and weakly smiled through the turbulence. It was torture to see her in that state. To watch helplessly as I clutched her arm tightly, distracting her through the discomfort. From that day on, I swore to protect my grandparents. Now it was my turn to hold their hands and create a better

My uncle’s name is Hongming Zou and is my grandparent’s first born. My grandparents had three children. They are teacher in Fujian Province. In that year teacher’s salaries werevery low and teacher’s task was heavy. They usually did not have time to do housework. Being biggest brother, uncle had to face more responsibility than his sibling. His childhood was like a grown up adult. He needed learn how to cook, take care of siblings and clean at a very young age, although some poor, but still feel very happy because his family. He had to remember that memorial because he has to leave China when he was twenty-five: he got opportunities from his college to transfer to

My grandparents had three daughters, one son, and one adopted son. The adopted son is named Peter and he my uncle in Santa Ana. The oldest son is named Vongpat and he works at Leprino food. The youngest daughter is named Vongthong. She is the person who likes fashion very much and I know this because she wears a lot of high fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and others. The oldest daughter is named Vongdevane and she has a disability that makes her unable to speak. The second oldest daughter would be my mother name Vongseng and she is right now taking care of the family and supporting me in school. When my grandparent just started to live in the United States, they worked in a factory that paid minimum wage, which was about three dollars and fifty cents per hour. Now my grandparents are free from the welfare system, they now live a normal life after working hard in their

I dreamt of death. Violent images of maimed humans surfaced, their mouths gaping open, skin clammy with sweat and eyes staring up at nothing. The bony skulls of my family grinned at me through the blackness. I still remembered that dead blank look in my parents' eyes. The gurgle that they made as they collapsed in a heap on the floor. With a shudder, I dragged myself from going through the torture of relieving everything over

During my mid-teens my family went through a lot of changes. My parents had separated and divorced,

My body slowly responds as I become aware of my surroundings. My fingers curl around soft bed sheets and I vaguely hear the sound of clinking pots and humming. To get away from the sound, I turn my body over and get a face full of couch cushion. For a second, I can’t breathe and I’m transported back to the horrors of my escape. Paul’s hands are around my throat. Glassy eyes staring up at me in a pool of red blood. I’m choking on floating hair, dead limbs, and water. There’s so much water I can’t seem to get a breath. If I go to the surface I’m dead. Water swirls around me and then all is black. I sit up with a gasp of air.

Voices would scream, sparkle and spike up in a sonorous resonance That Called for me messing up mi mental stance I tried to overpass the sounds that came to be I closed my eyes, scared of what I may see The night doesn’t mean what it is talking Night is there really something hiding that is so shocking? The night would whine, wallow, and wail

The chilly water soaked my favourite dress. Revealing the paleness of my skin. My head felt weird. I suddenly had a massive headache and I could feel something wet sticking on my long hair, for some reason I couldn 't get up. I could feel my energy slowly, fading, painfully away from me.

Vigorously focused on reaching the front I passionately fought my way through undeserving listeners, to then enjoy their slow mind exploring sounds, I slipd into a hypnotic state of mind swaying to the movement of the trancing beat as pulsating vibrations penetrate my whole body from limb to limb to the end. I tried to battle my way through brick walls of people in pursuit of my now lost friends my fight was soon restricted to a slow stumble, step by step, inch by inch, while breathing sweat infested air I viewed humanity on display up close in all its glory in all its disgrace.