Right now you have the power to say: “I will not let his story end like this.”
For a moment I thought she was my mommy. Her laugh sounded almost the same, and when the sun hits her hair just right, it’s exactly the same red as my mommy’s. I held my breath for a second, but when she turned around I knew it was my mom. I’m so stupid, I thought to myself. Mommy died right in front of me three years ago. That’s how I knew the grownups weren’t lying to me – I saw it with my own eyes. The grownups keep telling me that it wasn’t my fault and there was nothing that I could do, I was just 7 at the time. But maybe if I was a little older, a little smarter, or even a little stronger, I could have saved my mommy.
When I think about it I get so mad at myself that my hands start to shake. I clench my fists so tight that the knuckles turn white, and sometimes, just sometimes, I can’t stop them from swinging.
I don’t like living with my aunty because she looks just like my mommy, but daddy says it’s best I stay there over the weekends while he’s at work. I think they’re both still sad too, and I feel bad that I can’t be better for them.
It is very important for *Tiaan to go to therapy to work the loss of his mother and all the resulting issues. Unfortunately his father cannot afford therapy, so we are asking the community to contribute to the treatment and healing of this little 10 year old boy.
Please consider a donation towards Tiaan’s therapy. Reference #Tiaan to: Badisa Trio Fondswerwing, ABSA Savings account, Account number: 9294493628, Branch code: 632005
*Name changed to protect identity of child, photo found on pexels.com
