Gift of Hope (standard:other, 3976 words)
Author: Megan Michelle	Added: Mar 04 2001	Views/Reads: 3543/2054	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Based on true events, written in a fictional way. Gives anyone the inspiration needed. Comments highly welcomed!

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

I started brewing coffee as I heard a big thump. It’s scared me like
crazy! I looked out the backyard window and noticed that one of  our  
oak trees’ branch broke off with the  heavy weight from the snow. Steph 
must of heard me mumble about how I didn’t want to go outside and pick 
it up. When she came into the kitchen she was dressed and in her boots, 
jacket and her golden blonde hair was hardly noticed with the black hat 
she wore on her head. 

"Mom do you want me to go out and pick up the branch for you?" Steph
said quietly. 

"Oh, sweet would you? Thank you darling." I responded. 

Steph then quietly went out the back door careful not to disturb Jason
who was still sleeping in the living room. 

Weeks passed and Christmas quickly approached. Tim, who lived next door,
helped string lights out in front of our house. He did a beautiful job 
hanging them from the gutter, just the way Brian did. Steph brought her 
friend Annie over three weeks before Christmas. The three of us baked 
gingerbread cookies that weekend. Jason spent the weekend up in his  
room playing video games. 

I was a bit concerned about Annie. She was much more pale then usual.
And what seemed to be the end of a bruise was noticed on her face. I 
didn’t say anything to either one of them at the time. I figured that 
it was nothing, and I carried on talking to Steph and Annie while we 
baked. 

Steph came to  my room later on that evening while Annie was taking a
shower. The news I was about to hear was so disturbing! 

"What do you mean her mother ‘hits’ her?"  I asked. 

"Her mom’s an...." Her sentence trailed off. 

"An what?" I questioned. 

"Her mom’s an alcoholic. Mom, please don’t tell anyone I told you" Steph
replied. 

There was then a knock on the door and we both jumped. "Come in" I said.
It was Annie. She froze at the doorway with the beige towel wrapped 
around her. She stared at us as if like she knew we were talking about 
her. 

"Mrs. Mather,  could I spend the night tonight? Steph and I have a lot
to talk about, and umm..... going home wouldn’t be a good idea" Annie 
said quietly. 

She looked at me like I was going to question her about why it wasn’t a
good idea to go home, but I didn’t. "Sure sweetheart you can spend the 
night. You and Steph could sleep in the living room tonight." 

"Oh thank you Mrs. Mather." Annie said. 

The two of them went walked out of my room quietly. Steph looked backed
at me and winked. I laid in bed that evening wondering about Annie’s 
family life. It puzzled me so much that  such a sweet girl needed to 
put up with a problem her mother had that she couldn’t control. Then 
another question popped into my head, ‘where was her father’ I asked 
myself. 

I picked up my journal that was on the oak bed stand next to  my bed and
began writing in it about Annie. All of the sudden a little "tat tat" 
was heard. Jason walked in to kiss me goodnight. I said goodnight to 
him just as mother would to her child. Well almost any mother, maybe 
not Annie’s’. 

Two weeks passed and everyone got hyped up about Christmas being a week
away. The kids were out of school for the holiday and wouldn’t return 
till after the new year. 

Stephanie seemed to have her whole week planned. Monday go shopping for
a Christmas dress, Tuesday clean her room, Wednesday bake cookies with 
me, Thursday take Jason shopping for last minute gifts and Friday enjoy 
the day relaxing and taking in the winter atmosphere. That all changed 
in an instant. 

RING RING "I’ll get it" yelled Steph as she ran to pick up the phone. 

"Hello?" she said calmly. 

"Steph oh my God can I please come over to your house?" Annie said
frantically. 

"Ahhh....." there was a pause, "sure Annie come on over". 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t be in this house on more
minute!" Annie said as if she was desperate. Before Stephanie could say 
another word Annie hung up. 

"Who was it on the phone sweetie?" I asked. 

"Mom, it was Annie........" Steph whispered. 

"Hun, what was wrong?" The question puzzled us both as we stared at each
other. 

"I- I’m  not sure Mom, all I know is that she wanted to come over here
and she sounded desperate on the phone  so I said it was all right." 
She replied. 

Within the next  10 minutes Annie was at our door knocking. "Mrs.
Mathers...." 

Those were the first word to come out of Annie’s mouth. "Call me Marian
Hun". 

"Well" Annie began as she followed Steph and I into the kitchen. The
girls sat down at the kitchen table as I handed them each a coke from 
the fridgerator, then sat down myself next to Annie. 

"Marian, I figured that the last time I came over, that you noticed the
remainder of the bruise I had on my face. I nodded in reply.Her face 
didn’t look paler nor did it look any more flush color then it did 
before. Instead it seemed to be more bruised. 

"My-my mom has a drinking problem," said Annie as tears brimmed to the
surface of her green eyes. 

I moved my chair closer to Annie to comfort her.  Steph got a tissue off
the counter and handed it to Annie. Annie wiped her eyes. I put my arm 
around her and soothingly rubbed her back. 

"It’s all right to cry sweetie" I said, "So...about your mothers’
drinking problem?" 

Behind the sniffles and tear stained cheeks, sat a lonely child dealing
with an adults problem all by herself. I knew Annie since she was 3 
years old. Her and Steph have been best friends ever since preschool. I 
however, didn’t know her mother like I thought I did. 

Annie sat down her tissue on the table and slowly pulled up her shirts
sleeve to reveal more black and blue spots on her arm. 

"Awe sweetie, your mom doesn’t just hit you, she’s abusing you." I
calmly said. 

The child’s eyes flooded with tears as I held her close to my body
stroking her auburn hair. Steph seemed to watch as if everything was 
happening in slow motion. Who would of ever thought that her best 
friend would tell her mother her life story. Steph then quietly stood 
up and excused herself from the kitchen. She walked up stairs to see 
what Jason was doing in his bedroom. 

"It all started before I was born," said Annie. "My mother started
drinking back in her in college years. She never finished college and 
dropped out after becoming to nervous and tense about the school work, 
exams etceteras. After she dropped out she started drinking. She got a 
job and met my dad." 

"Oh I see" I stated. Annie continued. 

"My mom’s drinking wasn’t all that bad at first. She just drank at
parties and every once and a while. She married my dad a few years 
later. Year after year her drinking became more. Then I was born into 
the mess of it all. My dad was around till I was about 6 years old, 
then he started to come home less and less. I then needed to deal with 
my mother drinking problem on my own which was hard." 

Tears trickled down Annie’s cheeks as I then handed her another tissue.
" My mom’s drinking hasn’t gotten any  better over the years. Only 
worse, and I’ve had to suffer more because of it. Last year my grades 
slipped and I thought that I was going to pass the 8th grade." 

"Sweetie that’ terrible. Your such a sweet young girl with so much
potential. You shouldn’t have to live your life like that." I declared. 


" I don’t like being home one bit. My mom is always yelling at me
because she’s boozed up. Then sometimes she’ll hit me. I try to block 
it from coming but I can’t always and she’ll then get the better of 
me." Annie sniffled trying to hold back her tears. 

She slowly sipped her coke as I rubbed her back to calm her down. Our
discussion ended at that point. She went on up to see what Steph was 
doing and I could tell that she felt better telling me about rather 
then keeping it locked up inside of herself. 

Annie spent the night again that evening which was perfectly all right
with me, now that I understood why she didn’t want to go home and why 
she couldn’t. I was concerned about Annie’s safety back home and I 
didn’t want to put her in any danger of being in the way of her mother 
Maxine if perchance Maxine got drunk around her daughter. 

Plans for Christmas for Steph were put on hold and Annie spent the week
with us. It turned out well after all. The girls helped me bake. Our 
neighbor Tim brought the tree over on Tuesday and the kids and I 
decorated it as soon as it arrived and was set up in the stand, and 
little Jason set the train set up around the tree. 

Maxine didn’t care whether or not Annie would spend Christmas with her
and her husband Ryan or not. Instead, Annie stayed with us, and 
celebrated the joyful holiday. 

For the first time in five years I felt as if I had a family again. I
was the only adult but that didn’t matter. What matter most to me, was 
knowing that I cared for Annie and of course my children. I always 
thought that Christmas was a time of caring and sharing. To forget 
wrong that has happened in our past and focus on the future. I believed 
that the Christmas season, was a time to share love with on another. 
After Brian died it was hard to feel like a family. But when Annie 
shared Christmas with me and ‘my’ family I felt as if our family was 
whole again and I knew it meant a lot to Annie. 

That was my Christmas for the year. I succeeded in making it the best
not only for me and my children but also for my soon to be adopted 
daughter Annie. 

"Without a struggle, there can be no progress." -Frederick Douglass- 

Chapter two: Free At Last 

After the adoption papers were signed and went through the adoption
agency I was so happy. I no longer needed to live with my mom anymore 
and face her drinking problem by myself. 

Mrs. Mather was pleased to have me live with her and her kids. I was no
longer an only child. I enjoyed the thought that now I would have a 
little brother and a sister. 

I thought Christmas was so wonderful! On Christmas eve, Marian, Steph
Jason and I went caroling through the streets of Sweet Apple Valley. 
Christmas  morning Jason was the first to get up, and beat Step and me 
down to the Christmas tree. Marian made breakfast and we open presents. 
I have never been happier in my life. 

We returned to school shortly after we rang in the New Year. When Steph
and I returned to school, things changed. It was no longer "Hi Annie", 
or "Hi Annie, how are you?". Instead people stared as I passed through 
the school halls. It made me feel as if I was the new kid at our 
school. Not only for a day, or week, but everyday until school let out 
for summer. 

"Steph, do you know why people keep giving me funny little looks? And
why they are staring at me?" I asked Steph as we walked to our second 
period English class. 

"Well, you know how big a mouth Josie has," replied Stephanie. I let out
a little laugh and agreed. 

"Somehow she found out that my mother adopted you because of your mom
being an alcoholic." 

"Why that little...." I stammered. 

Stephanie could tell I was mad, and I was. I never wanted my mother’s
problem to follow me into my high school years, but it did. With 
Josie’s big mouth the talk around school would be about my mom within a 
matter of days. 

The bell rang and Steph and I scurried into our English class. My day
continued and my mood dropped slowly as classes passed. I tried not to 
let what Steph told me about Josie upset me. The thought of the whole 
school finding out about my mom really got to me though. By the end of 
the day I felt really depressed. I practically ignored Stephanie on the 
bus ride home. While she sat gabbing with other freshman I sat content 
gazing out the window, listening to my head phones. 

My anger boiled up inside of me as I thought about how many people would
know about my mom being an alcoholic. 

When we settled at home I figured that the next day in school, that if
the subject of Steph’s mom adopting me was because of my family 
problems, I would deny it.  The following day at school nothing was 
said to me about it. I was relieved that I didn’t have to face lying 
about the circumstances in which I was adopted. 

Ever since I was adopted I felt a lot happier than when I was at home
with my mom. Mrs. Mather’s treated me so much better. I was also doing 
better in school too! It helped to have positivity coming from the 
household instead of all the negitivity. It also helped that I had 
someone now to talk to about how I felt. I found it a lot harder to 
deal with the emotional pain coming from my mother’s problem, because I 
was an only child. Now I had Steph to talk to and her mom. 

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the
light." - Helen Keller - 

Chapter three : Friends Will Never Change 

When I found out that Annie was going to live with me, I was thrilled. I
knew that it would be the best thing for her. She no longer needed to 
deal with a mother would didn’t care for her. She also now didn’t have 
to be afraid of being hit nor make up excuses on why she couldn’t go 
home. My home now became her home as well, and I was very happy about 
that. 

Annie seemed to be happier to live with my family. I was a lot harder on
my mother who now needed to raise three kids single parentally. My 
mother held strong and made it through. 

Out of all the kids that I’ve met at school from over the years, I would
have to say that Annie is my best friend and always will be. After we 
came back from the New Year, I hated seeing Annie hurt by the way kids 
treated her differently over a problem she had no control over. I’ve 
known about Annie’s mom’s problem for a while, and never once thought 
of Annie any differently then before. We’ve been for there each other 
through the thick and thin and have gone through a lot together since 
preschool. 

Annie could always tell me anything that was on her mind. She wasn’t
afraid to tell me about her mom either. Annie was so supportive when my 
father died. She did everything she could to make me happy even though 
things at home weren’t so good for her. Now it was my turn to make her 
happy and want to live. 

Whenever it got real bad over at Annie’s, where she could take it
anymore, she’d call me up and we would go for a walk and talk till her 
anger cooled off. I hated seeing Annie always so depressed and talk 
about suicide all the time. 

It scared me even more when in sixth grade she tried killing herself. It
was shortly after she got into a huge fight with her mom and the cops 
needed to be called. Her mother had seriously hit her and she was 
bruised. The cops took away her mom for a week and Annie stayed at one 
of her neighbor’s houses’. Annie felt that everything was her fault and 
became very close to taking her life away. I remember telling her that 
she shouldn’t and that God had a plan for her. She didn’t believe me at 
first. I told her how much she would be missed, not only by me, but by 
a lot of other people too. I was happy that she backed down on the 
idea. Ever since she moved in, she’s had more and more to live for. 
She’s doing very well in school and getting awards too. I’ve been very 
proud to see how much Annie has grown in the past few months that her 
life has changed. 

When my father died I never had anyone to talk to about how I felt. My
mom was upset as it was and well Jason couldn’t even talk. I felt 
really alone through dealing with the pain of losing him. Annie 
however, listened to what I had to say and helped me subside the pain. 
Then shortly after, she came to me about her mom’s problem. At first I 
didn’t know how to react to the news. I realized that the best way to 
deal with it, was to support her and help her out when she needed it. I 
was going to treat her and help her in the ways that she did when I was 
suffering after my dad died. And that’s exactly what I did. 

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame." -Benjamin Franklin- 

Chapter four: Twists and Turns of Happiness and Sadness 

The past few months have been a bunch of twists and turns of events. I
was happy to assist Annie in getting out of her home situation. Steph 
and Jason seemed to enjoy Annie’s company. My family finally seemed 
whole again. It was a great feeling to know that I was helping out 
someone in need. Annie could never be more thankful. 

Hundreds of teens a year get into a state of depression because of their
family problems. About fifty-four percent of those teens, commit 
suicide. I’m glad that Annie was strong enough to overcome that state. 
It’s not easy raising three kids by yourself, but the girls help out 
with Jason a lot. I thank God for letting me have the opportunity to 
help Annie. I’ve been blessed by being able to adopt such a wonderful 
young lady. 

I’ve enjoyed not only opening my heart, but also opening my home to
Annie. She’s so full of life. I’m grateful that she’s no longer in the 
danger of her mother and that she’s in warm hearted loving family now. 
I will enjoy watching Annie and Steph grow up and blossom into 
beautiful young women. For my life is finally full. Throughout all the 
pain and heartache comes love and happiness. 

Overview: 

For many teens, it’s very hard to have a relationship with a parent who
is an alcoholic. Many things happen behind the scenes and into the 
lives of teens that have to be put through the pain alcohol causes. As 
stated in the story about fifty-four percent of the nations’ teens 
commit suicide because of family problems. 

Suicide is not the answer to any problem. Dealing with the pain hurts.
But when someone commits suicide, your not only hurting yourself, your 
hurting the love ones around you. If you are thinking about suicide or 
know someone that is, please call toll free at 1-800-SUICIDE for help. 
Remember that you aren’t alone. People care and love you and want to 
help. 

Help: 

Al-Anon  Al-A-Teen 1-(800)-344-2666 http://www.al-anon.alteen.org For
friends and family of people who have drinking problems. 


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