Imagine this, you are being rudely woken up and then thrown in a loaded pick-up truck before the sun is fully up on a cold morning in February. It’s hard to play an image like this through your head isn’t it? My brother and I didn’t have to play this image in our head, but we have to remember it from time to time. The bleak memory of being kidnapped by our father, during my freshman year of high school, will always be the day in my mind that ended my childhood and marked the beginning of an adulthood that neither I or my brother were ready for.

The day is like a child’s recurring nightmare. The smell of the early morning air rushed to my nose as I was shaken awake by my father to leave the state, with not a choice or say in the matter. Months of trying to get help from local authorities and officials for something I saw coming that lead to nothing happening as that morning grew closer and closer. We soon watched the town and the state we called home fade in the rear view mirrors as the sun rose and fell that day. The fear we had this day was unimaginable to anyone who has not been in some sort of traumatic experience. My brother and I had seen stories of kidnappings in the news while growing up but never thought it would happen to us, and by someone who was supposed to be trustable like a family member.

After we were taken out of state. my brother and I lived in a mental and somewhat physical state of shock for several months till we were finally able to return to home. During these months, I tried to find ways to make life somewhat livable or survivable including different sports, clubs and activities but most did not work out for me or did not help me feel any better about what was going on in my life and where I was at. During this time as well, I tried to keep my brother sociable and sane as he did not ever like being around my father and not being to get away from him like this was not helping him at all. Later that year, around the beginning of August, we were able to return home to Colorado.

As my brother and I went through this, I learned the world is not as bright and nice as it seems to be when you are at a young age, it may seem like it while you are a child but it will eventually show the true face it hides to you, whether it comes out slowly or comes as quick as a slap in the face, and it may really be either ugly or beautiful. There are a lot of people in the world that you cannot trust, even some that are close to you. Anything can happen to anyone, no matter how old you are or where you call home.