Am I Michael?

Am I Michael?

Michael grew up a very happy child. He was always smiling and very friendly with everyone. Michael was a family guy loved to be with his parents and siblings he enjoyed it more then being with his own friends. Every Saturday was family day at Harris Park. They would go every Saturday in the summer where all families gathered at one place. They did fun outdoor activities together, made barbeque and relaxed in the sun for a day. Michael loved going there with his siblings more then anything. He always welcomed other people to play with him as well.
He was so good in school. His mom and dad were very close to him, and always looked after him closely. His mom would sit on the edge of his bed in the morning and rub his back to wake him for school.
“Hunny it’s time for school. I have breakfast waiting for you down stairs” his mom’s soft voice would whisper. Michael even awoke with a smile on his face, and replied in a soft voice.
“Thanks mommy”
Then he’d kiss her cheek, and wear the clothes she prepared for him. He was only seven but respected everyone and was very cute and humble. Michael’s parents treated him with so much love, so he acted the same way with everyone in return. Michael lives in a house in London in a Sunningdale home. He had it very well, and was very grateful for everything.
Two years go by and Michael is excelling in everything, and he still goes to family days on Saturday. Michael went down on his ninth birthday to play at Harris Park, and he invited everyone for cake. Everyone joined that day for cake except for a group of boys that sat and stared at Michael from the distance. Michael being the cheerful nice boy he was walked up to them with chocolate cake with creamy white vanilla icing. Michael put a smile on and started talking.
“Hey guys! I brought you some birthday cake, would you like some?”
“Not from a Negro we don’t” said a boy with gelled back hair, as he flicked the plate of cake into Michaels face. He had white icing all over his face and smeared it off. Just then he was confused about the word Negro. He was about to cry because he had never dealt with mean people, and didn’t know how to deal with this either.
“Are you going to cry to your fake ugly mom and dad?” said another boy in a black leather jacket.
“They’re not ugly they are nice, you should meet my parents. It’s not nice to speak about them like that.”
“Wow! They brain washed poor little Michael into thinking he’s one of them.” said the boy in the leather jacket.
“He’s too dumb to even look in the mirror,” said another kid with his cap slanted to one side. The boy in the leather jacket reached over and smeared vanilla icing over Michael’s face. He glanced over Michael’s shoulder, and then looked back up at Michael.
“At least his face matches their face now” the boy said still smearing icing with his finger over Michael’s cheek. Everyone started to laugh and Michael stood silently. He stood in silence trying to understand what they meant. The boy in the leather jacket jolts up at Michael’s blank expression and swings him around, to face the area his family is at.
“Look Michael, what do you see?”
Michael replies with a shaky voice unsure of they answer they want.
“My family eating cake”
“, And what color is their skin?”
“White”
“, And what color are you?”
“I’m black” Michael answers shamelessly.
“Exactly, don’t you see, your not like their children. You’re not their child, your nothing but a little black boy. You don’t belong here”
Everyone starts to laugh. Michael finds the courage to speak.
“They are my family, color means nothing. We are still human, and they are like me exactly. Just like flowers are many colors, but in the end they are all still flowers and beautiful.” He speaks proudly
Michael hears someone blurt out the words oh –my- god. Just then the same guy in the leather jacket grabs Michael and jolts his again towards his family, and begins yelling in Michael’s face.
“Michael, they are white, you’re black. Does it make sense you’re whole family is white, your sister and brother, your mom and dad, but your black? I heard you were smart. Now tell me how two white people give birth to a filthy ugly black Negro such as yourself? Are you really that dumb Michael? They found you after a war disaster and adopted you. Do you even know what that means? That’s when two people feel bad for a low life like you. Then they adopt you and pretend you are their son. Are you telling me you never heard those words come out of your mom’s mouth in the time you were living there? Haven’t you ever wondered why you don’t look like them?”
Michael stood still with a blank expression on his face, and then he started to tear up. Michael’s brother was approaching him from behind, and raised one hand onto Michael’s shoulder.
“Come on Michael, they are waiting for you to have some cake”
Michael didn’t turn to face his brother Brian, but ran to the near by river. He ran to his favorite spot in the park behind the trees, and sat and stared at his reflection. Michael always went there to enjoy the scenery, for he was very humble. Just across the river there’s a bridge that arches over Michael’s favorite river stream. Michael knelt down to his reflection and scooped some water in the palm of his hand. He then splashed water all over his face and watched the white icing mix in with the water.
Michael’s brother ran towards Michael and sat beside him.
“Michael you alright, you hurt? I heard you fell on the way to your friends and landed in the cake.”
Michael trembled to speak, but managed a few words.
“Yah, but I'm alright”
“Alright bud, they’re waiting for us, want to head back?”
“No thanks, I would like to sit here and enjoy the beautiful scenery”
Michael for the first time told a lie to his brother. He didn’t know what to think of it for a while Michael sat and stared at his reflection, as images of his family flashed in his mind. Michael began to wonder if he was adopted. He knew what adoption was, but didn’t think it applied to him. He doesn’t remember entering this family; he has been there as long as he could remember. Michael went back to his family and sat on the picnic table.
“Hunny, I don’t think you got any cake!”
Michael heard his mom speaking but didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want her to know what he was thinking. Michael wants to mention the word adoption, but thinks it isn’t right. Even if he is adopted they have been much to kind to say anything to anyone. Yet Michael is still questions if he’s adopted.
He starts to look in the mirror in sadness and talk to himself.
“Why me? This can’t be happening. There has to be an explanation”
Michael starts to research wars that took place around the time he was born, to see if those boys spoke the truth. He found out there was war in southern Africa around the time he was born. It lasted many years, and many children were orphaned. Michael read orphaned and started to cry.
As days went by, Michael’s family noticed his unusual quietness. Michael’s mom got worried that Michael might have found something out.
“Brian!” Michael’s mom Cindy calls out.
“Brian, Michael is acting weird I think something’s troubling him. He hasn’t been himself since his birthday party at the park.”
“Yah, he sat by the river for a while, all alone. On my way to him I saw him talking to a group of kids with leather jackets and caps on. They looked older then Michael, and not friends of his” Brian said
Michael’s mom sighed.
“We should talk to him, and figure out what’s wrong then.”
“I will soon enough, just give him some time”
Brian felt bad for a few days and didn’t know if he should ask anything. If Brian asked the question on his mind, he would give everything away.
Brian was working on a project, and accidentally lost his page and the web site too. He quickly went to the history of his website to retrieve it. While there, he finds links to other websites that he had never searched. Africa was one of the headings; the one heading that blew his mind was underlined as orphans. Before Brian could react he hears his mom screaming at the top of her lungs.
“BRIAN! BRIAN!”
Without time to think, he races down stairs in a heartbeat.
“Yes mom, what’s wrong?’ he replies shaken up by her screaming, and her damp face.
“I found this note on Michael’s bed” she screamed to Brian, and crying too hard to catch her breath.
Brian grabbed the note; he was shaken and didn’t want to read it afraid of what he’d see inside the note. He opens it and braces himself for the content inside, which made his mom react in this manor. The note read:

Dear fake family

I have been a burden all these years for you, and I have decided to make it easier for you. I’m not one of you and I ruin your image. I can’t believe you put up with me for all these years and kept me with you. This was all because you felt bad for a black boy such as myself. There was no need to feel bad for me; you should have left me wherever I was. I decided to kill myself since there’s no purpose for me anymore. Sorry about all you have been through to raise me.                    
                                                                     Love Michael, if it’s my real name.
Cindy fell to the floor and was crying harder and harder. Brian was out the door without a word.
“Where are you going Brian?” she screamed under her breath.
Brian was running towards his car and never looked back, but yelled back to Cindy.
“I know where he is, just trust me”
Brian knew where Michael was right away, the only place Michael knows and understands.
There stood Michael on the top of the bridge over the river that rushed under Michael.
Brains mouth dropped, and he ran up the hill towards Michael.
“Michael!” Brian trembled to yell out.
As Brian walked closer to Michael, he could see pain in his eyes. Pain Brian has never seen in Michael’s eyes. Just then Brian regrets not telling Michael the truth.
“Why Brian?” Michael yelled under his tears.
“Why what?”
“Why didn’t you tell me I’m adopted, and that my mom and dad died?”
“Because you were so happy, and belonged with us, we didn’t know how you would react if we told you. Everything was so perfect. Mom and dad loved us all equal, and it was all perfect”
“A mother and father could never love another child more then their own. They just put on an act for me because they felt bad for a Negro”
“You are their child Michael. They found you when you were a couple of months old and they loved you like they loved us. They weren’t acting all these years Michael, you were their joy, and they loved seeing you smile. I was 11 years old when they brought you home. Mom would wake up late at night to rock you to sleep. All these years mom loved you of course. You were her child, her baby, she put her heart into raising you.”
“She didn’t give birth to me, I’m not the same as you guys, I will never belong” Michael said as he wiped his tears.
“She didn’t give birth to you, but you have been in the family since you were a baby. Of course you belong here. We are all different even you’re little sister and me. We are all unique in our own way, but sparkle like one gem. I wise person once told me this, flowers come in all different colors, but in the end they are all flowers and still beautiful.” Brian managed a smile.
“How did my mom and dad die?”
At that moment Brian didn’t know how Michael found that out, nor did he know how he was going to explain it to him. The way they died is harsh, but Brian though Michael deserved to know the truth. Brian took a deep breath in.
“Your mom was found dead under rubble holding you tight to her chest. When they pulled her out you were to their surprise still alive. They thought you were a miracle child and very blessed. Because even at that moment you hadn’t even been crying in your mother’s arms.”
Brian paused as he watched the tears slowly roll down Michael’s face. He took another breath in.
“You were the calmest cheery baby ever. Soldiers took your dad away, and no one heard a word about him since. We have a beautiful picture of her smiling, she looks exactly like you. If she saw you today she would be so proud. You have a sister and a brother who were also adopted soon after we adopted you. We haven’t been able to locate them, because they are both with different families.”
Michael sat on the edge of the bridge to catch his breath. He started to slowly breathe in and out at a slow pace.
“Michael, we love you so much. You can’t leave us; otherwise our gem won’t sparkle as brightly. Your real family loved you too; if they were here today they would be proud. This I promise you Michael. I'm your big brother and I love you.”
“I love you too Brian”
Brian bent forward and hugged Michael. Just then Michael started to cry between his big brothers arms.
Another year goes by and Michael is back to his happy old self. He keeps a picture of his family hung in his room, and kisses it before he sleeps. It was Saturday family day, and also Michael’s birthday on that day. They decided they would celebrate it at Michael’s favorite park. Michael was having mixed emotions about going, but never shared his feelings with anyone. It would be a year today he discovered he was adopted. Michael tries hard not to think of it. Michael arrives and makes a wish, then passes cake out. Michael spots a family sitting on a picnic table across the park a few benches down. They were black like him, and it made Michael feel bad. Oh how he wished he were with his family of skin color where he belonged. Michael thought he should take cake to the little kids on that table.
He started walking towards the table.
“Hey wait up, I’ll come with you” Brian said
“Alright” Michael replied
When Michael approached the table he put on a smile.
“Hey guys it’s my birthday and I just brought some cake if you would like some.”
A tall dark skinned lady looked Michael’s way and approached him.
“How old are you turning?” she asked softly
Just then another dark skinned man got off the table where the kids were eating cake and came Michael’s way. There also remained another dark women who stayed on the bench with the kids. Michael was now feeling uncomfortable, because now people were surrounding him.
“I'm turning 10”
Just then Michael noticed her crying and opening her mouth to speak, except no words came out. She turned to the guy beside her and almost fell into his shoulders. She turned my way to speak again.
“My little brother is turning 10, and I missed 10 years of his life. The last time I saw you, you were being born out of mom’s womb. Now here you stand tall and handsome offering cake to my children.”
Just then Michael realizes it’s his sister. He covers his mouth with his hand and widens his eyes. Michael drops his hands and puts his face into her stomach crying all over her shirt.
As soon as Michael settles down, she tilts his chin up, and opens her mouth to speak again.
“This man standing beside me, is your brother Vernon, and his wife is sitting on the bench over there”
Michael looks over to find her smiling and waving in his direction. Michael smiles and waves back.
“Those are your nieces sitting on the table, and I'm jasmine”
“Michael!” Cindy yelled walking towards me
Jasmine put a confused look on her face
“Michael? When you were born, I remember her saying my son Bukasa is beautiful” said jasmine.
“Bukasa is my real name?”
At that moment, Michael closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.
“My birthday wish came true today.
Michael leaned in again hugged jasmine again and Vernon joined in on top. Just then Cindy and Brian were hugging my real family, all as one large family crying on each other’s shoulders.
“We are all different, but sparkle like one gem”