Runaway

I went into Starbucks for my usual - venti black ice tea, no sugar.  And found myself staring straight into a set of eyes I knew, but the body was way to young.  Could she be the daughter of whom I was thinking off?  I had to ask if she was related to someone I knew many decades ago.  Her answer was no, but said in such a way that had the question been different, one could see yes being the real answer.....  How very strange.

But, I do not believe in coincidence, so something must be up for me to be reminded of a time and a young girl, I had tried to help, I had almost forgotten about.  We have to roll the clock back a few decades here, to even before my finding my family back in the 1980's.....

I was working with high risk youth back then - high risk of getting on drugs, getting pregnant, getting shot, getting stabbed, getting incarcerated, yeah - high risk kids.  It was a little brutal to see so many promising lives wasted by drugs, stabbed, shot, busted, jailed, repeated pregnancies (and abortions).  But, that was the area into which I was called to work as a volunteer.  And I did - no matter how sorrowful or how frustrated I got with my co-workers!

One young girl has always stayed in my mind.  She was Welsh, so I will not even try to spell her name - pronouncing it was almost impossible as it was!  She was in her fifth year of school and already had a pretty hard life.  Her father was executed in front of her, during an argument over whom owned his marijuana field.  He lost.  His wife's mind snapped, once she became "came down" enough to understand what had happened and she was never seen un-stoned again!

This made the young girl's life extremely difficult, as well as that of her younger brother.  Her mother could no longer talk, she could only scream.  Not words mind you, just long loud piercing screams.  And child protective services, as well as the department of health and human services, would do nothing since she was not a danger to herself or her children.  Did she even know she had children any longer?  I do not think so.....

In the seventh grade, the young girl took to offering herself to men, in hopes that someone would please take her and her brother to give them a home.  Well, I put a stop to that one! and then was an unofficial guardian for the two of them.  Since the State would not rule the mother insane, in the face of the medical evidence, they had no real guardian.  It was a very weird situation.

It was only with the greatest of struggles that the girl graduated school and she disappeared with her brother in tow.  She was 18, not exactly an adult but something the State recognizes as one.  So I could not even a missing persons report on her!  I shifted my base of operations to Switzerland and never heard from her again.

However, I was reading the local news blog and guess whom was there?  Yeah, the oddly named girl was being interviewed!  She talked about taking off on a photo journey (er, with a stolen camera, cough-cough) after high school and working odd jobs while developing her photographic skills.  I guess she is somewhat known for her photography.

It saddens me to know she did not exactly take the best road to travel.  But, then again, could she have- given the damage done her during her early years? 

Of course, the real question is - do I try and contact her?  Or just leave well enough alone.....

In the end, I can always pray for her and her coming to terms with her Creator.