Happiness Campaign

Diary of a Real Man

When I came back to my senses and to the reality that I have lost a friend, I went to his room. All of the memories that we shared in that room were fading. Everything went back to black and white, just as the time when I first entered that room. I saw a notebook on his table that says, "Do not open or you would cry." I opened the notebook and started reading each page:

June 8, 2009 (Monday)

It is the first day of class. I'm so excited that at last, I can meet new friends. I can talk to anyone and make friends with them. I'll do everything for them to like me. I want to play with them.

June 12, 2009 (Friday)

I cried because my classmates didn't like me. They said that I smell like a rotten tomato. I love my teacher; I sometimes play with her but not too long because she said she has something to do. I am all alone again.

July 24, 2009 (Friday)

They gave our report card and my father didn't come to school, but that is okay with me because he is busy working. I got home and showed him my grades and told him that I was the top 1 in my class. He didn't even look at my card and he went straight to his room maybe because he is tired from work, but still, I love my Dad.

August 19, 2009 (Wednesday)

I got hit three times by my father because I asked help from him on one of our projects. He said that he doesn't even care about me and wonders why I am still alive. I cried but in the end, I let it go because maybe he is tired from work again.

May 15, 2010 (Saturday)

The house is clean because my father told me that there is a visitor that is coming to our house. He introduced me to a woman and I hugged her. My father told me that he will be my mother now. I accepted her and kissed her on the cheek.

October 12, 2010 (Tuesday)

I got hit by my stepmother because I accidentally broke a plate while washing it in the sink. He locked me up on the basement. I can't breathe normally there because it was covered and there are no vents. After two hours, she let me out and asked me to take a bath. After 30 minutes, my father came and asked us how we were. I don't lie but my stepmother who was beside me pinched my left arm which she was holding. She asked me to say the words that she said a while ago before my father came so I followed her. I told my father that we were okay and that Mommy Dehlia was very kind and she always helped me in my assignments.

December 24, 2010 (Friday)

This day is an ordinary day because my father needs to work even if it is Christmas Eve. I played basketball in our garage. I don't have anyone to play with me so, I enjoyed playing by myself. I shoot the ball on the two-point line and it missed. It rolled directly down our basement because the door is open. As I was looking for my ball, I saw a photo album full of dust. I was curious so I opened it and there I saw a picture of my mother and father. They were happy; I can see it in their faces. There was a picture where my father was holding the oversized tummy of my mother. I never saw my father smile like that. On the last page of the photo album, I saw a letter written on a white scented paper so I read it:

To my child,

I'm so excited to see you and feel the warmth of your body as I carry you in my arms. I hope that you would be a happy and kind-hearted boy when you grow up. I love you and I will always do. May God bless you with a mind as that of a wise man and a heart as that of a lowly man.

Your Mother,

Rebecca