Etc.

A Tribute to Kellen (a prologue from a book I started writing)

     I had a dream last night.  The same dream I’ve had every night for the past year.  It was about my

brother, Kellen, who was killed in a car accident the past December.  In my dream I’m passing over his

coffin.  As I am about to say my final goodbyes, he sits up and yells “boo!” just like he always would

when he was trying to scare me.  Since Kellen’s death I feel like I’m living in a fog.  You see, Kellen and

I were very close.  We were given up for adoption directly after birth by a young mother who didn’t want

twins.  What makes it even worse was that he was only seventeen.  He had a full-ride football

scholarship lined up with the best school in the country and he had found a girl with whom he wanted

to spend the rest of his life with.  No amount of life insurance can replace that.  He meant so much to

me.  We weren’t just siblings; we were best friends.  Now he’s gone.  Just like that.  In the blink of and

eye, my whole world is undergoing a major catastrophe and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop

it.  I often wonder what would have happened if he were here instead of me.  He had someone who

loved him with all of her heart.  He had a football scholarship.  He had people who needed him.  He

had a life full of excitement ahead and some stranger comes driving down the road and decides he

doesn’t have time to wait for the light to change.  Life goes on I’ve heard.  In a way I wish it didn’t.  My

therapist told me to write down my emotions because it sometimes helps.  I followed her instructions but

I’ve decided I wanted to do it for a different reason.  I want the world to know how amazing Kellen was;

how many lives he’s touched and how much he will be missed.  Here’s to you, Kellen.