I Wish

"When I was 3 years old my parents died in a plane crash. I was left in their will to my aunt and uncle, but they decided they had enough to deal with in their hectic lives, so they sent me to "St. Masons for Boys" orphanage.
​It wasn't a terrible place to live. In fact, one day a family of people came to see if they could adopt me. We spent the whole day together talking and thinking about what our lives would be like if we could all be together.
​At the end of the day we walked to the door and they said they just couldn't take care of me. Not in all the ways I wanted. So they left. I trudged up to my room and cried. "I wish I had a family" I thought to myself as I dozed off to sleep.
​After spending 14 years being schooled in the orphanage, I finally got the chance to go to the high school nearby. At first I thought it was an amazing opportunity. But it only took a few days for people to find out where I am from. To the people there I was just the poor boy from the orphanage.
​One day some kid approached me saying "Poor little orphan boy. Mommy and Daddy can't take care of you anymore. How tragic." I hated him. He had teased me before, but this just went too far. I punched him. It probably hurt my hand more than it did his face.
​I didn't think he would, but he recovered fast. Before I knew it, he was striking back. And I was too. We were in a full out fight. In no time at all the principal came to intervene. It was over faster than it had begun. Whilst holding my bruised arm and eye with pain pulsing from both I thought to myself, what if I had someone to help me in the fight, like a brother, like a family.
​Now I'm in my senior year and all I have to look forward to, is college. Going away to some place where I can be someone else. Where no one knows me as that kid from St. Masons. I have made sure made grades are always up. It's not like I have anything else to do.
​So here I am at the college fair. Talking to you." Alec said. He had been in such a daze trying to recall the events of his life that he failed to notice the look on the Professor's face. It was a mixed look saturated with pity, sadness, and a little confusion.
​"I am so sorry to hear that your life has already been so hard at such a young age." the professor said. "I know that there isn't much that I can do at this point, but how about you come over to my house tonight for dinner? Do you have any responsibilities at the orphanage?"
​"No." Alec said "But are you sure you want to have me."
​"I'm positive." The professor said with a laugh.
​A few hours later, Alec walked up to the professor's door, and before he even had a chance to knock the door swung open and a little boy stood to greet him with a glowing smile on his face. "Hi!" He said. "My name is Christopher."
​"Hi. I'm Alec." Alec said. He could tell, the little boy wanted to be friends already. Alec walked through the door and the little boy took him to the table and showed him his seat. Alec was amazed at the sight of the table. He rarely got this kind of a meal.
​"Hi! I'm Professor Goodman's wife, Lydia. It's so nice to meet you!"
​"Hi. Nice to meet you too." Alec said. He held out his hand for her to shake.
​They all sat down to dinner and talked for hours. Not just about his story (which was a relief) but about all sorts of things. After dinner they all sat down in the living room and stayed up for hours talking even more.
​After all was said and done at the Professor's house he left. "Thank you so much for having me for dinner. I haven't felt this welcomed into a home in a long time."
​"You are so very welcome." Lydia said as he walked out the door. "Come back anytime."
As Alec was walking home, he thought to himself how great it was to be a part of a family for a night. He was happier than he had been in a very long time.
​Months later, after going to Professor Goodman's house many more times for dinner, he returned from school to find a letter on his bed. It was a letter from the college where the professor worked. He was so nervous to open it, but he finally did. It was an acceptance letter! He was so excited and he knew Professor Goodman would be too!
​A month later he was moving out of the orphanage. He was ecstatic about being able to leave the orphanage. He had some qualms about it at first, but then he realized that no one was saying goodbye to him at the orphanage. Everyone knew he was leaving, but yet, no one came up to say goodbye to him. At that point he realized that he had made the right decision to live in the dorms at the college.
​He did really well in his first few months. He loved being in a new place. A place where he thought that no one could find out about his past. Where he could be a new person.
​In January of my freshman year Alec and a few of his friends went on a ski trip. He was so excited to get to get away from all of the school work for a few days and get to go skiing for the first time! His friends took him out on the slopes and taught him how to ski on the first day of the trip, and he learned really quickly.
But then he got really conceited and tried the hardest slope. He broke his really badly on the way down. His friends had to help him slowly to the bottom and he was rushed to the closest hospital.
Once he got there they took him straight into surgery. Since his arm was so badly broken the doctors couldn't set it without putting him under. After surgery, they rolled Alec back to his room and he woke up to Professor Goodman and his family sitting by his bed.
He was so happy to see them! He didn't think he would get to see them for at least a few days. He had missed them on the trip. "Are you ok?" Lydia said. "We heard about the accident and we came as fast as we could."
"I'll be ok." Alec said. He knew this because he knew that these people would make him ok. These people were his family.
Months later when Alec was half way through his sophomore year he was at what he believed to be the highest point in his life! He was making good grades, he had a great job, and he had moved in with the Goodman's.
He was at home one night doing homework when Christopher came to his room and told him that they were going to be going to the store for groceries. He invited Alec to come along.
Alec looked at the stack of homework he had on his desk and said "I just can't tonight. I wish I could. But this stack of homework won't do itself. But have fun."
"Ok" Christopher said. "But we'll miss you."
A couple hours later when Alec had finished his homework, he sat down at the TV to watch one of favorite shows.
About an hour later he was startled to hear the phone ringing. He looked at the clock. "Midnight?" he thought. He picked up the phone from the cradle and answered.
"Hello?" He said in a groggy mumbled voice.
"Hello. I am afraid to inform you that Mike, Lydia, and Christopher Goodman have been in a terrible car crash. We did all that we could. They all passed away before we could get them to the hospital.
Alec couldn't believe what he was hearing. He dropped the phone to the floor and collapsed. And all he could think was "I wish I had a family."