Looking for Family

Life is a fragile thing, and it's unknown what will happen next. Things are continuously changing against our will. In reality, humans don't have control over everything, although most tend to discover the sad truth in adulthood.

Connor learned he did not have control over his life after the tragic deaths of his parents. A car accident involving a head-on collision with a drunk driver, an event that occurred in mere seconds, changed Connor's life forever. The seven-year-old survived and woke up in a hospital room, unable to feel his left leg. Pulling the thin sheet to the side revealed the dressing around his knee, the lower part of his leg gone. After being discharged, Connor went into the foster care system.

By the time Connor was thirteen-years-old, he had been in and out of eight foster homes. There was always a reason, but Connor knew taking care of a one-legged child was tough on the best of families. The state paid for a prosthetic limb to give the boy a sense of normality and mobility, but it didn't make the emotional part of his situation easier. The thirteen-year-old sat in front of his caseworker, staring at the floor as she spoke of a new foster family.

"It doesn't matter," Connor told her bitterly. "They'll bring me back, too."

To Connor, all foster families were the same. He'd given up the hope of being adopted long ago. A week later, Connor stepped out into the main lobby to meet Mr. and Mrs. Evans. The two adults introduced themselves to Connor, and they were soon going to their house. Connor didn't notice how there were no steps in the one-story house. The couple showed him to his room and told him dinner would be ready soon. The normality reminded Connor he wasn't normal.

Dinner passed without any problems. The couple didn't ask him about his prosthetic or if he needed help moving around the house, as most foster families asked on his first few nights. After dinner, Connor learned why those questions never came. Mr. Evans invited the teen to watch a movie with him and his wife. Not wanting to appear rude, Connor agreed. The movie started, and Mr. Evans sat on the couch and raised his right pant leg. The man had a prosthetic similar to Connor's from the knee down. Connor stared at the man in shock as he removed it.

Mr. Evans noticed the teen's gaze. "Three years ago, I was in the marines. I stepped on a landmine while trying to save a friend. I didn't know what happened until I woke up in the hospital."

Connor felt normal for the first time in years. He had someone who truly understood him, something he had never had with the other foster families. Eventually, Connor became an Evans.

For the first time in his life, Connor realized something.

Life is a fragile thing, and it's unknown what will happen next, but that's what makes life so precious.