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Thank You
by
Heidi Yang
A sudden spark of creativity hits me, a sudden burst of light grabs me and tells me not to do what I about to do. It has a voice and it is in a form of a good friend named Zac. Suddenly I'm reminded of a time that seems so long ago; a time when I wanted to help someone in need. But I wasn't sure what to do, should I help him, or leave him to hurt himself even more? I decided to try and help him; I know now that I made the right decision.
The person I'm talking about is a boy named Mitch, and he was two years younger than I was. We met at Steve and Victoria's reunion last summer, he was cool and easy to talk to. I told him my deepest darkest secret, I said it as if was nothing to this boy I barely knew. He told me his fantasies about hurting people who had teased him. He told me he had thought about cutting himself. He told me he had cut himself, and sometimes he felt like no one really cared about him. He wanted to get out of middle school, who wouldn't? It was then that I felt a presence near me, one I'd felt before.
It was my old friend Zac, he helped me make the decision to do something about Mitch. I was scared and didn't want Mitch to get the wrong idea. But everything worked out just fine; in the end I saved the boy I still call a friend. I saved Mitch from himself that night. He would've done something I know he would've regretted, had I not done something. He didn't think it mattered that he was around; he knew he had a problem. But he had friends, friends he thought didn't quite understand his problems sometimes. Mitch needed to know that someone truly cared about him, I ended up being that person.
After spending the day with Mitch, Sarah, and Jessie it was time for me and my mom to leave this happy place; it was time for me to say good-bye. I knew what I had to do, I was so afraid, I didn't want to do it. But an angel gave me the courage to do something I haven't done since. Mitch figured out that I was his new friend and didn't really have much of a defense.
I gave him my number so he could call me if he wanted to, but that wasn't quite enough for me. As we were leaving I went to say goodbye to this special new friend of mine. I did something I knew I had to do, otherwise Mitch could've come to a bad end, I told him that I cared about him. I didn't know whether it meant anything to him but I told him that I cared about him and didn't want him to do anything stupid. He understood my message and replied, "Yeah I know you do. Don't worry I wouldn't do anything like that."
"Are you sure?" I asked nervously.
"Yes," he replied with a smile. I gave him a hug, wishing I could stay longer. I smiled at him one last time and then we left.
I haven't seen him since that fateful night. But in my heart I know that I can be at peace, I don't have to wonder what if... I know that now I have been able to help one person. A person who needed to know that I cared, not someone else, but me. A person who, if not for me, would've surely come to a terrible end; or at the very least he would've come very close to it.
But because of what I did that warm summer night he probably has remembered me. Hopefully that memory has kept him from doing anything he'd regret. In times of need, in times of despair, when I think my world is crashing down on me, I remember my friend Mitch. And somehow I know he knows I still care about him, and I know that he cares about me. Sometimes I wonder if he's still around and hope that one day soon we meet again. Until then I know this, I know that even if only for that night I helped him keep his own life.
I saved someone from killing themselves that night. With the help of a very special angel and friend I found the courage to help someone stuck in their strife, and someone who didn't quite know where to turn find a new friend. It was me and me alone that saved a troubled soul. Now I realize that maybe my angel knew that in years to come I would find that by saving Mitch I would end up saving myself as well. And even though words cannot express my gratitude to both of you, here are two words that I'm sure you would both want to hear from me. Words that I wish I could say to Mitch, (but who knows maybe he will hear them someday), these two words are thank you.
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