Please, Don't Take Me Away

Loan Nguyen
English 269
David Mullen

Oct. 11, 2007

Please, Don’t Take Me Away

I woke up in the morning at seven o’clock with the sunlight shining through my windows. I brushed my teeth with a yellow toothbrush filled with Colgate toothpaste. I could smell the fresh great mint of the toothpaste, and I could taste the mint in my mouth. I got ready and left my house. I walked to my friend’s house named Cindy, where she lived near our school called Oakland High. I waited infront of her house until she came out. We walked to school together and then the bell rang so we headed to class. During the day, I went to most of my classes even though I ditched one of my classes, but it seemed like a normal day.

After school, I walked home and something terrible happened when I walked in the house. My mom Huyen was crying her eyes out, and she couldn't even speak a word to me. I sat next to her and waited until she had calmed down. It took her a few minutes before she told me what had happened. She told me that the police had taken my older sister Linh, little sister Lien, and my little brother away. The police told her that the children were being taken away because we were being abused by someone at home. My mom realized that it was my step dad Long because it wasn’t her. She then kicked him out of the house and he immediately left.

My mom and I had dinner at around six o’clock, but she didn't feel like eating. After we had dinner, I was laying in bed with my mom. I was holding on to her very tight until she told me that the police are going to come and get me. I knew that they were, but I wasn’t ready to go. I started to cry on my mom’s shoulder. She told me that everything is going to be fine. She’s going to do everything she can to get us back home. All of a sudden, we heard a knock on the door. My mom opened the door and it was the police. They said that they are here to take me away and the only thing I said was, “please, don’t take me away.” My mom told me to cooperate and get my things. The only thing that I grabbed from my room was my mom’s picture and my pillow. My pillow has a zipper where I can put little items in it, and that’s where I put my mom’s picture. I said good-bye to my mom and told her that I love her. I told her to take good care of herself and that I will call her when I have the chance. I looked at her one last time because I didn’t know when I will ever see her again.

The police drove me to a place in Hayward called The Assessment Center. They told me that children who are sent there were being hurt by someone. The people that worked there helped put children into a better home. The children can never go home unless the judge said they can. When I walked inside the center, I saw my older sister Linh, my little sister Lien, and my youngest brother Long. They looked very happy when they saw me, but they asked me so many questions about how our mother was doing. For example, Is she okay, Is she crying, Did she eat yet, and How is she. My little brother told me that he wanted to see my mom, but we were not allowed to. My older sister told me that we were going to be okay, but she doesn’t know when we were able to go back home. My little sister just told me that she missed my mom and that she hoped everything are going to be okay.

We all slept in the one big room, but we had our own bed. Everyone was falling asleep except me. I started crying because I missed my mom so much. It’s so weird how we end up here. I felt like I am being force away from my mom. My face was full of tears dripping down my chin. There wasn’t any sound coming out of my mouth, but tears dripping like rain fall down my face. I wanted to call her, but they wouldn’t let me use the phone. I was crying so much that I couldn’t even open my eyes anymore. The staff gave me tissues and kept on asking me if I’m okay, but I didn’t say much. The last thing that I looked at before I closed my eyes was my mom’s picture. I put the picture in the zipper of the pillow and holded the pillow so tight to me like she was there with me. I was so overwelmed that I ended up sleeping late. The last thing on my mind was that this was a day that I will never forget.