Hungry River

My name is Zayden. I am three years old, and I enjoy climbing on things.

My mom and dad got separated when I was two. My parents are trying to get back together again, and now I have a baby brother named Zion. My mom was young; she had me when she was just 18, a high school graduate.

What was my parents thinking? They could hardly take care of me, and they were always arguing over who was going to take care of me.

Dad always had an excuse for why he could not come to get me for a visit.

Mom would be very angry, chatting with her friends on Facebook about how my dad was a loser. She badly wants to get rid of me and my brother.

I like climbing because that's the only time I get my mother's attention. She was always busy making my brother's bottle, changing his diapers, and putting him to sleep. She was too tired to play with me.

Mom always sits me in front of the TV when we get home. We don't have a car, so we walk most of the time or take the bus where we need to go. I love climbing on my bedroom dresser because it makes me feel like Spider-Man.

When I was tired of watching TV, I loved jumping on the bed; it made me happy. At daycare, I have plenty of friends to play with. I try to be a good boy, but I can't help getting myself into trouble in preschool. It's hard to wait for my turn. I take toys from my classmate.

I get corrected a lot at daycare. "Zayden, why did you take the toy away from Charles? Did you wait for your turn?" Ms. Shannon would be asking me.

I know it's wrong to take away toys if someone was playing with it. I just cannot help it. Ms. Shannon always found something else for me to play with. I would argue with my teacher that I want to play with that toy. Charles was taking too long playing with it.

Ms. Shannon would ask if I used the timer. I would go get our class timer for my turn-taking. Ms. Shannon would play my favorite dance music song to help me wait for my turn. She knew I loved to dance.

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Sunday, Dad was supposed to pick me up for a visit, but he never came. My mom took my baby brother and me in a stroller downtown. I got tired of walking when we got to the bridge. I started climbing on the Bridge railing.

I do this a lot at home. My mom tried to reach for me, but I was over the bridge, falling into the water. I could barely hear my mom shouting my name. The water was pulling me down, as if it were eating me.

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I am a free spirit now. I watched my mom cry, and my father blamed her for my death. Don't they know I am still here? I visit the place where I fell into the water. There are lots of red balloons with Spider-Man on them.

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Will anybody find my body? I see men in the water on boats searching for me. I feel one with the wind. Will the man who found my body tell the police?

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"Hi Zayden, welcome to heaven. From now on, you will be your mother's and father's guardian angel. You will live here, with me," said the Shiny guy in white and gold.

Zayden is now resting in peace.