Julian Bell

Dr. Hall
10/9/2015
Prompt 1

The newlywed couple enthusiastically moved their belongings into the cramped
apartment located in Center City Philadelphia. It had been a long, tiresome process. Moving the
bags of clothes along with the various pieces of furniture and decorative pieces was laborious
enough. However, it had just been a few weeks prior that the wife had taken the long journey
from Tennessee to Philadelphia by car just to live with the man of her dreams, a phenomenon
with no logical bearings, but the fact that she simply loved him. She was also pregnant and had
to attend nightly classes at LaSalle University while working two jobs.

Nevertheless, the

husband had his share of exhaustive experiences. Having left Philadelphia, the only place he
understood to be home, to attend college in Tennessee and then, returning to Philadelphia only
this time with his current wife of 23 years, the leather couch suddenly felt heavier in his hands.
The unexpected racism that befell him down South had traumatized him especially when one
considers the striking contrasts between the hostility towards African Americans experienced in
the South and the warm melting pot many know to be Philadelphia. He had endured these events
in the 1980s and hopefully parts of the South had improved since then. The couple had been
moving in all day and by 9:00 p.m. the two lovers had completed their task of officially
migrating together in a space that would at the very least, provide room for their baby to play
once he was born.

On September 2nd, 1997, the wife was in perhaps, the most excruciating pain humanely
possible to experience. The doctors hovered over her as the man of her life grasped her hands in
his and instructed her to take deep breathes. The breathing did not seem to help, she would later
admit. Eventually, after periods of screaming and grunting, the latex gloves gently pulled out
what appeared to be a small, fragile human life that had just been welcomed into the world. The
mother breathed a sigh of relief. The baby however, was unable to do so. The newborns body
was unusually blue and to the doctors surprise, the umbilical cord had been wound around the
newborns throat and the doctors acted without hesitation.

Seconds later, the babys skin

lightened as he began breathing on his own. He was then, handed to his mother and later held by
his father. Then, all three of them engaged in a warm embrace as the baby boy was united with
his parents.
As the young boy grew up, he had a wonderful relationship with his parents. And
although he would often become bored, being an only child, the mother and father readily
provided him with their attention. However, a loneliness had crept about the boy that he could
not quite understand, despite the loving affection from his parents. He had often pondered the
fact that all of his friends had someone to play with, even at home. The young boy however, was
the exception. When his parents were done devoting whatever time and attention they had to
him, he was left alone to entertain himself in the now large old house that marked the
cornerstone of Oak Lane Avenue. Then, just as suddenly as these thoughts entered the boys
mind, a solution was just as readily conceived. Mom, I want a brother, the boy enthusiastically
sung. You do? his mother inquired. Would you like to be an older brother? I would,
replied the boy, not hearing the full question. Okay then, his mother replied. A few weeks
later, it had appeared that the boys mother had put on a considerable amount of weight. Both

the mother and father told the boy of the joyous news and he could hardly contain his
excitement. He would now have the perfect playmate that would always spend time with him
and would never become too tired to play, unlike his hard working parents. It seemed that the
young boy would never feel lonely again.
One Saturday afternoon, weeks after the boys brother began growing inside of his
mother, the mother took her son and his brother, so he thought, to the library and soon
afterwards, to the playground. This was a typical Saturday tradition for the two as the boy loved
to read Goosebumps and play on the monkey bars afterwards. However, this day was different.
The sun had been shining extremely bright and had produced skin burning heat on the monkey
bars. After only about a minute in to his usual fun time, the boys mother called him in a calm,
but strangely disturbed voice. Julian, theres something I need to tell you, she said. Yes?
Julian responded in a confused but collected manner. His mother then spoke the words that
pierced right through his heart: Your brother didnt make it, Julian. Im so sorry. He did not
want to believe it but at the same time, he was not quite sure what exactly it was that he did not
want to believe. What do you mean? he inquired innocently. His mother responded, Im
really sorry but your brother didnt make it. Hes in a better place now. It was clearly, but then
not so clearly understood what had happened. His mother had a miscarriage.
On that day, a familiar feeling rushed through my body. It had literally felt like all of the
breath was snatched out of me in a single moment. I could hardly breathe upon hearing the
news. However, after the sun had dried the tears that had earlier, cascaded down my face, my
mother and I walked home. As time went on, thoughts of my brother remained in the back of our
minds, as the three of us progressively moved forward with our lives. I walked to school alone.
I returned home alone. I played video games alone. I studied and did homework alone.

Then, on a particular day in the first grade, I met a kid who was in my English class. He
was very comical as he possessed the unique talent of being able to create a clever joke over
almost anything. The two of us became friends instantly. The breath returned to my body. As a
young boy growing up until the present moment, I have made it a priority to help those in need.
It can almost be said that I possess the natural ability not only to put others before myself, but
also to easily make friends. I have been often said to have a lot of charisma. Perhaps then, being
alone is not such a bad predicament after all.