"Taken"
They came into our house and took us away. I still remember the terror of that day like it was yesterday.
They put me in the back seat of a car, and I stood up looking out the back window. They yelled at me to sit down but I was defiant and stayed standing up looking out the back window.
My thought was to keep track of where we were going so that as soon as I could get away from “these people,” I could find my way back home.
Watching as we went down each block making each turn, I tried to memorize my way back by repeating to myself over and over again each turn we made. Each new street we went down, and each turn we took, made it harder and harder for me to remember.
One of the last streets I remember going down was a curvy road. Too many streets and too many turns to keep track of, and I was lost forever. I finally gave up and sat down in my seat.
They took us to a place where there were lots of other kids and later that night, I was shown a bed where I was informed, I could sleep. At first, I laughed and told them that I didn’t believe them. I asked them if it was a trick. They assured me that it was not a trick and that this was my place to sleep.
I asked them, “For how long?”
They said, “All night.”
I responded asking, “Are you saying I can sleep here all night, and no one will kick me out?”
“No one will kick you out, “I was told.
I got up on the bed and to the best of my memory, it was the first time I had ever slept in a bed. That night, I slept really well.
I remember one of my brothers got right in my face as we were being moved and separated, to make me promise to stay with my sister, Janet no matter what, and not to let them separate us. I promised.
It would be twenty-eight years before I saw that curvy road again.