Monthly Archives: February 2012

Citizen of Ville Joie – Daryl says goodbye to Allan…

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

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Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. In this excerpt, Daryl says goodbye for good to his best friend Allan…

“Later that night, we went to bed in the dorm and chatted as usual before falling asleep. All was going just fine until one of the kids turned to Allan and I and asked us if knowing that we would never see each other again after the following day made us sad. Ah, the sensitivity of a child! I buried my face in my pillow and cried myself to sleep. I could hear Allan in the bed next to mine doing the same. The idea of this upcoming separation was of course extremely sad. Allan after all had thought me what having a best friend was all about. We had however, shared so many experiences, so intensely filled with either joy or sadness in the few years we had spent together in Happy Town that nothing was left unsaid and there was unfinished business between us. All that was missing were the tears I let out that night. A tear for each of the marbles we had won together.

When we woke up, we felt much better after one last breakfast sitting next to one another and when the time to leave came, we said goodbye like big boys that we were and returned to our families. I never saw Allan again…”

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Citizen of Ville Joie – One last camp…

26 Sunday Feb 2012

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Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. In this excerpt, Daryl is invited for one last camp with his friends…

“Near the middle of the summer, I was surprised with the offer of one last camp with my friends at Ville Joie, an offer which I promptly accepted. When I arrived, I was greeted by the educators and you guessed it, Allan himself who was invited for one last camp as well. It was different for us this time, knowing that we wouldn’t go back to the orphanage, but rather return to our families at the end of this camp, which is probably why we enjoyed it that much more. Allan and I spent pretty much all of our time together and shared our happiness over the fact that we both had a family now, that things were going quite well and we would soon be adopted.

On the last night of camp, we all sat quietly around the fire. The educators suggested we should take some time and reflect on the last few days we had just spent together and think of the memories we would take with us when we’d leave the following morning. Each of us remained silent, each for our own reasons. My story might have been unique in that it was my own, but it wasn’t the only story among our group. Some, of course, were too young to have much to reflect upon yet, but others like Allan and I had a lot to reminisce about.

In my case, it was the sheer volume of emotions of the last few years that first came to my mind. All these emotions I had experienced, sparked by the hopes, the joys, the uncertainty, the disappointments, the fear. How strong would these emotions had to have been for a child to specifically think about them while sitting by a fire and recall them so vividly. I had yet to make sense of it all but, because my situation had improved dramatically in the last month or so since I had moved in with Gerard and Grace, I refused to let myself reach a point where I would feel sorry for myself. I looked at the flames dancing in front of me, glanced at the other kids and chose to reflect only on the “why”. The “why me” would have to wait a little longer…”

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Citizen of Ville Joie – Daryl belongs

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. In this excerpt, Daryl feels like he belongs with his new family…

“When we arrived at their house, Gerard and Grace gave me a tour. It was a small but cozy home in a quiet neighborhood. Grace must have sensed my excitement and made sure to tell me how sorry she was that I couldn’t move in with them immediately. That was fine by me because the whole thing felt right. For the first time in so long, I actually felt like a normal child, as if I belonged there, with them. It felt as though I was no longer out of sync with the world around me. We sat in the living room where Grace brought us all a glass of pop, a rare treat for me as it had never been on the menu at the orphanage, and we talked. We just talked like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years. No pressure to make a good first impression, no fear for what was to come. Only the pure enjoyment of a fun conversation, an ice cold glass of pop and the knowledge that this cozy house would soon be called home.

Since the end of the school year was near, just a few days away in fact, it was decided I would stay at Ville Joie for now and move in with Gerard and Grace once summer vacation had begun. Gerard told me he was taking the next few days off to prepare for my arrival and so I shouldn’t worry if I didn’t see him in school for our routine. After a short hour or so, they drove me back to the orphanage and promised to see me again in a few days at which time they would take me with them for good.

When I laid my head on the pillow later, I had a thought for Allan and wondered if, at that very moment, he was as happy as I was. I sure hoped so. How well and deeply I slept that night, with Cat Stevens again accompanying me in my sleep and speaking only to me with songs like Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard.

And so about a week later, I moved in with Gerard and Grace and became Daryl D…”

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Citizen of Ville Joie – Happiness defined

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. In this excerpt, Daryl meets his fifth family…

“I managed to get up but kept my head down while I turned around. I took a deep breath and when I finally gathered enough courage to raise my chin and look at my new family, I stood there unable to assimilate what I was seeing. It was Gerard standing next to a beautiful woman. “Gerard, what are you doing here?” I asked, confused. He answered “We came for you, Daryl”.

His words didn’t register immediately. I kept looking behind Gerard and his beautiful lady friend to see if another family was there to pick me up. It took me a while to realize, or maybe to admit to myself, that Gerard was really there, that he and the beautiful woman were actually there for me and that they would be my family from that moment on. Seems it was as difficult then as it is now to allow myself to breathe in happiness. I guess when you choked on it so many times, you learn inhale slowly. But at that moment, and for the very first time of my life, I knew true happiness.

Gerard introduced me to the beautiful woman by his side. It was Grace, his wife. She was as kind as she was beautiful. Even though they were not taking me with them for good that night, they were given permission to take me visit their home, which wasn’t too far from Ville Joie. I was so excited, I could barely sit still in the backseat. When I think of the fear, the uncertainty, the hesitation that same moment represented to me the other times I had been through this, it was sweet revenge. Payback, not for all of those who had rejected me up to that point, but on life itself. I felt like Andy Dufresne, at the end of The Shawshank Redemption, driving as a free man with the top down. Except there was no ocean in the background and Gerard’s Honda wasn’t a convertible…”

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Citizen of Ville Joie – When bad news turn into…(part 4)

01 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. In this excerpt, Daryl meets his fifth family…

“Giles and I sat in the cafeteria to wait for them together. He was usually the one by our side during these moments. There was something about Giles that could calm us down in situations like the one I was experiencing and his presence alone was enough to make waiting bearable. The educators knew exactly what was happening inside of us at that exact time. They knew our minds were racing as fast as our hearts. I had spent the whole day hoping for this moment while at the same time dreading it. I had the maturity to know that in the few hours to come, I had to do the best I could to make a good first impression on the people I was about to meet. I had lived through similar moments many time before yet that, somehow, felt different. There was an excitement I hadn’t experienced before, a confidence I had never felt.

And then just like that, I heard the side door leading to the back yard opening behind us and people walking in. I was no longer excited or confident; I was paralyzed by fear. I couldn’t even find the strength to turn around and look at them.

Giles noticed I was frozen in my chair and said “They’re here, you want to stand and and say hello?”

I managed to get up but kept my head down while I turned around. I took a deep breath and when I finally gathered enough courage to raise my chin and look at my new family, I stood there unable to assimilate what I was seeing. It was…”

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