ABOUT 3 AM ..

It was another Christmas Eve and this year Michael was almost five years old ..

As he slowly regained consciousness .. the pain returned with a vengeance to his bruised little body .. he looked to his right .. and noted the time in the hellish red glow of the LED clock face on the night table .. the display read 3:33 AM. He could hear the gentle rise and fall of his little sister Holly's breath as she slept in the only bed in the room .. he looked up from his sleeping spot on the floor to confirm that she was alright.

His attention to her was interrupted by what seemed like dogs barking and fighting over scraps .. after a moment of confusion he once again recognized the voices of his father and mother in the kitchen below .. things were not going well .. once again.

His eyes turned to the ceiling above .. with no lights on .. it was as black as ink and therefore a comfort to his mind .. there was nothing to worry about in blackness .. it was just black.

He lay there for what seemed like a very long time .. the screaming and barking in the kitchen below did not abate .. it felt like it would never stop.

He stood up .. and in what some might consider to be sleep - walking .. made his way to his parent's bedroom and the dresser that he knew contained his father's ... .45 .. the cold steel felt good in his two hands as he returned to where he had come from .. and ever so quietly climbed into the bed where his little sister slept .. he put his head right up next to hers .. aligned the barrel of the gun with them both .. and as he gently squeezed the trigger .. he whispered .. " Merry Christmas Holly ".

Vitsec.

Nice and twisted my friend. I like it!

Shooo!!! I didn't see that coming.

When one has had enough; one thinks of an escape route.

We often judge people who commit suicide without ever understanding the root cause.

The reality is children need to be loved, to feel safe and to have inner peace...And when one doesn't receive any of these, they tend to do the unthinkable.

Any child born .. is essentially born perfect to this world .. the key adults who are in their life then become the determining factor as to how those children develop and to what they become.

Sadly .. children are so often abused and mistreated .. so the mindset they develop launches them on whatever terrible path .. that is very difficult to get off of. In the story Michael gave his sister ( and himself ) the only Gift he could .. he extricated them both from pain that was too much to bear . :-(

A sad reality ...

(even though its presented as a "story" in this case)

Realities .. sad or otherwise .. are simply that .. all of Life is a Story. :-) .. (-: