There Once Was A Derek & Lia (ongoing)

Chapter 25

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Dear Mom,

It's been forever since we saw each other and I miss you. Something had to change and that something was me being taken away. It was not easy to give up on you, mom. I want you back and well. I want to have a relationship with you like we once had. I want to talk to you about school and boys and for once to not have to be the adult. It's not fair to have so much weight on my shoulders.

I was pawned to the boys you brought to the house. I was verbally and physically abused. Not once did you ever defend me. You broke me. You left me contemplating running away and then somehow wheeled me back in with your web of lies. You made promises you could never meet.

I'll always be your daughter. I'll always love you. Until you recognize you have a problem and fix it, I can't have anything to do with you.

Your daughter,
Kahlia

In the foster system, counseling is mandatory. You have no choice but to participate in these group therapy sessions and individual counseling. It's a joke really. Most of the people in these sessions don't want to be here and most of them don't want to share the secrets of their life either. It's shameful. It's degrading. Who would feel comfortable giving a play by play of their first, forced sexual encounter? No one.

Ms. Regal was assigned to be the group leader for the group session. She's a chubby lady with fiery red locks and green eyes. She wears bulky glasses and enjoys wearing t-shirts that have cats on them. Today's shirt has a picture of a cat and in the speech bubble it read, "I'm purr---fect."

"Welcome everyone. It's so great to see some familiar and new faces. I'm Ms. Regal for any of the newcomers and I will be the facilitator for these group sessions. " she started off the session. "Last week I had everyone write a letter addressed to one person they feel betrayed by. The floor is open to anyone who would like to share."

"We're not sending these out are we?" A girl asked, pulling gum from her mouth in a long string.

"These letters will not be sent out. The purpose of this activity is to get each of you to acknowledge your hurt feelings then release the hurt. After each letter is read, I will hand you a match and you will burn it."

"What if we don't want to share?" Someone else asked.

"I'm not asking you to read everything you wrote in your letter but I would like to see everyone share at least one thing." She said.

Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.

I have no problem reading mine. It was straight to the point letter that contained no descriptions or grizzly details.

A young girl stood up with her letter in hand. She had to be younger than 12. "My name is Esmeralda Goutez and I wrote a letter to my biological mom."

Esmeralda started her letter listing all the things her mother missed. She mentioned first words and birthdays. Her mom was 14 when she had her and gave her up for foster care 24 hours after she was born.