Shadows

Some people have a harder time letting go of the past than others. Matter of fact, they dwell on it, obsess about it, and totally lose focus of the things that matter that are right in front of them. They wallow in that dark place, losing sight of their loved ones, in the shadows so deep that they can't see a way out. At this point, they usually make a bad decision, and if they're lucky, live to talk about it later.

I was at work one day when I got the call from my father that my brother had tried to kill himself. At this point, my brother lived in an apartment, had custody of his son with his girlfriend, and was so high on different kinds of drugs that he had lost sight of the important things. Like his own life. Or his own son.

Did you know that when someone tries to kill themselves that they're arrested? The police stand by the hospital bed and no family members are allowed in the room. At all. You rush to the hospital wanting to check on your loved one, and you're not allowed to see them. Not for days. The victim (should I even call them a victim when they do it to themselves?) is then taken to the psychiatric ward, allowed no visitors, no phone calls, while the DA decides if they want to press charges against the victim. Trying to kill yourself is against the law.

And if the victim has children? CPS is called and the child is taken into custody and put in a foster home while the parents are evaluated.

My nephew now lives with my father.

My brother? Alive. Sober. And homeless.