Hi. My Name is Taylor.

Hi.
My name is Taylor.

I stood looking at that door for a long time. Every moment of every day and every night. And when I got tired, I just closed my eyes and slept. A few times a day, my uncle Cecil took me out for a walk. My dad had left me. And I didn’t know why. He came by every night. And I thought he would take me back home.

But he didn’t.

He left me here with my uncle Cecil, a nice enough guy with a really nice place. The view was wonderful, if I decided to step outside the hallway into the living room.

But I didn’t leave the hallway.

I thought about my last few days at my mom & dad’s place. My brother Lawrence and I got into a big fight. It was really bad; and I pretty much blacked out. I think my brother did too. When it was all said and done, there was blood.

We didn’t mean it, but after awhile, that’s what happens. Brother’s fight. And then we make up. But this time, it was too much. It was too raw. We were big and we were strong. And I think my dad put his foot down. He had my mom to worry about now.

I still don’t know why he picked my brother over me. I loved my mom and dad. I especially loved my dad. He was there from the beginning.

After a while, I figured out this was my new home. And slowly, my uncle Cecil became my papa. He would never replace my dad. And he didn’t have anyone that would be my new mom. Even if he did, no one could replace my mom anyways. She came to visit too.

Soon, life became normal. I really liked the view from PapaC’s place. My place. I kept watch over all of Randolph St between Halsted and Des Plaines. And the West Loop in Chicago was my domain. I would keep everyone safe. I came to love my new papa. And I loved my new home.

I especially loved Christmas at my new home. My new papa kept the tree and lights up well though the first part of the year.