dear diary

this is the story of a girl; a girl whose only friend is her diary. She wrote in it and carried it around with her since she was alone in the world. She had “friends” in school she would “talk to” but she wasn’t close to them. One day she forgot her diary. She panicked. She looked everywhere for it. When she located it she saw everyone had written in it. Her teacher saw it and saved it for her. Her teacher asked to see her after school so she could give it back privately. When the girl was given the book back the teacher was there along with the principal and school guidance counselor. The girl asked what was going on. The teacher asked why she wrote in her diary all the time and asked if she knew what other students were commenting on in the book. The girl said, “No she didn’t know anyone else read the book.” The teacher, principal and guidance counselor all looked at the girl. The teacher said there were some nasty comments in the book once the other kids got their hands on the diary. The girl asked for her diary back. The principal said they couldn’t give it back because it was evidence. “Evidence?” the girl asked, “Evidence of what?” “Evidence of abuse; of being bullied and harassed; of being isolated,” the principal explained. The girl knew instantly what they were getting at. They knew about her parents abusing her and her family. They knew why she was always writing in her diary all of a sudden. They said they were there to help her out of her situation with her family. They said they called in an anonymous tip about her and her family and that the police were on their way to arrest the parents and get the kids to safety. The girl cried. She didn’t want to leave the security of her house and family. The principal said, “You and your siblings needed this. Your family has been thru hell and we’re trying to help you now.” The girl cried and continued to cry since the kids were worried about this and being separated into different foster homes. The principal said she’d help the family out as much as they could. The counselor asked why the kids didn’t come forward sooner. “This is why” the girl said thru sobs. She and her siblings couldn’t bear to be alone, she explained. The school was able to keep most of the underage kids together with relatives and the older kids were set up with group homes. In the end the girl came out of her shell, relinquishing the book that had been her safety net all these years and lead a relatively normal life.