The Strawberry Chapter 13

The Strawberry Chapter 13

by Katherine Aguilar

Mosaic Seeds

The world is a mosaic of lives, sometimes put back together like a fine piece of art to become more individualized and stronger. We each add different pieces to someone’s mosaic.

We can not change the journey they are meant to travel. We can help build a memory of faith, family, and education in their minds. They can think of the pieces a person may have added to their life.

A mosaic forms when something breaks apart and is then put together, creating a new piece of art that is more beautiful and unique than before. I often think that many are meant to break so they can become stronger or more beautiful than they once were. It makes them unique and enables them to connect with others who have gone through this process. It shows them that they can end up better in the end. Like everything, it’s a process and for some, it takes longer.

It could be that my mosaic piece has taken longer to be put back together again. Because the pieces keep getting broken in the rebuilding process. I believe in writing. I am finally on track to be created into someone better than before.

Unprepared

With generations before to now. Many have not been prepared for what the future may hold for them. Life may have thrown a huge stone at them to break the person. That was one thought of their life into many pieces. So when it is broken into many pieces. They do not know how to put it back together again. Or they continue to put it back together again at a slow pace to make sure it is pretty set in place, so it doesn’t break again.

The night of this story was ordinary, as every other after shift, except my shift was almost over. I had completed all my reports and tasks that needed to be done. This teen walks in slowly, his shoulders slumped, looking as if he were so drained. His clothes were all wrinkled. His hair was all over the place. He looked like he had gone through some serious shock or drama. Frank was his name. He asked in a tired voice as if he had said it so many times he was feeling he knew the answer to the question before he even asked. He asked, " Are we hiring?" I let him know I was not sure. He was ready to turn and leave. Before he left. I took this time to offer this young teen a bottle of water.

He deminor was the one who wanted to talk, but nobody wanted to talk, and nobody wanted to listen to hear what he had to say. I felt I needed to be the ear that was going to hear his story. I said, " Frank, do not leave. Let us talk for a minute." I just came out and asked, " Frank, what happened? Just spill it all out.I am here to listen to your story." He told me he had graduated from High School, and the day after graduation. His parents kicked him out. They told him. "We did our job. Get out and go figure out life on your own.” He was sleeping in his car and hoped his sister would take him in. He had no job and no money.

H never expected life to treat him this way, the day after graduation. He was very hurt. I asked. "Did your parents tell you that this was what they were going to do? Did you learn anything in High School to prepare you for something like this?

I felt bad for him. I couldn’t just send him off with a bottle of water and a bag of chips and say I will pray for you.

I let him know, “I am willing to help you if you are willing to listen and learn. If not, I am wasting my time. What you didn't learn in High School,

I will teach you.” He agreed. From that point, I told him we needed to put a resume together. I grabbed a piece of printer paper and started asking him all the key points to put on his resume. He mentioned one job he had when he was a sophomore. We will use that to create his resume. I mentioned to him to text his sister and ask if he can stay with her for several nights, and go to the library and create and print out the resume we worked on the next day.” Taking his number. Letting him know to bring it the following day. I would work on getting him a job. You will work with me, not just training for this job, but for future jobs. I will prep you to work this job and on the next some where else. Before you leave this job, you will be ready to apply for any job you want. After talking with the manager. I texted Frank to come back to the hotel, and the General Manager hired him.

From the day Frank was hired to the day he left six months later. He was ready; he had everything I figured he would need to have in his trinket box of knowledge, he could pull out whenever he needed to help him make good choices in life.

Will our paths cross again? I do not believe so. He left with a few of his mosaic seeds put back together again.

Behavior

The world is full of people who want children so badly that it kills them inside when they can not have children. When they can finally have a child. They take a moment and really start thinking about what they signed up for. Being a parent takes a lot of love, work, and correction. Many would not agree with me correcting a child.

I have no problem correcting a child, especially if they need correction or I see them going in the wrong direction. They don't like it, but they will get corrected by me. This story takes me to one of those moments that worked in favor of the child and his siblings.

Where I was working was no classroom. But at times I felt like I was working in a class. I would run into young teens and children all the time. It seemed like I spent the day having behavior modification class all day long. This particular teen and his family had only been at the hotel for two weeks. It felt at times I was being tested on how far someone could take my tolerance level before I said enough is enough. This young teen had two siblings; he was the older of the two. They had been misbehaving every day. I reached my tolerance level.

I finally screamed, " ENOUGH!" My voice gets very high when I have reached my tolerance level. I ordered the children to come to me. After hearing me scream. They were too afraid not to come toward me.

Since the parent was not stepping in. I was going to need to fix this nonsense. I was going to correct their behavior so they wouldn't be doing it again. That is why I call it “behavior modification class”. I told them they had two choices. They need to follow the rules or just stay in their room. That there was no option for them then. As all youth say “ yes, ma'am”! Then five minutes later, they go do it again. They didn’t believe me. I ordered them to go to their room and not come out. I told the older one to come back down because we needed to talk. He took the other two to their room.

The young teen comes downstairs. I was now in a problem-solving state of mind.

When he returns, we have a good talk. I asked him what was going on in his life. I was trying to get a picture of how to address the situation. He told me about his life and family. Of what happened and how they ended up in the situation they were in. When he finished. I asked him, " Do you like how your life and your family's life is going?" He said no. I asked him what he thinks he needs to change about himself. So his brothers can see he wants something better. He mentioned he needed to figure it out.

He did mention again. He did want something better. I said that it is a good start. Letting him know a good start, acting like a big brother his brothers should look up to. By not misbehaving in the lobby. I mentioned to him that I could spend every day correcting him, or he could learn to follow the rules and listen. He said he wanted to listen. He would come and talk every day. I let him know he can talk to me whenever I was there, and I would tell him whatever I knew, and if I didn't know, I would help him find the answer.

He would ask me questions about growing up, family, and work. One day, he asked me about God. He wanted to know more. He wanted a bible. I, at the time. I had my bible with me because I was reading a particular scripture for myself. I told him. "Take my bible." You can read it. It is now yours. Start with Proverbs. To also look at the scriptures I highlighted throughout the Bible, for those key scriptures have helped shape and continue to shape me throughout my life. He was turning into a fine young teen. I no longer needed to correct him or his sibling. If any corrections are needed. He was making sure his brothers behaved.

Then one day, he and his family left six months later. I didn’t see him again for another four months. It happened that I was working the third shift at the hotel. It was eleven o'clock. He walks in and comes up to me and hugs me. I hugged him back. I asked how he was doing. He was sad that he hadn’t said bye. He said he had enjoyed talking with me about life. That I made him feel counted and listened to.

I reminded him that I had given him a valuable book that had all the answers to the questions he would ask throughout life. that he needed to keep reading it. If he didn’t understand. To ask God to help him understand. He said his grandma had his bible and she was mailing it to him because he wanted it back.

I told him I too was just like him on the journey of life. He hugged me again and left. I never saw him again. I do believe I helped add a few extra pieces to his mosaic that he didn’t have before.

My Strawberry seeds have started to turn mosaic. I am not sure if it's like many other mosaic seeds; each other's mosaic seeds look different because we have all had different moments. In our times, which stand out