Oh, hi guys! My name is Alex and I`m 14. I want to tell you about a couple of events
that completely changed my life. It all started couple years ago, when my parents
were getting a divorce, and my mom said that my father wouldn't have the right to see me
after that. I have to say, I totally expected something
like this to happen. My parents were fighting all the time. Actually, they had been fighting for as long
as I can remember. And, for me, they would always play good cop,
bad cop. Mom would scold me for something, then dad
would buy me ice cream and calm me down. But during their last fight, mom said she
that was going to take custody away from my father and even forbid him from seeing me
at all. The worst thing is that she would have done
it. Dad didn't have a steady job, and he wouldn't
have had a place to live after the divorce. So the court definitely would have taken away
his custody of me. The next day, my dad came to pick me up from
school, and he said that we needed to talk. He told me that I had the right to choose
who I wanted to live with, and then offered me the chance to go with him to another city,
and start a new life. Of course, I agreed! At that time, my mother was the evil one that
wanted to take my father away from me. So we packed up all of our necessary things
and were about to leave when I asked, "Shouldn`t we tell mom that we`re leaving?" But dad assured me that he had already talked
to her. So that's how I said goodbye to my home. As we were driving on the highway dad told
me what we are going to do. He said we would stay at his friend`s house
for a week until he found a job, and then we'd rent an apartment, and find a school
for me, and then we would deal with all the divorce and custody stuff. Sounded like a plan. Dad was energetic and wound up, and his enthusiasm
rubbed off on me. I felt like we would be fine. So I closed my eyes and fell asleep, preparing
for something new in my life. We arrived at the house of my father's friend
after the sun had set. But unfortunately, he couldn't let us stay
with him. He had a family, and obviously there would've
been too many of us in the house. Eventually I found out that my dad didn't
even bother asking beforehand if his friend would be able to host us. It was late and we were tired, so dad decided
that we would stay at a hotel. This didn`t fit into our plan, because staying
in a hotel is pretty expensive, and dad had no job. For several days my father went to interviews
in search of work. Unfortunately, each time he returned sad - he
kept getting turned down over and over again. And soon the moment came. Dad said we were running out of money, and
we couldn't afford to stay in a hotel anymore. He tried to stay positive, and convinced me
that everything was gonna be alright. But, in reality, we had to live out of our
car. It was terribly uncomfortable, but it was
necessary in order for us to save money. Day after day we were wandering around the
city looking for work. And things kept getting worse and worse. And after one night, I completely lost my
enthusiasm. We were running out of gas, and dad came up
with a plan. We drove into some kind of parking lot. Dad said he needed my help. He took a can and a hose and rigged up something
to drain the gas from someone else's car, and I had to stand watch. After a few minutes, I heard a man yelling,
"Hey, what are you doing over there?!" Damn! I didn't notice him, and now he was running
toward us. We started to run away, but he was catching
up with us. Dad said that he'd hold him, and to meet later
at the mall nearby. In fear, I just ran in a random direction,
and a second later I heard the sound of a falling canister. I was scared to even think about what was
happening to my dad. Ten minutes later, I was sitting on a bench
in the mall, out of breath. Soon my father came. Oh my God, he looked terrible. His clothes were dirty, his jacket sleeve
was torn, and his face had a huge bruise. It was awful! It turned out that the guy who was chasing
us was a parking lot security guy, and he wanted to detain my father, but thankfully
he was able to escape. Ok, dad was fine, but now all our stuff was
in the car, and there was no way to get to it, `cause the security guy had probably called
the police. So we had no money, no food, no water, and
no place to sleep. We walked through the empty streets, hungry
and tired. Not to mention that I hadn't showered in five
days. Soon I was just falling over my own feet,
and dad said we were going to spend the night in the park, and that tomorrow we'd figure
something out. Dad woke me up and said an unexpected phrase:
"Son, I have great news!" Good news is exactly what I needed. Dad said he'd found out about a place where
we could get free food. But I did not expect that this place was a
dining hall for homeless people! We were given a bowl of soup and a couple
of pieces of bread. But as soon as I tried it, my eyes filled
with tears. I was at the end of my patience. I couldn't do it anymore. I started crying and asking dad to take me
home to mom. And it looked like my dad was tired of it
too. So he admitted that he couldn't make it, and
that he'd figure out how to get us home. To cheer me up, dad said he'd get us some
normal food, and he left me waiting outside of a supermarket. I knew we didn't have any money and I knew
that my dad was going to steal food. So I started to worry, when he didn`t come
out ten minutes later. What if he was detained by security? But when the police car pulled up to the store,
I knew for sure - he was caught. I was scared, so I decided to just run away
so they wouldn't catch me too. I just didn't know what to do. I wandered the streets until nighttime. I was scared, hungry, and terrified of everyone
I met. People looked at me strangely. Of course – I was just a tear-stained child
in dirty clothes who was walking alone in a big city. I had nowhere to go, so I decided to go to
the first policeman I met and ask for help. And that's just what I did. They put me in a car and took me to the station. Officers and social workers asked me whether
I was starving, whether my father had forced me to do anything, and other terrible questions. Then I was told that the police had been looking
for me all day, and that my mom was on her way there. When she arrived, she ran to me in tears and
hugged me tightly. As we drove home, she told me how worried
and terrified she was. Mom said that the police had been looking
for us from day one. Maybe for the first time in my life, I felt
that my mother actually loved me. As it turned out, dad didn't tell her that
we were leaving. He only called her that morning after he had
gotten arrested and said she needed to come, because I was lost and alone in the big city. I was happy to go home, but I was really worried
about my dad. Shoplifting is punishable by a fine. But for the fact that he had kidnapped me
and we had to live in those conditions, he could not only lose his parental rights, but
also go to prison. And that's what upset me the most. So now it's been two years since then. My parents got divorced. Dad was lucky that he only received a suspended
sentence for family kidnapping. If you can even call it luck. We talk pretty often by phone. Mom doesn't try to keep us from doing that. Apparently, after everything that happened,
she realized how much I love my dad, and now she's trying to be the best mom for me. Dad promised he'd get his life back on track,
get a job, and get his custody back. Who knows, maybe then my parents’ relationship
will improve. Thanks for watching, guys! Tell me, would you be willing to live in those
conditions for the sake of your parents? Share your thoughts in the comments. And be sure to subscribe to the channel to
see more stories that actually happened!
