Hi everyone! I know I have to introduce myself here first
first here, but unfortunately I can’t. You’ll learn why in the next few minutes. More than that, there are plenty of details
in this story that will have to remain secret for safety reasons. I probably shouldn’t even should probably
not tell the story in the first place, but it’s has all been so hard over the last
few weeks, that I just need to get it off my chest. Flashback – two years ago. I’m a regular 14-year-old with no bigger
problem than stress at school or being bored on the weekends. I have several really good friends, no enemies,
and a great family. It’s just my parents and I.
I’ve always known that my dad had something to do with finance, economics and, well...
stuff like that. I wasn't that interested, to be honest, I
thought it was a regular day job, like most of the other dads have. So I didn't get too suspicious when a couple
of men in suits appeared at our house to talk with my dad, who seemed puzzled. But it was hard not to notice that something
was wrong when the next time they came… they took my dad with them. "
"Again, I’m sorry I can’t get into details, but the story was that my dad, who had never
been any kind of gangster or anything, was involved in a crime. So that night he was basically arrested. He came back pretty soon afterward, because,
as I learned later, he had agreed to help in an investigation and… he was now a witness. And apparently he was in danger. I never asked about who these people were
that could put us in danger, because I didn’t really wanna know much about what my dad was
up to. It’s all over now, and that’s the only
thing that matters. Long story short, our family was going to
be a part of the witness protection program. And that was when the nightmare started. The first part of us getting into it was not
that exciting. We stayed at our house, but there was always
a police car outside for our safety. I couldn’t really walk anywhere on my own
anymore – I was taken to school and then back home, and basically stayed inside for
the rest of the day. I could still visit my friends every once
in a while, but I had to keep my mouth shut about the program of course. So, life got more stressful, but compared
to what was waiting ahead, it was all no big deal. I didn’t did not know it at that time, but
while this was happening, things were being prepared to move us to a different part of
the country. So imagine how shocked I was to learn one
morning that I had to pack my things (only the essentials) because we were leaving that
same night! I guess the officials advised my parents to
not tell me anything in case I wouldn’t would not be able to keep it a secret. Anyway, at 2 in the morning we got into a
van and never looked back. The driver was a man I did not know, who kept
silent the whole time, and our coordinator was also with us, in the front seat. We drove for the whole night and then for
the next day rarely making any stops. Finally we arrived in to a town I had never
even heard of before. The house was ready for us, and you could
tell that everything was hastily arranged. Everything we needed for life was there but…
it was not "home" at all. It was a living space. But it was still okay. I was so exhausted I didn’t care, all I
needed was a shower and a bed. And over the next couple of days, I learned
how our life was going to change. I… I don’t even know where to start. What we got was basically a new life. We were allowed to keep our first names, but
we got a new last name, my dad got a job as an accountant at a fairly small, local company,
and I got a place at a new school. Now we had to learn the legend about why we
moved to this part of the country, where we used to live, and what my family had done
for all these years. And while this was all a little exciting,
it was also frightening. It took me several weeks to get used to my
new last name, and a couple of times I almost said the old one out loud in class. One of the last things our coordinator told
me (he instructed each of us personally) was that the danger was so serious, everyone in
our hometown had to think we were dead. So we had to cut all of our ties with friends
and relatives. Now, that part was a total shock. A little later I learned that there was even
a news story about the three of us dying in a car crash. And local police confirmed it. That meant A LOT of things, but the most shocking
one to me was that all my friends now basically thought I was dead, and that I could never
(literally - never) see them, text them, or talk to them again. But, you know, my family’s safety was at
stake, so I guess we all just had to move on. After all, it was way more stressful for my
mom and dad, than it was for me. And that was the first time I was glad I never
had grandmas or grandpas (that's a whole other couple of stories really) – we only had
a couple of distant relatives who wouldn’t would not notice if we lost touch. And over time, with it being really weird
at first, I got used to my new life. I even made a couple of friends here. It’s been a little more than a year since
all of this happened and I thought I was ready for anything. Well it turned out that I was not. Throughout this year I got emotional now and
then and I checked my "past life" friends on social media to see what was going on in
their lives. And of course my previous page had to be abandoned
(once I almost logged in unintentionally, thankfully I caught myself), so they had no
idea I was online. But about a year after we vanished I looked
them up again and what I saw was overwhelming. Exactly twelve months after our “car crash”
all of my friends posted pictures I was in and wrote about how they missed me and how
painful this story was to all of them, and how it profoundly changed them. I just… I just wanted to scream! These posts were so full of love and kindness
and sadness and pain, I just burst into tears. I wanted to run to them, to hug them, and
to say it was all okay, that I was here. But that just cannot happen. Please appreciate those who are around you,
because you have no idea what life might bring you tomorrow. I'm sure me and my family will all be fine. I feel much better now that I let this out. I hope my story gets made into a video. Please share your stories in the comments
and don’t forget to subscribe to Actually Happened.
