There was a girl, another girl, a boy, and me.
They met in a cafeteria full of people,
but only saw one another.
There was hope in their eyes,
for their lives were still ahead of them.
They laughed,
They shared,
They talked,
They understood.

There was a girl.
An innocent girl.
One day, she saw her dad beat her mom.
She saw how delicately the blood trickled down her cheek,
and how her mother's tears ran swiftly away from the eyes that's seen a thousand rages.
One day, her boyfriend did the same thing.
Another day, she married him.

There was girl.
A sweet girl.
One day, she heard someone call her 'fat.'
She knew she was, but couldn't come to terms to accept it.
She had a plan.
She wouldn't eat.
Pound for pound,
her beauty was stripped away.
Her hair fell out.
Her nails cracked.
One day, she ate too much.
The next day, blood seeped through the red bracelet as she lay limp in the tub.
For her, that was her last day.

There was a boy.
A loving boy.
One day, his father caught his son in bed with another father's son.
The boy pleaded and pleaded,
as his father struck him punch after punch.
One day, he kissed the man he oh, so loved,
as he departed for military school.
Little did anyone know,
That before he could leave,
He was found swinging from his ceiling,
with fresh scars on his wrist and on his heart.

There was me.
One day, I cried and I cried,
For the pain was too much.
It hurt to breathe.
When answers didn't come,
I held the blade between my blood-caked fingertips,
and stared at the tear-stricken face I've grown so familiar with

One day, sitting alone in the cafeteria,
I saw a girl, another girl, and a boy.
There was pain in their eyes,
for there was nothing ahead of them.
The next day, there was no one
To laugh,
To share,
To talk,
To understand.