• The letter of the lunatic
    A teen in desperate need of understanding

    There are so many people... who need to be understood. Not lunatics. Not retarded. Not demented. But people like us. People... overjoyed. But nothing can surpass the story of a boy named Rye, who passed through various experiences that change his life.

    In 1992 a Japanese couple gave birth to an awkward baby. The baby didn’t cry. At all! When he was two years old, the child’s hair had turn white and black. This boy was abnormal. By the age of 6, he wasn’t like any other kid. At school he didn’t pay attention
    But… he was a perfect, straight A student. Nobody understood how.

    At the age of 8 he and his classmates went on a fieldtrip to a zoo. They were all excited… all except one. When they reached the first cage, it had a panda. When Rye saw it, he started to scream. Screaming in pain, and agony. The teachers tried to control him. Until finally he calmed down. They took a break. So they moved on. In the next cage, they saw a tiger. When he saw it, he started to scream, hit, and try to open the gate. This time security took control and one last warning.. The teacher called their parents and they quickly came and pick him up. The parents thought that it might be better to send him to a doctor. A psyquiatrist.

    A few days later, they went to see a specialist.
    She asked him various question… concluding that the boy had a syndrome.
    His parents asked if they could do something about it. But… The doctor suggested to put him in a special hospital .The parents asked there boy and he said: “ I don’t need that. All I need is to be understood ”
    So, at the age of 9, the parents decided to intern him.
    The parents left Rye and barely visited him.

    7 years went by and Rye became more and more exhausted. He developed a bacteria in his nervous system that made it easier to absorb more information, much more easier (Keeping in mind that he is a straight A student.).He had become so smart. You wouldn’t believe it! But he wasn’t really crazy. His parents left him there so that they were not ashamed of having such a queer boy.

    The doctors decided to test his I.Q. And it turn out to be so high. Above the normal human level! Above the highest known level! By the age of eleven, the bacteria had already settled in his spinal cord. He became exhausted and very delicate from health.

    Waking up in the hospital, he over heard the doctor talking with a nurse infront of his room saying that he had barely a year to live.

    Rye layed sadly on his bed. He looked at the cords attached to him and yanked them out. He then decided if he were going to die, he wanted to die in his sleep.

    That night he had an awkward dream. He was walking along with God.
    "What is your religion, Rye?" God asked
    "Um... I don't have a religion. I go with science. Or so my parents told me to do so if I wanted to be normal." Rye answered
    Rye, do you remember that time at the zoo, when you started screaming?..." God asked. "Why did you do that?"
    "Because animals and humans are equal.And yet they treat them like bullcrap" Rye answered
    "Did your parents told you to do THAT as well?-God asked wisely.
    "Well n..."
    You see Rye..." God interrupted. "everyone can choose for themself; There will be a certain time when we'll have to make a tough decision... And now, your time has come..."

    They kept silent and walked.God told him to look back at their path. There, Rye could see his life up to now.He saw how miserable he was. He couldn't believe how much he had tolerated.

    "Are you going to do nothing and wait till death or are you going to do something about this? Because up to know, you've done much in your life but never taken a decision on what to do next." God said as he faded away.

    When Rye woked up. He was surprised he was still alive. He was supose to die the moment he had pulled the chords off. He ignored it and grabed a paper and a pen and began to write:

    "These are my words. Hear me. As far as I'm concerned... I never did had vote of opinion. Never had the chance to speak for my self either. Now... Listen... Ever since I was born no one respected me, payed attention to me or liked me, and I tolerated you. I've suffered but not cried. And I lived in misery and will die in peace. As I write this letter I'm becoming more and more insane. But...What does it matter now? I only had one thing to say but you never listened. All I needed was understanding. I said something... you understood the other.And look where I am now. The reason I had such behavior in the zoo back then... was because were all equal and have same rights but yet treated ourself diffrently. Don't bother doing me a funeral 'cause I was born alone and I'm going to die alone. And stop being such non believers.The real god is...God. I'm a believer. And nothing will stop me."

    As Rye was finishing his letter, the glitter in his eyes began to fade and his life began to vanish. And so it ended. Sad,misreble,but satisfied because he finally let it out. All his resntment and toleration... he had let it out.

    They did as he wished. A few of them turned to the christian religion and they didn't do him a funeral but they did buried him with this engraving: "Shintaya-Rye 1992-2009 The voice of justice and the opinion of the overjoyed" .For the first time in 16 years, Rye's parents were proud of him.