One day Lee Fuller and her boyfriend Matt were walking out of their high school together, as Lee said, "Man, I hate advanced algebra. Why can't teachers just leave letters out of math?" Matt smirked and said, "I think it might be the English teachers conspiring to fuse Math and English class together." Lee giggled a bit, when suddenly Matt heard a beep on his phone. Matt checked it, and suddenly his face became pale. A concerned looking Lee said, "What? What is it?" Matt then said, "It's a text message reply from... my mother." A confused looking Lee said, "Um, you gets texts from your mom all the time." Matt then said, "You're thinking of my step-mother. I'm talking about my birth mother." A shocked looking Lee said, "What? But you said she's in jail." Matt then said, "She was in jail. She's served her sentence, and is out on parole now. And we're setting up a time to meet. It's just weird at how real this is getting now." Lee then said, "Wait. She's been texting you since she got out of jail? That's so creepy." Matt then said, "She didn't start contacting me. I reached out to her first." A confused looking Lee then said, "What!?"


Lee was sitting at a dinner table with her grandparents: Jackson and Ramona, as she said, "And so Matt told me he's tired of being upset with his mother for being in jail since he was two, and said he's trying to re-connect with her." Jackson then said, "Well it sounds like Matt is making a very difficult but mature choice." Lee then said, "I guess. It's just weird though. I mean Matt's mother barely raised Matt. She didn't really raise him or teach him to be a great guy. So why does he want anything to do with her?" Ramona then said, "It's not about who she was to him Ramona. It's about Matt giving her a chance to be something now to him." Lee then said, "It just doesn't seem right though. I mean my moms and you both have always told me to surround myself with good supportive people and to stay away from unhealthy relationships." Jackson then said, "Yes, you should always do that Lee. But one of the reasons you need to surround yourself with strong supportive relationships is so that they can help guide you at fixing any of the few broken relationships in your life that deserve to be fixed." Lee looked down as she said, "Hmm... I guess..."


A few days later Lee and Matt were walking down a sidewalk together holding hands as Matt said, "Thanks for coming with me." Lee then said, "Any time. You sure you don't want me to go into the restaurant with you?" Matt turned his head and said, "No. But... just in case, if you could hang out outside..." Lee made a little smile and said, "Of course. I'll always be ready to hang around you." Matt looked into Lee's eyes for a moment and said, "Lee... you don't realize how I am so thankful to have you in my life every day." Lee then glanced ahead of her and said, "We're here, and... I think I see her inside." Matt then took a deep breath and said, "Here we go." Matt then walked into the restaurant by himself and approached his mother. For awhile Lee watched from a distance as she saw Matt and his mother talk. Then Lee slowly sneaked towards the restaurant door and then quickly sneaked inside and sat at a booth near Matt. Lee hid her face behind a large menu as she heard Matt say, "You know this isn't easy for me." Matt's mother then said, "I know Matt. And again, I am so, so sorry for all the years I took away from you. If there's anything I can do..." Matt then said, "Mom, there's nothing you can do about the past now. And I'm not gonna keep hating you about it, because that would prevent me from building my own future." Matt's mother then said, "Matt, what do you mean?"

Matt then took a deep breath and said, "Dad admitted to me that it was petty arguments full of hate that drove you two apart. And I don't want hate to ever be a part of who I am. Which is why I told you during our first phone call we had that I forgive you. It's something I had to genuinely do because... there's an important girl in my life mom. Her name is Lee and I don't ever want hate to be in our relationship. And I figured if I could forgive you for a huge mistake you made, it would be easy for me to forgive Lee for any small mistake we make in our lives together. Because that's the kind of relationship I want with the woman I plan to ask to marry me one day." From her booth Lee's eyes widened greatly as she covered her mouth with one hand. Meanwhile Matt's mother said, "You... at your age?" Matt then said, "Well not until we're both older. But yeah. I love her mom, and I want to be the best man I can be for her. And I'm sure she feels the same way." Tears then began to come out of Lee's eyes as she got up and rushed out of the restaurant.


Lee sat in a large room in a prison facing a glass wall. A man then appeared on the other side of the class, and sat down facing Lee. The man then said, "I was told there was a woman who wanted to meet with me. So... can I ask what your name is?" Lee then took a deep breath and said, "My name is Lee Fuller, and... I'm your daughter." The man's eyes widened as he said, "I... I... Oh my God. I..." Lee then held a hand up and said, "I know. This is as big a shock for you as it is for me." Lee's father then said, "I... Lee... ever since I learned you existed, I... for years, I've been praying for you. Praying that you'd be all right and that you were safe, and..." Lee then said, "Well I have two moms who really love me, grandparents that are always there for me, and this huge full extended family that watches out for me as well. So I'm definitely all right and safe." Lee's father then said, "Then... you're happy?" Lee looked down for a moment and then said, "Well... I..."

Lee then looked up at right into her father's eyes as she said, "No! I'm not happy! When countless other girls had their dads come to the father/daughter dance with them growing up, I had nobody. When I was seven, I made up some stupid story to my classmates about my dad being some famous pilot just so I would l would feel less empty inside. When I learned I was conceived by my mom being raped by some terrible stranger, it made me feel so sick inside. Some kids can say them being born was an accident, but I felt like my being born was a crime. And despite all the hard work I do to be a good person, I'm still tainted by some sort of poison at the core of my being. Because of you, I've had nothing but hate building up inside me my whole life." Lee then had her head go down as she began to cry.

After several minutes of silence, Lee's father then said, "I was full of hate for years as well. It may surprise you but I was a solider for several years. But that time period of my life did more harm than good for my mind. I lost all of my friends in active duty, and returned home to nobody willing to help me through my pain and suffering. I had no one to support me and I felt so helpless and became so angry at the world. So I just decided to lash out at it, and... I channeled that sense of helplessness and aggression towards the first person I thought I could get away with hurting; your mother. And... I am so, so sorry Lee. I know no words I can say can take away the pain you're feeling. But know I am so, so sorry." Lee continued to cry as her father sat silent for a moment with an upset look on his face.

Then eventually Lee took a deep breath and said, "You know... seeing you in this prison; a place where you're trapped... I thought I would be seeing something so scary walking in. But being in here now makes me realize I have seen something like this before. Prisons aren't just walls. They're in the mind too. And I've been trapped inside one almost as long as you have." Lee then looked right at her father in the eyes and said, "I forgive you. You may be trapped in this prison for life, but I'm done being trapped in mine." Lee's father then made a sigh and said, "Thank you."


Matt was sitting in his room reading a book, when he heard a knock on the door. Matt got up and said, "Yes?" Then then door opened and Lee stepped in. A surprised Matt said, "Lee? You must have gotten in using the spare key I gave you. But what's so important you..." Lee suddenly ran at Matt and then kissed him on the lips. After a moment of kissing, the two's lips parted as Matt said, "What was that for?" Lee then said, "For leading me by example to making the hardest choice I ever made. You see after seeing you forgive your mother, I... I went to the prison to forgive my dad." A shocked and surprised looking Matt said, "Really?" Lee nodded and said, "Yeah. And once I finally told him that, we began to talk for a long time. Like, a real long time. And... it gave me hope." Matt then said, "Like hope that you can create a positive relationship with him?" Lee then said, "No just that. But... if I can make a relationship with a man I hated my whole life start to work, then I know I can make a relationship with a man I've loved my whole life work. So with that being said... Matt... will you marry me?" Matt smirked and said, "You know we're too young right?" Lee then smiled and said, "After high school graduation of course." Matt then said, "Hmm. How about the day after we graduate?" Lee then said, "Sounds good to me." Matt with a big grin on his face said, "You serious?" Lee nodded and said, "Till death do we part serious." Then Lee and Mat began to kiss each other again as they began to lay on Matt's bed together while the kissing continued.

THE END