My son is in prison in a non-Western country where they do not obey the accepted rules of civilization. It is an unimaginable hell. I keep in touch with him- barely- by means of a cellphone smuggled in to him by a friend.
Last week he became ill and wound up in the infirmary there, surrounded by dying people. He thought he had malaria but he was told he had typhoid. He was very weak. Through the cellphone I managed to get some money to him (no, I will NOT explain how that works) and he sent me a message that he was going to buy medicine (everything is money there; they provide nothing for free.)
Then he disappeared.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, nothing. My friend who smuggled in the phone messaged me with great concern. My son communicates with him almost every day (he doesn’t chat quite as much with me, but I’m a dad, not a buddy) and he was not answering his messages.
I honestly believed my son was dead. Or, perhaps even worse, that the guards had discovered his cellphone and had taken it from him. That would have cut him off from the world, perhaps permanently.
In my despair I wrote a story and posted it here. It was mostly well accepted and many people were sympathetic. I deeply appreciate the kind remarks. It made the trending list, which had its disadvantages. It drew the attention of someone who apparently delights in arguing and he said some very cruel things. l was in no mood for such foolishness and deleted the diary, vowing never to show my personal life to anyone ever again on the internet. There is pure evil out there and I foolishly made myself vulnerable to it. Schoolyard rules; show a weakness and the bully goes straight for your tender spot.
But this morning I got out of bed after a sleepless night to find a message from my son. He said he had died but came back to life (I assume meaning he had been deathly ill.) He was back in his cell and recovering.
I thought those who were so kind would like to know. For those who said that my beloved son smells, perhaps someday you will grow a soul. Believe me or not, as you will.