What I see

Mario is back in. I got a call from Mario's grandma on a Wednesday evening, at the same time his grandfather has been admitted into the ICU for a dying heart. She herself, a recovering cancer patient, is tired. Asking those age old questions of the fighter, "why won't things change?" I am not sure if sharing this with you is fair to her, but if I don't her fatigue and desperation cannot be truly felt. At the verge of tears, she says,"tell him [Mario] we cannot take it anymore, we don't want to deal with him anymore". I question myself, wondering if she really means this. Can even a grandmother reach a threshold for unconditional love? Near the day set aside for lovers, Valentine's Day doesn't mean much for a family facing suffering unrecognizable to the distracted society buzzing around them. How does the community not care?

At this point, I am realizing that my purpose in his life is not to make it better, but to simply participate. I know Mario isn't a criminal. He has spent his entire adolescence being told he is. What started with a kid trying to earn respect has transition into a family who has done their best to cope with a quickly changing community that is mercilessly testing their survival. My desire is for Mario to lead a productive life, that desire is flourishing, despite his change in scenery. Some say we all have an equal chance at prosperity, I would love for them to spend one year teaching Mario and I how that theory works. "They" also suggest if he would have worked a little bit harder things would be better. Or better yet, maybe he would be better off if he would have made better decisions. All these presumed theories on wellness, lack compassion. A part of me feels like I let him down and somehow we failed. But I know we haven't. I foolishly measure him by standards designed for those needing measurement. My God was also jailed, and perhaps Mario is lucky to share in the uncomfortable gift of persecution. I find comfort in believing that, despite his circumstances, we've become friends. Friendship, the free cross-cultural concept that cannot be marketed, monopolized, sold, stolen, or patented.