Imagine if you lost everything, what would you do? Do you have a support system? If so, that’s great. However, for some, they have no one. When you have no one to turn to, what do you do? What can you do? Mary had nowhere to go; so she stood.
Her Early Years
Mary grew up in a family of four. Her parents worked hard to take care of Mary and her sister. Their family didn’t have much but what they had meant the world to them.
She and her sister excelled in school. Education was their ticket to bigger and better things. Their parents taught them the future was their chance to grab onto their wildest dreams.
Mary imagined herself as a high-ranking executive in a Fortune 500 company. She’d have a beautiful home, a husband, two children, a dog, and the life others would envy. This thought drove her and made her miss out on childhood activities.
When she was a teen, she didn’t date. Mary hit the books and consumed the words they held. She felt she had plenty of time to date in the future.
Life as a Young Adult
Mary graduated from high school with honors. She enrolled in college the following August. Even though she was just another body on the campus, she held her head high and walked with pride. You’d find her seated at the front of the class. Her grades stood at the top of the class.
She trimmed a year off college and graduated in three years. Mary landed a job at a prestigious marketing firm. As she rose through the ranks, she made her parents proud. They displayed her achievements on the walls and bookshelves of her family home.
When Mary met Stanley, her life changed. They met at a convention. It was love at first sight. He saw the confidence Mary had as she spoke to the crowd. Stanley knew she’d be his wife. And, Mary felt the same.
They married in a small ceremony and honeymooned in the Bahamas. A year later, they added a baby girl to their family. They found their dog, Spot at the neighborhood dog shelter. Their life was full of happiness and bliss.
She Becomes a Widow
Ten years later, tragedy struck. A drunk driver ran into the vehicle Stanley drove, killing Stanley and their daughter. Just like that, her world changed. They left her with a house they just closed on and no one but her to fill the rooms.
Mary tried to cope with the loss. Therapy didn’t help her. She couldn’t move on. Her job performance tanked. The company fired her.
Antidepressants and cheap wine became her best friends. She stopped going outside. Mary had food delivered. The insurance money ran out. She depleted her savings. Darkness filled her home. Eventually, she lost her home.
And She Stood
When the sheriff came to remove her from her home, Mary pleaded with him and wanted to stay. He told her she had to leave because the house was no longer hers.
A neighbor came to her aid and told her she could stay with her. Mary put embarrassment aside and took up her neighbor’s offer. For a month, she stayed with her neighbor in a dark room.
Her neighbor couldn’t get her to eat. Then, her frustrated neighbor told her she needed to find somewhere else to say. The neighbor suggested maybe she needed a mental evaluation. This angered Mary. She left that night.
Mary ended up at a homeless shelter and stayed for a few nights. She hated sleeping around other people and the restrictions that the shelter imposed. So, she left with her belongings. With only a backpack, a purse, and a bag, she walked the streets. She’d find shelter wherever she could.
She was no longer the Mary with a future full of dreams. Mary was now a faceless part of society. People walked by her as if she was invisible while she stood against the building.
