Falling off the Cliff

It was a Sunday evening when all of us teenagers were come back to the Pine Breeze Home, for mentally challenged teenagers, from weekends at home. We were all just finishing dinner and were sitting around. Then one of the evening workers said we were going on an outing. So we teenagers who had made the highest marks for good behavior the week before, five girls and four buys, and two female workers, got into the homes van and rode to a surprise location the workers weren't telling us.

Their was a girl named Mary who just hated me. I never knew why cause I was a very quiet girl and most people ignored me. I shy there were people in my family who I wouldn't talk to. But I was kinda autistic maybe! I don't know! I wasn't every smart at social situations. I was what some people would call a people watcher and Mary probably didn't like the way I stared at her and her boyfriend as they interacted with each other.

We stopped at a store where the workers let any of us who had money go into the store. I had no money so I stayed in the van with a few others.

As the van drove to our destination Mary would never stop talking about me. I wanted to just die! But I was a Christian believer and could never stoop to killing myself. I thought about it constantly though. Mary was at this time trying to get me and this retarded boy to go out with each other. It wasn't a bad idea cause the boy was cute and he did like me but we were both very quiet people and never talked unless asked a direct question by someone. However I never spoke to Mary and ignored her questions and hateful comments always.

Finally we came to Signal Point (Signal Mountain Tennessee). One worker said she was going hiking on the trail and six of the others followed her. The other worker was just going to stay behind because she was scared of high places and two others stayed with her. I stayed, at first undecided, till the others were gone a good ways before I changed my mind to go along with them because Mary had stayed to and was nagging at me. As I went though I noticed that she had come behind me a good ways back and was calling me some kind of names. I turned corners where she couldn't see me though and felt ok in the moment. However I was kind of scared that she might try to hurt me.

So I figured it was time now to run away from the home. I wasn't a very bright kid at twelve years old. So I went off of the trail another way. She didn't follow so I guessed she hadn't seen the way I had went. I was much happier now but still kinda scared that she might find me again. So I hurried to a place where it looked promising to climb down and maybe make it to the bottom where I would hitchhike away to maybe California.

So I climbed down the cliff. It seemed pretty easy at first. Then I began thinking of snakes which was something I hadn't though about before I got to going down the easiest path where there was a lot of bushes and things to hang onto. So I decided to go back and run away that night at the group home when I could get all of my things to take with me. I don't know why I just hadn't stayed back with the worker at the van with the two others who had stayed at the park area where you could look out over the mountains view.

I climbed back up and got stuck under a boulder that was jutting out over my head and there was no way I'd be able to get back over on the top of it without falling off. I wasn't that good at climbing. So I set down to think about what I would do. I saw a branch that was hanging over the boulder that I was on and I was thinking of grabbing it to get down to the next rocky level. I figured that the rocky areas would be better for not running into any snakes. But I still wanted to go back up to the van. So I tried screaming as loud as I could. I didn't know how far the others had gone already and I didn't think the ones at the van could hear me. I thought it was hopeless and I would just have to keep screaming and wait for them to find me missing.

I was kinda sleepy. I love to sleep and can sleep just about anywhere and in any conditions. So I went to sleep still also thinking about that branch that was in front of me that would make a good hang on for me to get to the next level where it looked like I would be able to get all the way down.......

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No God I wanna be with you! No God I wanna be with you! No God I wanna be with you! I woke up saying over and over again. I was so confused. I didn't know where I was. What had that dream been about?

Had I run away again and spent the night in the woods? I was horrified cause I had been in a deep sleep and hadn't paid attention by sleeping lightly as I usually did when I ran away. I knew the woods were a dangerous place to fall into a deep sleep. I got up but fell back as a shocking pain race down my back into my left leg. What was wrong with me? I couldn't get up and my left elbow felt in pain when I had tried to push myself up on it. My right ankle felt strangely out of place in the bone. I was so scared.

It all came back to me what must have happened. I must have did the last thing that was on my mind on that ledge and fell. My back was probably broke. I went into shock then and began to scream with everything in me. I screamed and screamed till I was exhausted. My whole body was tired and wore out. I went to sleep.

When next I woke up I tried screaming again and again. I tried to look up and see about where I had fallen! How far had it been? If maybe the others could still hear me? I couldn't see over the many many trees that were above me. I screamed again till I wore myself out and fell asleep. It was getting dark and I was scared of the dark and cold. I folded my arms together and tried to keep my arms kinda warm. I went to sleep still screaming for help.

I woke up hearing a water fall somewhere in the distance and wanted some water to drink so bad. I could drink some water just then which was not what I drank to often on a regular bases. I hated drinking water but I knew it would taste so good right just then.I thought about my favorite soda drink, Dr. Pepper.

I was laying on the ground against a fallen tree. and I could see that there was still some more falling I hadn't done because of that tree. I was thankful to God for that. The sun was shinning down on my face and I was sweating. I put up my right hand to wipe away the sweat and saw blood all over my hand. I began screaming again and again in a new found strength of fear.

I prayed to God to forgive me of my sins and promised Him that if he would let someone find me I would never run away again no matter how bad it got at home or in any group home I went to and I would just deal with the problems.

Just as I was about to give up and fall asleep exhausted and felling hopeless I heard a sound. It sounded like a dog. I screamed and screamed and then I heard men's voices and they heard me. I felt so happy and thanking God so much for saving me. They got to me and I asked for water and they would only let me suck on a rag. I don't remember why I couldn't drink out of something. They couldn't get an IV into my left elbow because it was broken. So they did the right arm. They eventually got me onto a stretcher and they climbed down to the street where there were reporters waiting. A woman covered up my head so I wouldn't be caught on tape and be seen on tv by everyone this way. My head was all bloody and my hair must have been so tangled mess.

At the hospital my mom came rubbing healing oils on me as the nurses were cleaning up my head and hair. They had to cut my hair on the right side and it was all hurting me so bad. They cut off my pants and eased my shirt off of my arms. A soft neck thing was put around my neck and there was so many things going on at one time I was confused and just wanted to go to sleep. They finally made my mom leave. That was the only love my mom had ever showed me but I was tired.......