Testimony: Keanu and Chris

Genesis: Chapter 1

My name is Keanu. Traditionally a boy's name, Hawaiian for "the breeze". We'll before my mother died, she took a trip to Hawaii. From her letters, it seems as if she didn't want to leave. When she came back to Belize, my "dad" got her pregnant. My grandmother tells me that the name Keanu has been stuck in her mind since the trip, because she loved the feeling of the breeze in her long dark curls and face. She wanted that same breeze to go through me, whether I turned out to be a boy or a girl.

I am now 17, and took after my mother a lot. I may not have her light skin, but my skin is just a bit darker, more like a caramel color. Just a bit sun kissed. I have her freckles that covers my face horizontally, covering my button shaped nose and some parts of my cheeks. Of course I have that accent. Somewhat like a Trinidadian, I don't know how to explain it but its there.Our eyes are the same, being that we both have this genetic disorder, Heterochromia. One is hazel and the other is hazel and green. I don't really enjoy that feature, I feel like it makes me weirder than I already am. My grandma says my body comes from my dad's side of the family. Thicker on the bottom half.. smaller at the top. I don't like to acknowledge that feature either. It gets attention that I don't want, mainly attention from men, boys.. but I try to hide my discomfort.

Anyway, today is the day. The day I move from Belize to sunny Los Angeles, California . Of course I'm going to miss my homeland. I mean, who wouldn't? The beautiful crystal clear waters, the amazing food. But my homeland is also a breeding ground full of hate, and full of hurt. Since I was 7 I endured sexual abuse from my father. No one knows, but that is the reason I am leaving. 10 years is a long time, too long to filled with no happiness. I'm ready to know what that feels like, how it feels to be alone and happy.

It is now 2:00 in the afternoon, and my dad is somewhere getting drunk, probably at one of those dancing clubs. That's all he does. Get drunk all day and come home around 7 when its dark. My grandmother went to the city, Belize city, for "her business" as she puts it, so it is a perfect opportunity for me to leave without anyone knowing. I finished folding the rest of my clothes and put them in my Gucci backpack. My uncle got me this when he came back from LA, and when he finished telling me all about it, I knew that's where I had to go. I grabbed my phone, charger, and small black teddy bear with its gold chain. Picking up my two black and gold suitcases I went for the door. I took one last look.

I'm really about to be leaving the home I've grew up in. Out on my own. Please God, please let this turn out right.