“When I was seventeen I had my first kid. The mother was addicted to drugs. I was in a tough situation. I was raising the child on my own. And I received an invitation to help rob a truck. I thought: ‘I’ll just do this today, and then it will be over.’ I was the lookout. The police caught us while we were running away. Prison is a place that’s impossible to explain. I was there for 2.5 years before I even had a trial. I saw a guy being stabbed. I saw a guy slit his ...own throat with a razor. During the night I used to sit by the window, and look at the stars, and think: ‘Not even an animal likes to stay in a cage.’ All my friends forgot about me. Only my mother visited. I’ll never go back there. Right now I’m in a tough situation again. I have no job. But people at the church help me with food. And I sit here and help people park their cars. It’s only a few pennies, but I’d rather do this than steal from someone else who needs the money.”

“We go to the same school. I asked her out three months ago. I took her to a movie because it seemed casual, and I didn’t think she’d be expecting anything. When we left the theater, I handed her a poem that told the story of our friendship, including our trip to the movie. But the last line of the poem just said: ‘Look at me.’ When she looked up, I recited four more lines:

‘In addition to this,
we are such good friends.
Will you take one more step,...
and be my girlfriend?’”

“I was raised in a very strict family. My mom was like a sergeant. I married way too young. I had no life experience. I was married for twenty-five years and my late husband never let me go anywhere by myself. When he died, I had no idea how to live on my own. For fourteen years I’ve been a widow. And I’ve barely left the house. Recently I met this man on the Internet. We kept exchanging pictures. We kept talking on the phone. But I was too scared to meet. He told... me: ‘Put your head up high! You are the boss of your life!’ So today I finally agreed to meet. I tried on five different outfits this morning. After I left the house, I went back once more to change my shoes. I was trembling the whole way on the bus. My stomach felt sick. When I finally saw him, it felt like there was a samba school in my heart. I was sweating. The first thing he did was get me some water. Now we’ve spent the whole day together. I feel so relaxed. I feel free. I feel like we’ve known each other for our entire lives.”

“I’ve been working as an airline mechanic since a young age. I’m really good at it. I always pick up extra shifts. And it’s good because it’s allowed me to mature and grow. But since I work so much, it’s easy for people to think that things are going well for me. And it’s also been easy for me not to think about things. Now I’m twenty-two and I feel completely lost. I feel like I haven’t spent any time thinking about myself. I’m not good at forming relationships or ta...lking to people. I've never wanted to seem weak because nobody likes people who are sad all the time. So I’ve become a closed-off person. Yesterday we picked groups for a class project, and nobody wanted to be in my group because I work so much. I don’t go to movies. I never even come to the park. This is the first time that I’ve been here. I don’t know-- I just feel so lost right now. I’m searching for something but I don’t know what it is.”

“When I tried to hug her, she’d tell me it was too hot for hugs. So I learned to stop trying. We never had conversations. I thought it was normal. It was all I knew. I always thought the relationship between a mother and a child was about giving and receiving orders. But when I was ten years old, I went to a friend’s house to do a school project. At first I remember feeling sorry for him. His family was so poor. There was almost nothing in the house. But when we wal...ked inside, his mom gave him such a big hug. And she was so happy to see him. And that was the saddest moment of my life. Because I never knew that was something you could have. My mom still doesn’t hug me. But I think we’re on the way to that. I had an asthma attack recently, and I felt so weak, and she told me I could lay my head in her lap. I can’t explain how special that made me feel.”

“The one I loved most was my last son. My other children were even jealous of our attachment. When he was very young, he would hang out the window and call to me as I left for the office. And when I arrived, I would find his toys in my briefcase. We remained close as he grew older. He was the one who always called me. He was always checking on me. He was always taking me to lunch. But then one day I went to the bank, and a lot of my money was missing. He had been ste...aling from me. He was falsifying my signature. When I confronted him, he begged on his knees for forgiveness. Then I started getting phone calls. He owed money to people who were threatening to kill him. I went into the slums to find the loan sharks and pay off his debts. I paid them all, with interest. I used to wear nice clothes. I used to have a nice apartment. Now I’m left with nothing but my pension. And my credit is ruined. I sold all my belongings and I’m hiding from him. When I go to sleep at night, I wonder how he is doing. I wonder if he is safe. But I can’t see him. Because if I see him, I will help him again.”