Pegasus1999

Dear Child : A Letter
Jessica Lathem
First Place , Prose
Fitzgerals High School

Dear Child,

I am writing you after all these years to try to bring to you some sort of logic concerning your life. I am in fact both your mother and your father. I understand this may come as a shock to you. In your eyes you were an orphan like any other. You are, though, very extraordinary. You, my dear, were born of one parent.

Allow me to explain: The world of genetics has made many advances. More than most people know. So they’ve cloned a sheep! Most would say this is amazing. I say bid deal! Scientists have been doing this for centuries. In fact, Elvis was cloned several times. This explains the many Elvis sightings. Elvis is nothing compared to you!

When I was in college, it was not unusual for students to participate in experiments and studies for extra money. I even took part in one. This experiment was YOU! It was called Project 1037-9H. I signed up for it so I could pay my electricity bill.

I can’t explain all the specifics of the proedure. I am not a scientist. I can, however, tell you what it was like for me. My part was small. I signed some papers (release forms, waivers, etc.). Then the doctors took a lock of my hair, scraped some dead cells from my arm, and swabbed the inside of my mouth to gather saliva. Their purpose for all of this was simply to obtain human cells, DNA. They also drew blood. I was finished and was paid for all my hard work. I think they gave me $80.

Months passed, and I began to forget about Project 1037-9H. I lived a normal life for almost a year and a half. All the while you, my dear, were being created. Made from what I had given the doctors. I had no idea what they were even doing with my DNA. You have a scar. From a kidney transplant. I have one too. Except mine is from a kidney extraction.

Listen: I found out about you when the doctor who was in charge of Project 1037-9H came up to me and asked me to follow him to his lab. I did as I was told. When we arrived at his lab, I was a child hooked up to many monitors. Wires were coming out of the poor thing from all angles. It was you. You were laying with a red ball.

"What’s wrong with that baby?" I asked.

"It needs a kidney or it will die," said the doctor.

"Is that why you brought me here?"

"Yes," said another doctor. "We knew you would be an exact match. You could save this child’s life"

"An exact match? How do you know?" I was so confused at this point.

"The baby is yours."

I think I must have fainted. The next thing I remember was waking up on a couch in the lab.

The doctors tried to explain everything, but it was all a lot of medical jargon I didn’t understand. All I knew was that you were mine and I had to save your life. I gave up a kidney. And once again my part was finished. I was paid for my hard work again. This time I think they gave me $150. I never saw you again.

Years passed, and when the doctors saw you were not going to die, they put you up for adoption. Threw you away like a used test tube. I’m sorry if the years have caused you pain. I never really grasped what I had done.

Yours truly,

Mom, Dad, whatever