In the final scene of chapter 24, Karen gets a powerful insight into her purpose in life. After helping her Mama cook and clean up after dinner, thirteen-year-old Karen visits her spiritual mentor and begins to understand how far-reaching the consequences of her friendship with Tammy will be.
The sun had long set when Karen turned on her flashlight and set out for the stables. She was sleepy, but she needed to hear what Pegasus would say about her conversation with Tammy. He was dozing in his stall when she arrived.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said, “but I need your advice. I ate lunch with Tammy, today, and she told me about what happened in her clinic. It was worse than what happened to me.”
She told him the details of how the experts tried to force Tammy to walk, of how her mother had cried before rescuing her from the eval, of how her father had abandoned the family because of her disabilities, of how her mother provided total care for her all by herself.
“Karen, you made a true friend in Tammy. She will be like a sister to you. You have had your Mama with you all your life because you were brave enough to live despite the shot and the coma. Last year, Joshua and I came into your life, when you found the courage to walk to the carousel and ride me. Now, you have been brave enough to share your problems with Tammy, and she has shared hers with you. She is your true friend. You now know that you are not alone in life. You are not a freak or a misfit. Other children have the same problems you do, but even worse. Life is difficult for you, but you and Tammy will change the world. You live in a world of people who think they are normal and don’t want to associate with anyone they label disabled, but you are going to change that. You are going to change their attitude and overthrow the rule of the evil experts. You are going to make this world a safe place for everyone with a disability.”
Original text ©2022 by Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved.
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