His name was Thomas. He didn’t know what his name was. No one knew what his name was. His name was Thomas. We sometimes called him John. We usually called him Ben. Nobody called him Thomas. No one knew. His name was Thomas.

 

We found him on a Thursday. He was small and young. He was crying. Mother took him home. Father didn’t like it. We called him John. He sometimes cried. He often laughed. He was very fond of laughing. He laughed quite often. Father came around. They signed the papers on a Monday. Everyone smiled. We named him Ben. His name was Thomas.

 

He never talked. He never whistled, or sang, or told stories. He never learned, or did puzzles, or went to school. He never played tennis, or drank coffee, or talked to girls. Mother and father loved him anyway. He always smiled. He sometimes cried. He often laughed. He was very fond of laughing. He laughed quite often.

 

The woman came on a Tuesday. She wanted to see Thomas. We said his name was Ben. His name was Thomas. She saw how Ben was. She didn’t ask questions. She never came again. Mother cried. Father held her. Ben smiled. I smiled. Ben laughed. His name was Ben.

 

 

Matthew Young is a Columbus, Ohio native who will earn a BA in Creative Writing and BS in Neuropathology from The Ohio StateUniversity in May 2010.