The Final Piece in the Puzzle We Call Life

Kayleigh Butler—First Prize, Glimmerglass Festival Youth Writing Competition
Grade 11, Cooperstown Central School

How can one soul be both the light and darkness in my parents’ and my lives?

Born different, divergent, atypical, and little did I know his birth shed unimaginable change on my family.

Behind the walls of our rainbow-colored house with math scratched across every window pane lie secrets, sorrows, and silent cries for help.

Love and acceptance glaze the inner edge of reality while difficulty lies above, below, and everywhere in between.

The brain holds truth and knowledge a normal being would never even begin to comprehend.

What the world sees is a destructive and disruptive immature boy, but what I see is the smartest yet most misunderstood individual I have ever met.

All he has ever wanted to be was the one to discover the final puzzle piece.