James was a normal boy at eight years old. He had a happy time at home with his parents. His parents were the coolest people in the world and they taught him many fun things, like how to ride a bike and how to do a bunch of tricks with a yo-yo. He loved his family.

Life was good until he learned a new word the hard way. That word was "divorce", and he didn't like it. One day his mother packed her bags and left very quickly. James did not have much time to say goodbye to her. He wished it could have gone a little more slowly. James now remembered the times when his parents would argue inside of their room.

James hardly came out of the room that day. He felt so angry at his parents that he didn't want to talk to them. The very thought of the family being split apart was alien and dreadful, and he wanted to run away from it. Life as he knew it had literally ended. The rest of his

The next day didn't feel normal. He was shaken awake, but not by his mother. He opened up his eyes and, to his disappointment, saw his father instead. His father tried to act nicely, as if everything good, and didn't mention anything about what had happened the day before. Yet, James was still uncomfortable with him. He packed his backpack by himself and his father drove him to the bus stop for his first day of school. He tried to tell jokes while they waited with the other students for the bus to come, but they were not the same kind of jokes his mother had told him in this same situation.

When the bus came, James quickly got on, eager to get away from his father, away from the strange and frightening new family life he now had. He was scared and sad. When he sat down in his seat, he let his breath flow out. He felt heavy and yet empty. Away from home, he now had time to feel depressed.

His friend Beck sat next to him. She was a cool teenager who didn't mind hanging out with a kid like him.

"Hi, James, how are you doing?" she said cheerfully.

James didn't answer right away. "I'm okay," he said, silently. He really didn't want to talk about his parent's divorce. He was embarrassed to think of it.

Beck seemed concerned for him. For the rest of the ride, she talked to him, and he tried to talk back, trying to make the day seem as normal as possible.

Most of school was normal too, accept that James felt a little weird throughout the day. At lunch he somehow didn't feel like he could fit in. As he ate, he thought about his mother. He thought of all the times, and he missed her dearly. He wondered why his parents split up so suddenly. Was it his fault? Had they disagreed on how to raise him? He knew they had their disagreements. He felt a little guilty, and also victimized at the same time. Why did this have to happen to him?

When it came for school to end, he got onto the bus. Beck sat next to him again.

"Did you learn anything new today?" she asked him.

"Yes," said James. "Today I think I learned more than ever before."

"That's good. Are you enjoying school?"

"Yes, it's so great I wish I didn't have to go back to dad's house, but it's not that great."

When James got home, he barely talked to dad. He felt angry at him. Maybe if he showed how bad he felt, his parents would regret splitting up and quickly get back together again. Did things work that way?

The next day was equally awkward, from the moment he woke up to his wait for the bus. His conversation with Beck on the bus seemed emptier than usual, and they didn't talk about happy stuff as much.

After lunch, something odd happened. He was going to go out for recess when he saw Beck in the hallways. heading towards the lunch room. That wasn't right, because she went to high school, which was in a different building on the other side of town. She spotted him, smiled, waved, and came straight to him. James was surprised but pleased to see her, because she was nice and it was good that he could, for once, meet her at a time other than on the bus.

"Hello James," she said to him. "I got permission to leave my school and come here. The principal understood. Come, let us go to recess with the rest of the kids."

They went outside. Beck took him to a side of the school on the top of a slight slope where they could look at the entire playground. A lot of kids noticed her because she was a teenager.

"I thought we needed to talk," Beck told him. "You've been acting differently and you once said you were going home to your father, not your parents. Did your parents get divorced?"

James cried in response.

"James, my parents are divorced too. I understand how you feel. I want to tell you that everything is going to be okay. You will get the chance to meet your mother again, and you can see me every day if you want to talk about it. I can't be your new family, but you will still always have me as a friend. We all feel pain, we all feel sorrow, but there are still blessings in your life that God has given you so that you can carry on. I'll be your friend, and I'll always love you. When my parents got a divorce, I wanted to run away from the problem. I then found out that you can never run away from the badness of divorce, but my friends made me stronger. I also figured out that I wasn't responsible for my parent's divorce. They had simply fallen out of love with each other. I also believe, James, that nothing has been you fault either."

James hugged her. He was done crying, and now he felt better now that she had talked to him.

"Thanks," he whispered. Then the bell rang and everybody was lining up to go inside.

"You'd better go. I will see you on the bus," Beck told him.

After school, on the bus, James could have a meaningful conversation with Beck again, unlike yesterday. At home, he wasn't afraid to talk to his father about the divorce, to ask him about his mother. His father had responded immediately by handing him a letter from her. The envelope was sealed, so he knew that dad didn't read it beforehand. James went to his room and read it.

"Dear James,

It is my regret that you had to go through this. Neither your dad nor I wanted to traumatize you, but it was unfortunate that things might have been worse had we stayed together. I won't see you in a while, but I will miss you very much.

You will perhaps have trouble talking to people, especially your father. Don't be afraid to talk to him. I also know your friend Beck's mother, and she is also divorced. I want you to know that you can talk to her about how you feel, and that she will listen and understand. Don't feel guilty in being open about the problem with another person. It's perfectly healthy.

James, I still love you. I will always love you. Your father loves you and God loves you. Always remember that.

Love,

Mom"

James put down the letter. He was feeling better now. He left the house and bathed in the bright sun. His future again looked bright.