Diamond Boy

By Savann T. Mey

Diamond Boy is a unique story of an ordinary child who applies his fathers teachings to help him overcome and move around tight and extraordinary situations.

His father was gone most of his growing-up life, and his stepmothers health was deteriorating .

Diamond, being the oldest son, takes it upon his shoulder the burden of keeping his broken siblings together, doing all that he can to help out at home.

Away from home, pressure from peers, bullies, trouble-makers and gangsters alike.

Diamond used his fathers old wisdom and knowledge to get out of any predicament and to prepare himself to reach for the sky with the dream that his father had taught him to dream.

Working hard with only one purpose in mind, lifes fix, he never lost sight of his vision, and at the end, Diamond succeeded while all his other schoolmates lives take different coursesfrom straight As and good girls turned bad to working the streets to support their habits and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 26, 2008
• ISBN: 9781469100876

Book preview

Chapter 1

LIKE ANY WAR throughout history, there’s always destruction, loss of belongings, and loss of lives. So the result of the war in Cambodia is no different from any other. It happened that Tommy Ok’s parents were caught up in the whirlwind of chaos, not knowing what to do or where to go. They both happened to step on and got blown away by a land mine as they were trying to escape death, fleeing the country and from the Khmer Rouge, seeking refuge of health and safety elsewhere that they didn’t find. Tommy Ok was only two years of age when he arrived at the orphan camp. He was adopted by the Bellz family who resided in Lawton, a little town about two hours’ drive from Oklahoma, USA. It was the Bellz’s only child, Kimberly Tia Bellz, who at the time was a member of the MASK Unit Rescue Team in Cambodia, during the Khmer war, who found the undersize Tommy Ok. He was extra thin and real fragile lying against the tree trunk and covered with blood from his wound, a result of an AK-47 as he tried to run from the camp. Kimberly personally cared for him after he was taken to a nearby hospital on the border of Thailand by helicopter. After he was well, Tommy Ok had to go through the sponsoring process. Thailand and then the Philippine Island. Having to learn the English language before entering the States. Arriving at LAX at the age of 18. From there to San Francisco for a lodge and caught another small plane to Lawton to meet and live with the Bellz family. Kimberly went back to work as a MASK agent, and her helicopter crashed. That made headline news across the world. This sad news got Tommy heartbroken because she was his fiancee. Father Bell was the priest of the St. Lucy Church. The same Catholic school that Tommy attended till he was 21 years old, when Father Bell died. Out of the shadow of love and care that he’d been showered with, Tommy made his way out west heading to California and settling in a small town (Modesto) without parental consent. He had made more mistake than most like him without a single family. He felt the need to be a part of something or someone that he was missing in his life. So he began to search and found the comfort in a gang. He joined and started to do stupid things one after another to try to fit in, just to be a part of the group, doing things that were against his better judgment. Tommy’s troubled living led him from county jail to state and federal prison. Even the INS was trying to deport him back to Cambodia. Luckily he got sponsor to the United States when he was under political assistance, or else the immigration judge would have ordered deportation with his long rap sheet. In 1994 Tommy ran into his long-lost love, Sara Long, the woman that he fell in love with when he got to Modesto. Even though Sara Long was older and had kids, Tommy loved her enough to accept Elisabeth as his own. As things didn’t work out in love, life, relationship, and a lot of other things, whatever Sara brought Tommy will take, accepting Johnathan as his own child, but Tommy’s routine was too much for Sara Long to take, so she took the easy way out and kicked Tommy out to the curb till he get his act together, which never happened as he was into deep into the drugs. It only brought and added a lot of hardship and hard time to his already complicated lifestyle. Running from the law in Modesto, Tommy convinced Sara Long to think like a crook as he made the authority out to be the bad guy.

Together with Sara Long, they both planned to escape and ditch the authority to Lowell, Massachusetts, where Sara Long’s sister lived. It was a four days and four nights bus ride across the United States. Tommy and Sara finally arrived at Lowell Greyhound station. After the journey through Utah, Chicago, and Cleveland, they even got to see the Niagara Falls in Buffalo, New York. They were met by Sara Long’s sister, her husband, and her niece. They all were regular citizens who worked and paid their tax. Happy to see her sister, Chanda, Sara Long’s sister, moved quickly to help Tommy Ok and Sara Long with the lugage, telling her husband, Map, to help and rush home without any knowledge that Tommy Ok was on the run and thought that Sara Long and Tommy Ok were two young lovers who were looking for a better opportunity to start a life and family. Tommy Ok and Sara Long took up a job together at a plastic factory where Tommy worked under a fabricated name. The pay wasn’t all that great, but it’s worth the freedom. Then one morning of December, as the foreman was doing the routes for a car pool to pick up all the workers at the same factory, Sammy’s mother was running late and was in such a hurry that she forgot her lunch pail. As she was rushing to get out of the cold and into the car-pool van, Sammy was at the door holding the lunch box up and waved at the driver to stop so she could give her mother her lunch. That’s the first time Tommy Ok set eyes on Sammy, but he thought nothing of it. Till when he and Sammy’s brother were planning to go into business together, doing a used car dealer, that’s when Tommy started to hide things from Sara Long and started to have his mail send to him at Sammy’s address.

Only God and Sammy knew how she felt for Tommy Ok; at the time, her age and Sara Long were in her way, but inside her heart, Sammy was saying to herself, One day Tommy Ok will be mine. I’m gonna marry him, he’s gonna be my husband, and I’m gonna be his wife through not only poor or riches, sickness and health, but heaven and hell for all eternity. True to her word, after Tommy’s business plan didn’t work out, and he got kicked out from Sara Long sister’s house, Tommy and Sara got into an argument that was caused by frustration and pressure from Tommy’s failure. So they both decided to move back to Modesto, leaving Sammy with a little hope in what she had in having Tommy to be a part of her life; but true to her words, two years after, Sammy talked her mother to agree to move to Modesto, California. Sammy never revealed the hidden reason why she wanted to move, but as a mother, Sammy’s mom knew her reason, and she did not want to be away from her only daughter because she knew that if she didn’t agree, Sammy would leave anyway, and Sammy’s mother was not gonna let that happen; losing her husband was hard enough. So together, mother and daughter moved to Modesto, leaving the brother map with his own family.

Chapter 2

ON THE YEAR 1988, exactly a month after Sammy’s eighteenth birthday, like she had been planning it out for over the course of two years, Sammy was now close to Tommy, at least that’s what she thought. Modesto was not all that big of a town, but Tommy was nowhere to be found. Sammy looked for him everywhere, and the answer was in her face all along, only if she knew that Tommy Ok was using an alias; and when she finally figured it out, Tommy was already out of prison for violating his parole. Since Tommy and Sara Long’s relationship had been on shaky ground after they were reunited, it didn’t take much for Tommy to see how much Sammy loved him with what she had done coming all the way from across the county just to be with him. Instanlly he fell in love. He loved Sammy as much as Sammy loved him. Together they were gonna be happy, which they were. Sammy gave birth to a daughter; they named her Cryxtal because she was supposed to be Sammy’s guide that led her to Tommy Ok. Then Sammy conceived again and gave birth to a son. Sammy said, This is the son that will bring riches to my life, not materially but emotionally. So she named him Diamond. Diamond was only four months old when Tommy’s drug problem caught up with him and caught a five-year sentence behind RSP and GTA charges. Six months after when Cryxtal was almost two, Sammy had her cousin watch Cryxtal and Diamond as she and her mother were going to Wal-Mart to buy some babies’ stuff. On the way to the store, on the freeway, as Sammy’s mother tried to break on the exit, something was wrong. The break was not working, and because of this failure, it claimed both of their lives as they hit the center pole that held up the bridge. On hearing the news in prison, Tommy was sad and worried sick about young Cryxtal and Diamond. From the crack to the slam shut of his eyes, Tommy’s mind turned to his helpless children. He was mad at himself for letting them down when they needed him most, and there was nothing that he could do about it. It was really tough for the feeling and emotion, but Tommy still had hope, and that hope was Sara Long. For three and a half years Tommy involved himself in different types of self-help programs that could help him to be a better person and a father to his children, taking parenting course; and with it, it did him a lot of good as he used what he learned to have a better communication and understanding, which kept the family together even after Tommy wasn’t around and while their mother’s health was not doing so good.

Days seemed to last forever for Tommy, and every night he prayed that everything was well with the children, hoping somebody was looking over them till he got out. With the help of those inmates who had similar problems, he had people to talk to, and it kept him busy til the time came for Tommy to return back to his family; it was pretty quick, but it went with everything else. Once something was done and over with, it always seemed to be faster than while you were still doing it or going through it. However, it was the best thing that happened for Tommy that he got released on time. It just happened that he didn’t get a chance to go home to his children. Instead the INS picked him up and made him do another extra three and a half months before the system finally let him free to go home not to Cambodia but here to Modesto to his family.

Chapter 3

LIKE GOD KNEW what Tommy was going through, he brought Sara Long back into his life to help him ease the pain, lift up his spirit, and lighten the agony that was on his soul as he was about to lose control. A letter came to Tommy from Sara Long. It was the best news that Tommy ever received. Dear Tommy Ok. I don’t appreciate what you have done to me, and our children, leaving us for that Sammy girl of yours, thinking that she can love you better. Well, I’m gonna prove you wrong because my love for you from the beginning was real, and it is still going strong. Even though we have our different, you shouldn’t run away from problems like the way you did. I have all the reason to be mad at you, but what am I to get by turning on you? That would only bring me down to my knees from where I’m standing to be at your level. So I made up my mind and decided to get my hands dirty with what you have asked of me. Now don’t you ever take advantage of us ever again. I will go to the courthouse and do my best to have full custody of Diamond and Cryxtal. (But the truth was Sara Long had already done that; she was saying this so that Tommy would think about things and the situation that he was in.) She continued. See, you should have listened to me, all this wouldn’t have happened. I still love you though; no matter what you will always be the one, till the end of time you and I. Remember that, and grow up, stop your childish things. I have enough kids. Take care of yourself, and if you need anything, write or call, oh yeah! You need to call. All your children wanted to hear your voice. Enjoy the picture, stay out of trouble, and sleep tight. We’ll be thinking of you, so dream of us, especially me. Love you. Here, a good night kiss. Your wife, Sara Long. After finishing the letter, tears of joy, relief, and disappointment in himself mixed in Tommy’s eyes; and it flowed down his cheek like a waterfall that he had been chasing. Tommy quickly responded back and gave Sara Long his appreciation for what she was willing to do for him. On the next letter from her, just like a mother that Tommy never had, Sara Long told him to start thinking of what he’s gonna be doing when he get out. With the urging of Sara Long, and the desire to be a father, and live up to his responibilities as a father and to be the best one that he could possibly be, Tommy Ok started to see that in order for him to help his children, he had to be able to help himself and understand his children. It happened in the prison that he was in. They offered self-help and recovery course and classes that helped inmates prepare themselves to return to society, so every day, one class after another from GCA (Criminal and Gang Anonymous) to Bible course, self-conflicts, parenting, bridging program designed to help people better communicate, and completing his landscaping vocational as a backup plan just in case his writing career failed him. He’ll have something to fall back on. On his free time, on his own. Tommy Ok picked up on real estate and by the time he got out. He had four books completely written on how to buy and sell house. With his janitorial and landscaping skills, it helped Tommy in fast becoming a millionaire in the first year alone that he got released. So with that, financially secured, Tommy had all the time to spend with his children, to make up for his lost time or should it be Trying to catch up to time because time cannot be made up. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and it waits for no one.

Chapter 4

DIAMOND WAS THREE and a half; Cryxtal was five; Johnathan, whose biological father was an African American, was two; Alexandria was eight; and Elisabeth, whose father was a caucasian man, was ten. All of them were in the age of learning. So Tommy took advantage of this and taught them the lesson of life and how to get along, since they’re mixed siblings. While Sara Long worked on the business that she had built with Tommy, Tommy spent time with the children and started out where he left off from prison through letters, phone calls, and visits. He put his communication skills to use. After gathering them around him, Tommy earned their trust. Beginning with Elisabeth, he said, "Elisabeth, I love you more than my own, for you are my first child. Alexandria, you are my renewed strength that helps me to grow.

"Cryxtal, you are the balls that show Daddy the right road to go. Diamond, you are my rich, my wealth, and my everything. You hold the key to my soul, and the course of responsibilities has to fall on your shoulders. You have to understand that you are the cornerstone, the foundation of your brother and sisters. So always do your best to make sure that what’s built on you wouldn’t fall, but in the event that you do, remember! There’s no falls, scratches, bruises, cuts, and broken bones that can’t be healed. It will only slow you down a little, and that’s the time to reach out to one another so that you could keep on doing what you believe in to make your dream come true. If you fall one thousand times, together get up 1,001 times, and that extra one will determine your success or failure. The mind is a terrible thing to waste, and it can take you where you want to go—from hearing voice when there’s no sound and seeing things that’s not there. Alexandria, your name fits who you are. You are the bravest of all your siblings. So you’re gonna have to use your strength to help your brothers and sisters to take the chance that they, by themselves, are afraid to take. Elisabeth, you are the eldest and wisest, so provide and hide nothing from your siblings; give them the knowledge and wisdom that they need.

"Cryxtal, you are the creative one. The responsibllities of recovery and getting your brothers and sisters back on track is in your hands; you are created so that you may point everyone the right path to go. Diamond, my son, you’re the combination of Elisabeth, Alexandria, Cryxtal, and Johnathan; but that doesn’t mean you know everything or any better than them because they are more versed in a particular area than you are. Be nobles in your actions and in dealing with one another. Set an example for your brother Johnathan to follow. You are his model, the one that he’ll look up to and try to grow up to be like. Give him that expectation to live up to, and be true to yourself always. Johnathan, you are the future. So all of you must join hands to help him become the individual that he is destined to be. Again, don’t ever, for a split second, let your pride get the best of you. Never think that you don’t need your brothers and sisters. There’s only one of you. So therefore, you cannot master everything by yourself. You might be strong, wise, and creative, but you’re still gonna need one another’s special skills and experiences as guides. If all of you listen to my instructions with care and hold on to it with your dear life, what I’m teaching you will take you there.

I’m far from a perfect father and had made more mistakes than most, but it’s with my experience that I have something to pass on to you so that you can move mountains. What Daddy is saying is help push one another up the hill so that in turn, one of you can reach down to pull the others over the top. Don’t go around. Don’t go around your path. Go straight through anything that is in front of you because if you go off course, you’re gonna get distracted and might even lose your way. Once that happens, it’s not easy to find your way back to the road that you once walked on. Avoid any shortcut, and don’t do anything the fast way. There is only one sure way, and that is the slow and patient way. This doesn’t mean you have to spend your time on the past and get stuck in it when it is leaving you no time to take care of the necessary steps in the present that can take you to your future.

Chapter 5

"MY CHILDREN, DON’T ever be afraid, and remember that