When I was younger we didn’t live in the best area, sometimes we heard gunshots and there was a lot of gang related things around us. We didn’t go outside a lot and if we did it wasn’t just me and my brother going outside. My mom always wanted to go with us to make sure we were safe. When we were inside we almost always made sure the door was locked; especially when my dad wasn’t home.

One day we had just gotten home from church, and my brother was sick so my mom was carrying him. Her arms were full so she couldn’t lock the door. Later that day, right after dinner, my mom and I were sitting on the floor coloring. When suddenly we heard a frightening bang and doors slamming. My family got quite to listen for any other noises but we didn’t hear any so we just continued coloring. Soon after we heard footsteps on our porch. My mom lunged toward the door quickly to lock it, but unfortunately she wasn’t quick enough. About 5 men came barging through the door wearing all black baggy clothes. I laid my face in my coloring book and stayed still. “Get upstairs!” The man demanded. My brother and I ran up-stairs with my mom and sat in the corner together. The men came upstairs and put a gun to my mom’s head and made her go downstairs. I thought she was going to die.

Waiting for my mom to come back upstairs was probably the worse part. Not knowing if she would come back or not. We probably waited for a half an hour until my mom came back but it felt like 2 hours. Later that night my mom came running up the stairs. I remember how relieved I was; my brother and I ran and hugged her. She told us the men were gone and we had to leave. We quickly drove to my aunt's house. The cops never found who the people were and they never got caught. In the end I learned a valuable lesson. Never take your family for granted because you never know when something bad could happen.