He said he needed someone to talk to and proceeded to spin an intricate web of pain he'd been living in for a while

His words bled a life led in constant dread

His story told me how he couldn't be:

Complete, only a deadbeat in the back seat

Of a car he was supposed to be driving

Speeding towards some destination but never arriving

He needed to take control of the steering wheel

But didn't feel like he could deal

With the responsibility of his own happy

The life he was living had become so crappy

That there was no longer solace in the things he usually enjoyed

He could no longer hide in the innocence of his inner boy

He was lost, he had been trying to go back and find himself along the road

But the fee was expensive and he couldn't afford the cost

What now? He asked, me what now?

I had no answer. I barely even knew him

I'd noticed the darkness in his sad eyes and tried to lighten them with a smile

I'd noticed him sitting all alone in his self exile

But I didn't really know him

I could hear his desperate breaths on the other end of the line

As he waited for my words to cast him a lifeline

He expected from my lips valuable goldmines

To subtract his pain and add some hope like a therapist Einstein

I racked my brain for the words to to make his hurt go away

But the only suggestion I could find was for him to talk to someone more qualified in the irradication of pain

My heart beat kept time to his breathing as he gathered himself and tried again

His voice was softer this time as he screamed his desperation

His words were calm agitation

I could hear every tear rolling down his cheek

As his heart poured out from behind his teeth

The prevalent thing his words said

Was, "I can't any more, I want to be dead"

Even though he didn't say it fully,

This boy was being decimated by the onslaught of the bully

No one was born to be a human punching bag

Yet some one decided to change the description on the manufacturer's tag

When he was done,I asked him why he had called me and he said it was my smile

He said it was the only kindness he'd received in a while

There was none at school and definitely none at home

He was literally all alone

And now he's my friend

His call to me helped him avoid a bitter end

I had convinced him to hold on a bit longer

And daily he became a bit stronger

He reached out and I didn't turn him away

But there are many similar stories that don't end this way

Because of the unwillingness to answer the phone

The unwillingness to leave one's comfort zone

The unwillingness to stand up and help the victim

Doing nothing includes you in the conviction

It's actually pretty cool what a simple smile can do

It can save a life. Try it. I dare you.