I Found Michael!

Michael Today

 

We arrived at the shelter’s address, and I was flabbergasted. The shelter consisted of several large apartment buildings, clean and well-kept, with lawns and sidewalks. In the main building, a small office awaited us, and the man in the office knew right away who we were and whom we wanted to see. He told us which building my brother lived in and his apartment number, and we set off.

When we knocked at his door, an older man opened the door. He turned out to be Michael’s roommate. He showed us Michael’s room, and told us we could wait there. Michael had just stepped out and would be right back. We didn’t feel good about that, and left again, hoping to find Michael outside. I walked back toward the office, and when I turned around to call to my husband, I saw a man come up the walkway. The way he looked and walked reminded me strongly of my father, and I knew I finally had found my little brother.

“Michael,” I said, ran up to him and hugged him.

“You’ve grown heavier,” Michael said. He stood back and looked at me.

I introduced my husband, and Michael took us up to his apartment. He showed us the kitchen and invited us to sit. He’d bought a Christmas Stollen especially for us, and offered to make us hot chocolate to go with it.

As we sat and ate, I showed Michael the pictures. He glances at them and asked me how many nieces and nephew he had. We counted them and came up with 15, 6 of them in the United States. Michael took a piece of paper and a pen and carefully wrote it all down. I had him write down my address in Germany and in America, too.

“I have lots to do here,” Michael said. “But I might write you.”

He told us about the community he lived with, that he went to counseling twice a week, and had taken Chinese language lessons for about eight years. “All the way from beginner to advanced,” he proudly told us.

He went downtown to the inner city two or three times a week. “With my bike, because I don’t have a car,” he said. He’d walk around and look at the people and the shops. “I get €10.00 a day,” he said. “It adds up if you don’t have much you want to buy.”

“What would you like to have for Christmas?” I asked.

“Nothing, really. I have everything I need right here.”

I offered a nice sweater, and he said he already had enough to wear.

We spent a pleasant hour, and then I could tell Michael started to worry a bit. So we took some pictures. We assured him we would write and made sure we had the right address. I told him I’d see him again before returning to the States, and we left.