The Lost Boy

On March 5, 1973, when David is twelve years old, his teachers notify the police that David is being abused at home. The police take David out of school, inform his parents that he will not be coming home, and take him to the hospital for a medical examination. The nurses and doctor are shocked by David’s injuries and state of malnutrition after years of abuse. After leaving the hospital, the policeman takes David to his first foster home, which is run by a woman whom the kids call Aunt Mary. After eating dinner and meeting the other kids, David becomes very rambunctious and knocks over a lamp. Aunt Mary starts to scold him, but when she sees how David starts to cower and shake, she stops and reassures him that he is safe now. That night, David has a nightmare in which he is being chased by his mother, who is holding a knife and screaming, “I will never let you go. Never!” (45).

The next morning, a social worker named Ms. Gold comes to meet with David to learn more about his past. During their sessions together, Ms. Gold gradually wins his affection and trust. When David learns that she is gathering information to build a court case against his mother, however, he panics and begs her not to let his mother find out what he has said about her. As the day of the trial approaches, David’s mother comes to Aunt Mary’s house with his younger brothers to bring him clothes to wear to court. His mother warns Aunt Mary that he is violent and may try to hurt the other children. Aunt Mary defends David, but when the phone rings, she leaves David alone with his mother. As he tries to follow Aunt Mary, David’s mother grabs his arm and whispers to him, “I’ll get you back! You hear me? I’ll get you back!” (53). The visit from his mother scares David into retracting the statements that he previously made to Ms. Gold. He tries to tell Ms. Gold that his mother never mistreated him and that he acted out because he was jealous of the attention his younger brothers got. Ms. Gold is upset that David now wants to deny the abuse and explains that retracting the statements could cause him to be sent back to his mother. David tells her that his mother will be do anything to get him back and that he is too scared to go against her. When she tries to comfort her, he tells her to leave him alone, and she leaves Aunt Mary’s house crying. David feels bad for making Ms. Gold cry but remains convinced that he cannot go against his mother.

Two days later, Ms. Gold takes David to the county courthouse for the judge to rule on whether he should be sent back to live with his family or made a “permanent ward of the court” (63). Before they go in, Ms. Gold tells David that what his mother did to him was very wrong and that whether he chooses to speak out against her in court will be a decision that will affect him for the rest of his life. She tells David that she loves him. David nods and starts to cry, but deep down he believes he is going to betray Ms. Gold by refusing to testify against his mother. In the courtroom, he sees his mother and decides to write her a note apologizing for telling “the secret” and hurting “the Family” (66-7). When he gives his mother the note, she tears it in half. When the judge calls the case, Ms. Gold tells the court that the county recommends David be made a ward of the court based on medical examinations, interviews with his teachers, and her own reports. When David’s mother is asked to make a statement, she tells the court she has nothing to say. The judge then asks David whether he would like to be made a ward of the court or return home with his mother. Although he had planned to say that he had lied about the abuse, he finally says to the judge, “You sir! I want to live with you!” (72). The judge rules that David should be made a ward of the court until his eighteenth birthday, and Ms. Gold takes him to say goodbye to his mother. To David’s surprise, his mother cries and tells him she will miss him. She takes him to her car to give him his clothes and tells him to be a good boy and “have a happy life” (75). Although he is relieved by the judge’s ruling, David is suddenly filled with sadness at the prospect of being separated from his mother and the rest of his family forever.