The Works of Brynne Marin

One Step by Brynne Mittleider A step. That was all it took. One single step and I would fill the empty hole in my heart carved away ten years ago. I would feel the sensation of an evenness, a balance not achieved for a decade. For ten years I have known the absence of flesh beneath my left knee, known yet never really accepted the fact. How could I? Imagine you are just a weak, short little boy whose life ambition is to serve your country. That goal is all you’ve set in your bullied Brooklyn background. You’ve applied for the military five times, each time rejected for your meek and sickly appearance. After years of trying, you finally get in. Imagine your joy, your feeling of finally achieving what you knew was your destiny since the age of seven! Imagine you, a tiny boy from New York, fighting alongside America’s greatest heroes! But what I bet you can’t imagine is how my achievement was crushed, smashed to a pulp, and seemingly spat into the dumpster...