Stephen is a difficult and different child. When he is born his parents tell him that he is their first child of many. As he gets older his parents and Stephen begin to realize that he is not like other kids. He has an extraordinary amount of energy that keeps him in trouble at school to a point that his father had to quit his job to homeschool him. His father refused for his son to be labeled but taking care of Stephen was more than a full time job. After Stephen’s father suffers a stroke, his mother gets Stephen medicated for his extreme ADHD. It changes him, inside and out. He is able to attend school and learn but the medication makes Stephen a zombie with no feelings other than anger and fear. Stephen’s violence leads him to the ledge of his bedroom window and in a flash he experiences the freedom of flight. All Stephen wants is for his mind to stop- just stop. So that he can sleep and be normal. The ledge lands him in a hospital where he realizes this is the best place for him, but the idea of another flight probes his mind daily.
Male- To Fly
- (Stephen stands in front of the audience looking at his wrists. It is almost a fascination.) I never wake up in the morning and wonder how I got here. I know exactly how I got here and I know what I did to get me here and I honestly don't know if I ever want to leave. (Smiles) Sometimes it's just safer to be away. Away from your family and your friends away from all of the drama and the opinions and the things that got you to where you are. Especially when you realize that where you are is not a place that you really want to be, there's definitely a little security in a place like this. (He closes his eyes almost as if he is listening to the person inside of him.) Do you have any idea how powerful the mind is? I read an article once that a woman was able to lactate, she was able to actually create milk in her body because that is how much she had convinced herself that she was pregnant when she really wasn't. There is a name for that illness that she has but I don't know what it is. I’ve become kind of an Encyclopedia when it comes to different disorders, sicknesses, illnesses; this kid isn't crazy he's just a different type of something. The mind is so powerful.