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Ren frowns. “Yeah.” They sigh, shaking their head. “And yet I came back.”

“Why?” I ask quietly.

“My brother,” they say after a pause. The pain in their eyes and the fact that they’re here alone tells me a lot.

They change the subject. “Do you want to see about a phone?”

“Um, yeah. Which way is the dining car?” I say, feeling a little sick all the sudden.

Ren snorts. They must see my face fall because they reassure me.

“Hey, kiddo. Ren’s not going to send you off to the dining car by yourself. We’ll go together. Cell phone’s going to cost you, though.”

“I got it,” I reassure them. “But Ren, you don’t have to?—”

“I’ll come,” they assure me. “I want to help. Call it paying it forward if you need to. If my brother escapes, he’ll need all the help he can get.”

“Well, okay,” I say slowly.

“Great. Let’s go.”

“Oh, right now?” I ask, surprised.

“No…rightnow.” Ren gets up as they say it, and it happens again. They made me laugh, and it’s hard for me to be anxious when I laugh.

Feeling a bit nervous, and excited, I follow Ren up to the front of the car and wait as they slide the door open to step between the train cars.

BALTIMORE SUNREADERS RESPOND

MARCH 16, 2017

I want to bring attention to two different groups working to reduce violence in Baltimore (“Lawsuits mount over police”). On one hand we have the Baltimore Gun Task Force. This plainclothes group of police has been accused of stealing guns, drugs, and money from criminalsandvictims of violence in Baltimore.

On the other hand the non-profit I belong to, Mothers Against Violence, has not taken a single gun away or made any arrests. However, we have brought over 5,000 meals to victims, held nearly 700 mediation meetings, made over 1,000 hospital visits, and raised 4 million dollars, every dollar spent to repair harm done by gun violence.

Shootings are down 25% from this time last year and thousands of MAV members have made the pledge of nonviolence. The new law signed last week by the president will require trigger locks and background checks in every state. No gun will be sold in our country without a background check. No gun will be carried without a trigger lock.

Join Mothers Against Violence as we change the future of Baltimore. We will become a city without violence, a city without guns. Find out more at MAVBaltimore.com.

Sincerely,

Mikayla Adamson

Mothers Against Violence