{MALACHAI JAMES HARPER}
Name - Malachai James Harper
Current Age - 10
Birthday - May 10th
Mother - Anna Renee Harper
Father - Klaus Richard Harper
Brother - Michael Oliver Harper
{IN HIS WORDS}
"My name is Malachai Harper and I am ten years old.
My favorite subject in school is definitely art with Mrs. Donovan, even though her face is really stretched out.
Mom says it's because of all the botox she uses...I asked Mrs. D about it once and she gave me detention.
I didn't like her much after that, but I still like her class and she's a lot better at art than I am.
One day I really hope I'm as good as her, I just hope I don't get her stretchy face.
My friends say I'm really good at drawing and my little brother, Michael, was always asking me to draw him.
He died last year because he was sick and the doctor's couldn't do anything; he had cancer.
That's okay though because he's an angel now, and how cool is it to have an angel for a brother?
My parents are still pretty sad about it, but they're getting better."
{MORE ABOUT}
Michael Harper was diagnosed with cancer when he was only five years old. Their parents didn't have any insurance and had to start fundraising for his treatment, but by the time they were able to afford it, the disease had already spread. His kidney's began to fail and then his lungs. Malachai had been at school when this happened and had been pulled out in the middle of a test - something that normally was never allowed to happen. He didn't fully understand what was going on, and probably still doesn't. What is death to a ten year old boy? His parents often drive him to Michael's grave, where he lives drawings of his little brother as an angel, dancing around in the clouds.
Moving on to a less depressing topic, Michael very rarely goes out on the playground during recess to play. He prefers to go to the art room and create to his heart's content. His favorite medium is a simple pencil and paper, though he'll occasionally start painting. His favorite thing in the world is to show in art off and will often ask his friends if they like it. If he gets enough people to say they think it's good, he'll put it in his little drawing book, almost like a scrapbook or portfolio. He never throws any of his work away, most of it clutters his dressers and floor at home.
Looking at him, you would notice he is extremely tall for his age, though he is a bit on the slim side. He dresses like any normal ten year old boy would, with t-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes. He really doesn't have his own style yet, seeing as his mother buys all of his clothes for him. Shopping is not something he enjoys and probably never will. He does, however, care a great deal about his hair and prefers to keep it long. He doesn't cut it unless absolutely necessary. This is probably because his father also has long hair that is usually kept in a pony tail. He has a great admiration for his father and yearns to be just like him when he grows up.
Him and his mother, though, are a completely different story. She feels like they run on a different wavelength and they often fight with each other, something that only got worse after the death of Malachai's brother. They argue constantly and he is always fighting her on every decision she makes. She often threatens to take his art supplies away, especially when report cards come out, and that only increases the tension between them. His father, unsure of why there is such friction between the two, tries to act as a mediator most of the time, attempting to make them both happy. This only works for a short time, and soon enough they're back at each others throats. It's not that they don't love each other, because they do, they just don't get along very well.
