My Father: Oren Milano

(written on May 22nd)

I am not one of the original 4400 but my father was. Unfortunately he is not here to tell his story so I must tell it for him:
My father was Oren Milano. He was taken on September 8, 1996. When he was returned he came back with an ability similar to Heather Tobey's except his ability focused on the acedemics instead of the arts.

The first time his ability surfaced, I was doing some math homework. I had no idea as to what I was doing on the assignment since I always struggled with math. He came over to me and placed a glass of water on the table and then touched my sholder. We didn't think anything of it- I just thought I was doing the math all wrong anyway, I didn't even care about all of the eraser marks I was doing. The next day I turned in the assignment and my teacher graded it on the spot. I got a 100. That's when I started asking my dad questions. To test out his theory, he touched my sister's sholder and she too became smarter than we actually "appeared to be".

His ability soon left when he was put on the Promicin Inhibitor. It resurfaced soon after when taken off. Once he was taken off it, he began using his ability on his students who are sixth graders (he used his ability on my mother's class too who are seventh graders). A lot of them came from poor, rundown homes and now that my father used his ability on them they actually have a shot at a future much better than they could have dreamed of.

My father died a couple weeks ago during my Graduation. Some people found out about his ability and how he used it on me. The person who shot it was an acquaintance of mine and she thought that I wasn't supposed to be #1 in a class out of 375 and Valdictorian. When she got her chance, she not only killed my father to stop him from using his ability but she also killed my mother, Dakota, and my sister, Onawa.

(I feel it is important that I tell my father's story so that you all have an idea as to the mission I am on. And as to why I joined the cause.)

My father was a great man and all he wanted was to give young kids a chance at a better life then the lives they lived which included gang violence, parents not caring if they got an education, parents who drink a lot and do drugs. My father cared so much for his students. All he wanted was to help this world and show the world that kids do have the potential inside of them if they are given the chance. These kids can make a better change in the world if only people are willing to see and listen.