The Lives They Lived

[0] From New York Times, I'm Michael Bobarrow.

[1] This is a daily.

[2] Every December, our colleagues at the Times magazine devote an issue to remembering those who died during the previous year.

[3] We called him Lemme Here.

[4] He got his head safe like a lemur head.

[5] She was good at listening to, like, when I wanted to talk about something.

[6] He was just a wild child.

[7] I always called him my Tarzan because he had, like, really long hair.

[8] With gun violence, now the number one call.

[9] of death for American children, the magazine decided to remember those whose lives ended far too soon.

[10] He skipped the walking and crawling face.

[11] He went straight around him.

[12] He ran everywhere.

[13] Like I never understood.

[14] I was like, why is he like this?

[15] I remember the day his voice changed and I heard him in the background.

[16] I'm like, who is that in your house?

[17] Kids from every corner of the country.

[18] She was very shy, actually.

[19] She didn't want us to be 16.

[20] He was telling me how he's like, yeah, I want to work out.

[21] I want to get taller.

[22] A disproportionate number of them, black boys.

[23] He just had this big old smile.

[24] And when he smiled, it's like, you remember that, you know.

[25] Today, the stories of three of those children told not through their deaths, but through the lives that they lived.

[26] It's Wednesday.

[27] December 21st.

[28] So maybe I could just start by asking you when you met her and how you first met her.

[29] So I met her two years ago when I was around 12.

[30] Actually, it had just been my 12th birthday.

[31] In September of 2020, a 12 -year -old boy in Indiana fired up his laptop so he could play his favorite video game.

[32] So I was on a Minecraft show, which is something...

[33] that was probably a really big thing for me back then.

[34] And even now, I think I've spent most of my time on Minecraft.

[35] And within minutes, he found someone he'd never met before.

[36] So I got on and there was only two people on the server.

[37] Me and another player named Guinea Pig Guard.

[38] So you might hear me referring to Shyway as Guinea a lot.

[39] Because for a pretty big part of our friendship, I knew her as Ginny.

[40] Do people intend to keep their real names a secret or just like never came up?

[41] Well, it never really came up because it's the internet.

[42] No one really like goes around saying, this is my real name.

[43] Hello.

[44] And what was your server name?

[45] So I was cheese.

[46] Any reason for that?

[47] I just like cheese.

[48] Cheese needed an ally that day.

[49] Guinea Pig Guard was 11.

[50] a year younger than him, and lived in Minnesota.

[51] He asked if she would be on his team.

[52] And she said yes.

[53] And that day, they won.

[54] And so over the next couple of days, I would just like every once in a while, message Guinea, hey, do you want to play a Minecraft?

[55] Hey, guys.

[56] Welcome.

[57] It's me. Cheers.

[58] With Guinea.

[59] Hello.

[60] Yeah.

[61] He began recording some of their games.

[62] All right, so there is a skeleton down there.

[63] How much iron do you have?

[64] 12.

[65] The two of them found they were excellent teammates.

[66] I have 22.

[67] I have 21.

[68] We're pretty close.

[69] All right, so...

[70] Stick together, because, you know...

[71] Yeah.

[72] Like, at what point did you start to realize you liked this person, that it wasn't just somebody who happened to be on all the time?

[73] So, it was probably about, like, a couple months after we had first, like, become friends.

[74] Mm -hmm.

[75] And by them, I had also introduced Gini to a lot of my other friends.

[76] And I'm like, wow, Ginny is very cool.

[77] Right, where are you?

[78] Here.

[79] Can I trust you?

[80] Yeah.

[81] It turned out they had a lot in common.

[82] So, we both Bethleh had a bit of dark humor.

[83] It hasn't even been five minutes, and we already have one death each.

[84] I mean, what can you agree?

[85] expect it is us.

[86] We are very good at the game, aren't we?

[87] They bonded over the freedom the game gave them to be alternate versions of themselves.

[88] So the thing about being online is that you can have a certain personality online that you wouldn't really do in real life, like being extremely violent in a video game.

[89] They relished the feeling of defeating an opponent.

[90] Sometimes other players, but just as often, Each other.

[91] I'm not taking blame for that because it was only retaliation.

[92] It was.

[93] So, originally, we were mostly talking in Minecraft chat.

[94] But then after a while, we started having voice calls because we're both like, yeah, I trust this person.

[95] Oh, wait, I just realized something.

[96] I can tell you where everything is.

[97] Oh, yeah.

[98] This could be the ultimate partnership.

[99] As the months went by, talking to Guinea became the way Chi started his day.

[100] One of the first things I do when I woke up is log on to Discord and send her a message.

[101] And her voice was the last thing he heard before falling asleep.

[102] They talk about all kinds of things that had nothing to do with Minecraft.

[103] Me and the Guinea definitely bonded a bit over the fact that we both had siblings who we were both very annoyed with at times.

[104] Such as having little sisters, who both happened to be Girl Scouts.

[105] And they are so similar.

[106] So we're like, they're the same person.

[107] For a long time, Cheese didn't even know what Guinea's real name was or what she looked like.

[108] But eventually he found out that her name was shyway and that she was tall with brown hair and glasses.

[109] And even though they spent most of their time battling on Minecraft, cheese started to get to know her tender side.

[110] In one of the only photos she ever sent him, she was nuzzling one of her pet guinea pigs.

[111] She mentioned her guinea pigs.

[112] He called them her rat.

[113] Mm -hmm.

[114] That was the major thing that she talked about a bunch, wanting to be a veterinarian.

[115] He didn't really know anyone quite like her.

[116] The reason that her wanting to become a veterinarian came up is because we were all bringing up, like, what do you think you'd want your family?

[117] career to be.

[118] And I don't think most of the people have an idea of what they really wanted to be besides Guinea.

[119] Did you ever say like you're my best friend or anything like that?

[120] That it was just known you just not to have to say it.

[121] So one day it was like a truth or dare thing.

[122] We were asking like who would you say is like your best friend out of this group and me and Guinea are just like of each other.

[123] And that's when we really clarified like yes, we are.

[124] We are.

[125] best friends.

[126] Oh, which is its own thing, right?

[127] It's like, it's pretty amazing to be someone's best friend.

[128] Yeah.

[129] Earlier this year, Cheez's planned to go visit Guinea.

[130] He'd finally see her in person.

[131] They would meet in New York with their families.

[132] Have some adventures, IRL, as fun as the ones they had online.

[133] It was the thing that kept him going, knowing he'd meet her soon.

[134] He knew it would be just like it always was.

[135] only better.

[136] This kid, like, for Christmas, he asked me to get him, like, a really nice PlayStation.

[137] I forgot whatever the number is right now, but it was...

[138] Last Christmas, Elijah Gomez begged his Aunt Crystal for the same thing that so many 14 -year -old kids asked for that year, a PlayStation 5.

[139] And trust me, those PlayStations were hard to get because I tried.

[140] It's hard to get, and so expensive.

[141] And I was like, dude, like, are you kidding?

[142] You went to the...

[143] Crystal couldn't find a PlayStation 5 anywhere on the Internet, but she did manage.

[144] get a used PlayStation 4.

[145] And when Elijah opened that gift on Christmas morning, she knew that it was worth it.

[146] For months, Elijah would stay up to 2 in the morning, playing Minecraft, Fortnite, laughing so loud that it woke up his mom.

[147] And that was something I would just go nuts about because he's just up playing the games.

[148] I can hear him yelling.

[149] So we say, you sound like a little girl.

[150] He's just like screeching out the top of his lungs or laughing.

[151] And it was crazy because Elijah had a really deep voice.

[152] Until one day, out of the blue.

[153] He asked me if I could take him to the pawn shop to pawn his PlayStation, and my sister got him that.

[154] So I told him, I was like, you got to tell Auntie Crystal because she is going to kill you.

[155] Elijah decided that he didn't want his PlayStation anymore.

[156] And then he sold it a couple months ago because he was on his game too much and he just wanted to be outside.

[157] And like, what 14 -year -old is like playing video games too much?

[158] I need to be outside.

[159] Elijah was always outside.

[160] Even in a freezing Connecticut winter, he'd often text his best friend, trying to convince him to get out the house.

[161] Like some days in the winter, Elijah would text and be like, let's go to the basketball court?

[162] And he's like, do you know how cold it is outside?

[163] I was like, I don't care.

[164] I want to be outside.

[165] It's great.

[166] In part, this love of outdoors was in his blood.

[167] Elijah's father was from a family of Wellers and Cape Verde.

[168] His grandfather would take Elijah out on his boat and teach him how to fish.

[169] Sometimes he'd even let Elijah stare.

[170] Elijah would sit there turn in a wheel as if headed to some way he remembered.

[171] I would take my boys and I would show them how you can speak back to the birds by mimicking their whistle.

[172] Elijah's mom would take him and his brother out hiking.

[173] I would show them like signs of animals.

[174] that were around.

[175] So, like, there's, like, the fisher cats you've got to look out for and the bobcats and stuff.

[176] So I always show them, like, markings on the trees or, like, certain footprints and stuff like that.

[177] On the way home, they walk along the railroad tracks, and she'd teach Elijah how to kneel and place a hand on the ground to detect distant trains, the ones that could be felt, but not heard.

[178] I think it was Elijah that found, like, a piece of iron that was for the railroad, I think, and it was like in the shape of a J and him knowing that my name was Jennifer, he, like, gave it to me. But even for a family that spent a lot of time outside, Elijah's devotion to the outdoors and everything in it came as a surprise.

[179] He was infatuated with bees.

[180] And one of the ones, Once he learned that bees were going extinct or could be going extinct, I forgot how his teacher put it, he was really big on educating people about that.

[181] One time, Elijah was sitting with another kid.

[182] They were sitting on the outside picnic table that was like for their age.

[183] And I see Elijah just like moving his hands and his face was looking real serious.

[184] And I'm thinking like they're arguing.

[185] So I go outside.

[186] I'm like, what's going on?

[187] And he's like, I'm telling him about the bees.

[188] I'm just like, what?

[189] That interest in bees did not diminish with time.

[190] Fast forward to a few years later, Elijah's YouTube was connected to my YouTube as the parents' control.

[191] So it was kind of like he was embarrassed because when I went in his room, he kind of hit his phone.

[192] So I'm like, all right, bet.

[193] So the video ended up coming onto my, my YouTube, and he was actually watching a bee insemination on YouTube.

[194] And I was like, who finds that?

[195] So he must have been, like, looking up videos on YouTube of, like, how to...

[196] How to say the bees.

[197] Yeah, to see the bees.

[198] And that's what came up.

[199] And I watched the whole thing, and I was just like, oh, my God.

[200] because it was like, it was a lot.

[201] Elijah paid attention to the world.

[202] His aunt Crystal would take him to nature preserves, and he spent his time picking up the debris that littered the earth.

[203] And he would just get so sad with, like, whenever there's trash on the ground, and people would throw, like, entire apartment's worth of stuff, all this huge stuff into the preserve, and he would, like, be moved to almost cry because he was so sad to see, like, the earth treated so poorly.

[204] Elijah will walk along the preserve, wearing his Avengers T -shirt, and carrying a small plastic trash bag.

[205] With his slight arms and slender fingers, he collect bottle tops half buried in the sand.

[206] He reached in the rock crevices to pull out bits of plastic foam.

[207] He'd pick up the torn pages of old homework that drifted over for.

[208] from a nearby school.

[209] He'd take away all the things that he knew could kill the small fish that came in when the tide rose.

[210] Sometimes, he stumbled on things that astonished him.

[211] Like the afternoon, he found the television in the woods, sitting on the ground, the plug dangling behind it in the leaves.

[212] Elijah was transfixed by their image, as if some kids had ventured out and turned that.

[213] cast off television into an opportunity to imagine another world.

[214] We'll be right back.

[215] Every Sunday, Heavens View Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, streams its services on Facebook.

[216] It's a small town church and a modest building, known for its intergenerational choir.

[217] In this one video, from August, you can see the choir gathering in a semi -circle at the front of the sanctuary.

[218] They're dressed up in the colors they've chosen for that day, burnt orange and cream.

[219] The choir alternates between solemn hymns and lively gospel spirituals.

[220] They sway and clap in front of the congregation.

[221] And at about the 21 -minute mark, a five -year -old boy named Levante Williams walks up to the choir.

[222] He stands there between the microphones, leaning into his mom's waist as she sings and taps her feet.

[223] Levante, whose nickname is L .J., is not really sure what to do with his hands, so he just kind of swings them around and fans himself like the old folks do.

[224] Eventually, the choir finds their seats and a guest pastor delivers that week's sermon.

[225] And after she's done, she invites anyone there who would like to be baptized to come up.

[226] And as a handful of church members stepped forward, out of the view of the camera, five -year -old L .J. walks up with his sister.

[227] And when the pastor asked L .J. why he came forward, he announces, I want to be baptized and saved.

[228] Levanté was from a religious family.

[229] Tell me about his early life.

[230] And they told me that they weren't really surprised that L .J. wanted to profess his faith.

[231] But he was not your average five -year -old.

[232] I've seen a lot of kids and kids his age.

[233] And he was an old soul.

[234] He was an old soul.

[235] LJ's parents and grandparents said he wasn't like other kids.

[236] He loved music.

[237] And he loved listening to the word.

[238] And it's funny because he would take and recite back to you what, You know, either I said or another preacher said, and it's like, he was actually listening.

[239] He definitely wasn't your average child that, you know, is in church.

[240] You see most kids in there either playing on their tablets, playing on somebody's phone, or sleep.

[241] Uh -huh.

[242] Mm -hmm.

[243] L .J. was up front and center in the choir stand, singing with me and his aunties and everybody else.

[244] Are kids usually in the choir that young?

[245] No. No. He had an older sister.

[246] They were inseparable.

[247] the older they got, you know, where she went, he went, and vice versa.

[248] He was her protector, even though he was a year younger, you know, he didn't play about his sister at all.

[249] But somehow in his mind, he was still the big brother.

[250] It was hard for us to explain to him that, no, you're the little brother.

[251] And he would always say, I'm not the little.

[252] I am a big boy.

[253] It's like he didn't know he was five years old.

[254] And when they would come over, it's straight B -line, not there.

[255] He's still running, and he runs upstairs, and then he comes into the bedroom.

[256] And he looks at me, he says, hi, pop, pop.

[257] You feel okay today?

[258] And for someone to be so young, he was so caring.

[259] Yeah.

[260] He was so caring.

[261] He wouldn't let me touch nothing.

[262] Mommy, put that bag down.

[263] I got it.

[264] Okay.

[265] Okay.

[266] Right.

[267] No one had to teach this little boy, any of that.

[268] It was almost like God said, poof, I'm putting him down there, and he's going to show them a different way.

[269] I'll see you tomorrow.

[270] I'll see you tomorrow.

[271] On August 14th, one week after he stepped forward, L .J. went back to Heaven's View for his baptism.

[272] Most of his family was there.

[273] And when he saw his grandma, or Gigi, as he liked to call her, she asked if he understood what it meant to be baptized.

[274] We talked about the purpose for baptism and what it stood for.

[275] I said, but you have to believe first.

[276] He said, I believe.

[277] I believe that he died for me and he died for you and we're okay.

[278] And I said, yes, sir.

[279] And he did this weird little dance with his legs and was like, I'm ready to go.

[280] And I said, do you have any questions?

[281] Mm -hmm.

[282] And L .J. said, is the water going to be cold?

[283] Exactly.

[284] Water cold, because, you know, I don't like cold.

[285] He said, I don't like cold water.

[286] Can we put some heat in?

[287] And I said, well, I don't think that's how it works, baby.

[288] It's not going to work today.

[289] You wouldn't really know LJ was nervous from watching the service that day.

[290] Hi, this morning, if you're able to clap your hands, clap your hands and make some noise.

[291] As the choir in shades of yellow this time, sings, it's your season.

[292] There's L .J. Back in his usual spot, bouncing around in front of his mom.

[293] He's hyped, clapping his hands, jumping up and down, wearing a green shirt with a little yellow and black truck on it.

[294] And finally, toward the end of the service, it's time to go down into the water.

[295] It's time for the baptism.

[296] Take me to the water.

[297] L .J. changes into clothes that are okay to get wet and waits his turn.

[298] Eventually, the church deacon brings him forward and lowers him into a large black basin onto his knees.

[299] L .J. looks around, unsure of himself.

[300] And then, he breaks into tears.

[301] The water is very cold.

[302] Reverend L 'ante, in the name of the father, in the name of the son, and in the precious name of the Holy Ghost, we indeed baptize you.

[303] The pastor dips him backward.

[304] In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, amen.

[305] It happens in an instant.

[306] He says, it's cold, but it's going, amen?

[307] It says to chill my body.

[308] And with that, Brother Levante Williams is baptized.

[309] August 15th, the day after his baptism, Levante Williams accidentally shot himself at a park where he had gone to play basketball.

[310] He had just finished his first full day of kindergarten.

[311] Elijah Gomez was shot and killed on May 9th, while walking home from school on a trail that passed by the homes of his mother and his aunt.

[312] He died, surrounded by evergreen trees.

[313] Shyway Berry, or guinea pig guard, as she was known on Minecraft, was killed on April 20th at her home in Minnesota.

[314] Shyway, her little sister, Sadie, and both of their parents were shot by a cousin who had once lived with their family.

[315] We'll be right back.

[316] Here's what else you need to another day.

[317] On Tuesday night, a House committee voted to publicly release the tax returns of former President Trump, an unprecedented move that ended his years -long legal battle to keep the documents confidential.

[318] The democratically controlled Ways and Means Committee said that the disclosure was necessary to highlight the failure of the Internal Revenue Service to audit Trump's returns while he was president, despite a program that makes such audits mandatory.

[319] Republicans called it a partisan move to try to embeds, Trump before their party takes over the house in January.

[320] Today's episode was narrated by writers and contributors to the Times magazine.

[321] The essay on Shyway Berry was read by Susan Domino's and features the voice of Shaiway's best friend, Cheese.

[322] The essay on Elijah Gomez was read by Dwayne Betts and features the voices of Elijah's aunt, Crystal Cathcart and Mother, Jennifer Cathcart.

[323] Finally, the essay on Levante Williams was read by Linda Villarosa and features the voices of Levante's mother, Miracle Jones, and grandparents, Michael and Tanika Jones.

[324] The episode was produced by Astha Chatharvedi and Stella Tan.

[325] It was edited by Anita Badajo and Michael Benoit, contains original music by Alicia E. Tube, Marion Lazzano, and Dan Powell, and sound design by Alicia E. Tube.

[326] It was engineered by Chris Wood.

[327] Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly.

[328] Special thanks to Elena Silverman, Adrian Green, Brandy Martin, Tenisha Torres, Janelli Henriquez, and Clay Hardy.

[329] That's it for the daily.

[330] I'm Michael Babarro.

[331] See you tomorrow.