I’m thinking about my day, and walking home. Today, the girls in our town's little makeshift “school” were working on cooking stake, a rare delicacy. Landon had come behind me and hugged my waist. Unlike other times, he didn’t bother hiding his wince when he had my food. There is no surprise, just because I can Read and garden does not mean I can cook and sew. I had leaned into him, the smell of soil radiating off of his stained shirt. Today marked four years together. He had asked me out when I was 11, and he was 12, and against all odds, we were still together.
Like always, I turn into an ally, a shortcut home, but this time there are two men, where there are normally barreles. Before I can back away, they notice me, and one, a big burly man with a buzz cut, grabs my shoulder stopping me short. The other guy has long dreadlocks, but otherwise, they are practically the same. Twins. It's a rare thing.
“Hello there honey,” the brother with dreadlocks says, sizing me up. “You alone.”
I fight the urge to scream and focus on trying to break free of the man's hold. It almost works, it's not my first time dealing with crooks, but he’s strong, and doesn't let go against my withering body.
“No,” I lie then punch the guy in front of me in the nose. He screams but manages not to let go of me still, he must have been trained in the army at one point. Most normal villagers don’t have time to learn to fight. When he recovers, he punches my back in the gut. I collapse but scramble back. He throws another punch, and I try to dodge, but he meets my shoulder and I know there will be a nasty bruise later if there's a later.
“Give us your money, and will let you walk away,” Dreadlocks says. I know it's not an empty threat. These guys would kill. They would kill for money, like so many others.
“Ok,” I say, forcing my hand to shake while I shove it into my pockets. I start to pull out the only thing in my pocket, but they see it before I can do anything...
“Knife,” Buzz-cut says. He grabs my head and slams it down onto the bricks. I feel the blood on my hands before I feel pain. I watch them run, then try to stand up. I’m not surprised when my knees buckle one step in, and I feel the wind in my hair before I pass out and hit my head again.
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There are so many dreams.
The first was when my mom and dad got into a fistfight. Instead of trying to intervene, and getting hit in the flurry of hands and feet, I stand to the side watching. My little brother intervened instead, but he was only two, and the concussion killed him. II watch, trying to scream or move but then I slip through the cracks of my mind, and into the next dream.
Landon and I are standing near the river. Other boys in our level are throwing rocks at us, and daring us to swim. They surround us, and I know why they're doing this.
I’m the only one who knows Landon can’t swim. But in this version, he jumps in and desperately paddles, hardly staying afloat.
I don’t jump in and help. I watch as he goes under and never comes up.
I slip into darkness, and around me a mysterious voice talks, almost to me. But it's just my head like… I cut myself off.
Do you know what you are? Do you?
Do you?
Do you?
Do you136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLQXKe9EpQ
