She’s been causing trouble ever since she got here. She was new and still didn’t know any of the boundaries yet. She had no idea of any of the rules. If she were smart she would shut her mouth and follow the rest of us. But she was stupid.
Every night since she got here, she’s gotten up and yelled at the guards. Each night they beat her to the ground; they march around our shriveled bodies and kick anyone who dares to move. I never dare. Why would I, so I could get another bruise. I got enough of those during the day.
She, who has only been here four nights looks just as bad as those who have been here weeks. I guess her spirit never wore out, I’ll give her that. Her spirit is alive like a burning candle, mine has long since been blown out. I guess if I had the chance I would take it, I would blow and the ember till it sparked back to life. If there were any embers left.
I had been trampled and beat so much I didn’t know anymore. The chains hurt and the sun burnt. I did as I was told and nothing more. I marched through the deserted land, day after day, and I would continue marching until one day they found a slave owner who wanted a scrawny girl like me.
I curled up in a ball and waited for the commotion to start.
“ Hey you big, fat, uglies!” there it was. She would insult them and yell until they came. She yelled something else but this was lost in the silence of the night. I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. I knew what she meant by her words. They were lucky, they had freedom. We had nothing. Was it fair? No, and it never would be.
The guards came tumbling out of their tents all at once. They crashed through the sleeping pile of people. One of them stepped on my arm, I whimpered silently trying not to make that big of a deal, but the guard heard it. He turned around and kicked me hard in my ribs, I held my tongue. I would not allow him to beat me until I was too bruised to feel anything. I would not let him do that to me. I watched as they swarmed around the girl. She laughed.
They all started beating her, they punched and kicked till she was lying on the ground in a ball. This is what had happened for the past four nights, except something about tonight was different. They didn’t stop, they beat her and continued beating until she started chocking on her own blood. I guess the guards had had enough of her chit chat. The message was clear, they didn’t want trouble makers.
That night all I heard was the sound of the girl chocking on her own blood. I tried not to think about it, but as the choking sound died out the pit in my stomach grew. It grew until I was sure the girl was dead. And it never stopped growing. Inside a little spark lit, I guess there had always been embers inside of me.
She would never stop causing trouble, for she had passed on her burning candle to someone else. That someone was me.
647Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OqUWJZfoI
