At six years old my limbs are weak. Just black skin colored bones. My limbs are weak and im always afraid. Always feeling as if something is after me. Like im going to die.
I am six years old, weak limbs, all that fear rushing fast through my body.
Im being chased by 13 year old boys with pink skin. They scream curse words at me. Words meant to tear me apart but I keep running. Their hair is thin and yellow and their eyes are a dangerous blue. They chase me with sticks in their hands and evil smiles on their faces.
I hit a steel door. All my blood and fear slams into one side of my body, sinking with me as I hit the floor. See, I got a pretty good distance but I can hear their feet getting closer so I push the door open and fall on dirty tile floor. A bathroom. Im in a bathroom. I think about all the things they could do to me in here, then about all the things they know they can. I hide.
My tiny brain works fast. I rush into the middle stall and pull my feet up. The water in the toilet is dirty and I gag thinking about it filling my lungs. Theres writing on the stalls. The same words those boys called me. I hear the steel door hit the wall.
Their footsteps are slow. They giggle and breathe quietly. They know I'm in here. I fear the worst. The absolute worst.
My stall door swings open and Im pulled to the ground. Sweat that I hadn't even acknowledged made the old dirt on the floor smear on my face. I feel pressure on my head. My heart beats so fast I can hear it loud in my ears. I feel hot. Hot everywhere. Im turned around and facing up. Back of my head throbs as it hits the tile.
I open my eyes. Pink sweaty hands are in my face. I feel spit drip down the side of my head. It drips down onto my mouth and I want to scream. So I do. I scream as loud as I can and they stop for a bit but then punches come harder.
Then it stops all together. I close my eyes. I hear hollering at the door. Feet kick me as four boys rush out of the stall im in. I lay completely still. Eyes still shut. My body aches. Foot steps again.
"Hey!" I open my eyes. Looking up at Brown hands. Im calm. White hands pull me up and hold me tight. He's got the same pink skin, but his eyes are emerald and his hair is the same color as mine. His pink fingers dig into my skin, he looks me in the eyes. He wipes the spit from my face with his shirt. His face twists into a look of genuine concern when I hiss at contact. His hair grown past his ears and he's got spots covering his skin. Like nothing I've seen before.
"Kid," his voice isn't nearly as nice as I thought it'd be. It's rough and deep. A voice a boy my age doesn't usually have. "Fuck did you do?" Kids my age don't usually curse like this. I look up at him with wide eyes. Im afraid he'd hurt me too.
"What'd you do? We aint here to hurt you." I hadn't paid much attention to the other boy when the white one pulled me up. He's got skin darker than mine. Must be hard. His eyes are black holes. His hairs longer than mine and taller by an inch or two. I look at him with my head down and he understands. He sighs and begins walking out the bathroom. Me and the other close behind.
"Well, I'm Merlyn" he says a few steps into our walk. The other kid's hands are still around my arm and it doesn't scare me anymore. "Im seven. An that's Matt."
"Ian" is all I say and the two smile wide. "Thank you" they both look at me.
We continue to walk through tall grass, shoes destroyed by dirt and from previously running so fast. The sun's still up and beats hard on our skin. I am six years old, bones wrapped in skin and a whole lot of fear. Merlyn and Matt save my life.
