I want to be ordinary. I want to be normal. But society doesn't allow it. But society just can't see it. But society just can't do it.
I'm a freak. I'm an alien. I cry myself to sleep, knowing that the next day will be the same. I clench on my skin that drapes on my disgusting face, wishing I could die and be reborn in another way. It's the birth defect that people regard as a retarded kid. Someone who was in a fire. Something- that is inferior.
Why can't I just be normal?
I never will. Because of society, I stand out. People stare, kids point, babies scream, I will never, ever, be treated like someone else.
Like another human.
August
{x}
One day, after the first day of school, my mom, the best person in the world, was tucking me in bed. Our dog, Daisy, was sitting nearby, looking at us.
"I know the school is hard," Mom whispered gently. "Kids are kids. Kids will always be mean to people who stand out."
She smiled, but I saw concern and guilt in her eyes as she tucked cloth behind my too-skinny shoulders. "But you stand out in a really good way."
That was when I suddenly felt the urge to cry. I hated my face, my deformed eyes, my disgusting mouth, my nose, my non-existent ears. I hate everything about me. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
My eyes began to water as I thought about it, but I didn't want to make Mom feel even more guilty. But just thinking about it made it worse and worse, and I was soon crying uncontrollably, where Mom stood right next me.
"Why do I have to be so ugly?" I sobbed. "I hate myself! I hate everything about me! I'm so sorry you had to have a freak as a child."
"You're not," Mom replied hesitantly, though I saw tears starting to form in her eyes.
"You are not," she repeated, but her voice was croaky as she leaned forward to kiss me on my small forehead. My angled eyes. My excuse of a nose. My ghost ears. My punched in cheeks. My disgusting self.
"You're beautiful to me," Mom said, her voice shaky, tears dribbling steady down her perfect cheeks. Her perfect blue eyes. Her straight, long nose. Her full, rosy lips. "And that's all you need to know."
"You're perfect to me as a son," she said.
As soon as she left, I started to cry again. My pillow was already wet with tears. I cried so much I thought I would never stop.
Fine, then let me die crying. I'll never have a life anyway.
My dog Daisy came to me and licked all the tears off my face. Daisy the dog doesn't care how I look. I look like everyone else to her. She doesn't see me any different than my beautiful mother, my pretty sister, or my handsome dad. Daisy loves me for who I am.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to R.J. Palacio.
So how was it? Gosh, Palacio manages to get so many people in the feels with her book Wonder. I wish I could, so here's a scene from the story I rewrote! I'll add more that's not in the book and stuff. Suggestions, comments, and constructive criticism are all really appreciated!