WARNING. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE. IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO VIOLENCE I SUGGEST EITHER SKIPPING THE CHAPTER OR SKIPPING A CERTAIN AREA. I WILL LEAVE "STARTS" THEN "ENDS" WHERE IT OCCURS
I don't remember where I was originally from...but that's for the best
I usually spent my time indoors just doing my own things, I would sometimes look out the window, but it was usually just to look at the view outside
One day, when I was in my room, I heard noises outside, I looked out the window and saw a couple of kids playing outside, they looked happy and were having fun, as I continued to watch I smiled to myself, the thought of joining them and having their happiness rub off on me made me happy
After watching for some time, I decided I wanted to make my fantasy a reality and actually go outside to join them and hopefully become friends
After asking and gaining permission from Daddy I went outside and gathered up my courage to walk up to them
Nat: "Hi I'm Natalie!"
[The kids turn and stare at Nat.]
Nat: "Can I play with all of you?"
[The kids just frown and stare. Nat makes an uneasy look.]
Nat: "Um...can I at least sit with you guys?"
[The kids still don't answer. After an awkward silence, Nat then frowns.]
Nat: "I guess not...I'm sorry for bothering you."
[Nat turns around and leaves. After she does, the kids go back to playing.]
After I went back inside I just went back to looking out my window watching them play as if nothing happened
After sometime Daddy came in my room, he was confused and asked me why I wasn't playing with the other kids, I told him what happened and he gave me some advice, he said to not feel defeated and to think positive thoughts
After he left, I followed his advice and tried to come up with a reason why they rejected me
Nat: "Maybe they don't have room for anyone else?"
Not too long after I said that, however, a boy walked up to them and they immediately let him stay, so after that I knew that reason wasn't it, so I tried something else
Nat: "Maybe...it wasn't a good time to ask?"
Thinking this I tried asking later...but I got the same reaction
I told Daddy what happened and how it was affecting me, he told me that despite my skepticism to continue thinking positive and try again another time cause not all results are the same
After he told me this, I tried a few more times and it turned out he was right...cause there were times when they just ignored me completely
I again told Daddy what was going on and he said he was sorry that I was going through that, but he was proud of me for taking his advice to continue staying positive
I ended up telling Mommy too and she advised me to not focus on them, deeming them missing out and a lost cause, and doing the things I loved would make me feel better
After hearing this, I decided to take one of my books and go outside to read it under a tree, although it saddened me to hear the kids playing and having fun, reading a good book and smelling the fresh air made me forget about being sad
It was like this for a few days until one day...he approached me
Boy: "Hi!"
It took me a few seconds but I eventually looked up and saw someone standing in front of me, I recognized him as the boy who the kids invited to play with after I left, he just looked at me with a large grin, after taking some time to process what has happened, I spoke up
Nat: "Me?"
Boy: "Yeah!"
Nat: "Oh...um...hi."
Boy: "What's your name?"
Nat: "Natalie."
Boy: "Nice to meet you Natalie!"
He reached out his hand to shake, I hesitated for a moment, but I did shake his hand
Boy: "What are you reading?"
Nat: "A book about nature."
Boy: "Cool! Can I read it with you?"
[Nat goes wide eyed, but it quickly turns into a smile.]
Nat: "Sure!"
He sat beside me and we read the book together, after some time, we said our goodbyes and made a plan to meet up tomorrow
When I went inside, Mommy and Daddy noticed my smile and asked about it, I told them about him and they were both happy for me that I made my first friend
After that it just picked up from there, we spent every day together sharing common interests and enjoying each other's company, I'm pretty sure there were times when the other kids stared at us, but we were so happy being with each other, that we didn't pay attention to it
Sometime later, while we were inside his house, I got an idea in my head
Nat: "Can I tell you something?"
Nat's Friend: "Sure thing!"
Nat: "I just...wanted to say..."
Nat's Friend: "Tell me already!"
Nat: "That I'm glad we're friends."
[Nat's Friend makes a blank face.]
Nat: "Before you approached me, I tried to talk to the other kids and try to befriend them, but nobody would talk to me or let me stay, I felt sad and alone, but then you came along."
[Nat embraces her friend.]
Nat: "You became my first friend, and that means so much to me."
[As Nat holds her friend, he pushes her away.]
Nat's Friend: "Ok, no need to get soft."
[Nat is slightly taken aback, but then thinks of something.]
Nat: "Hey I have an idea! Let's make a promise!"
Nat's Friend: "A promise?"
Nat: "Yeah! A promise to always be friends!"
[As Nat smiles her friend makes an uncomfortable look, she notices and slightly frowns.]
Nat: "Is something wrong?"
Nat's Friend: "I...don't want to."
Nat: "You don't? Why?"
Nat's Friend: "Because...we're already friends! So there's no reason for that!"
[Nat suddenly frowns.]
Nat: "But...I was just-"
Nat's Friend: "Hey let's go play outside now!"
[Nat's Friend runs out the door. After he does, Nat then makes an ashamed look.]
Nat: "...I'm sorry."
[Nat walks outside.]
I should have known then something wasn't right, but I was blinded by my joy of finally having a friend
Besides that, however, things were wonderful, I was happy and thought it couldn't have been any better
Until...well..."It" happened, you know what I mean
Anyway, after that, I told Mommy I was ashamed of it, so she gave me a scarf to wear to make me feel better, I wore it everyday despite my friend thinking it was weird and the other kids looked at me weird
After a few days my friend called me out on it
Nat's Friend: "Hey Nat, what's with the scarf?"
[Nat starts to blush.]
Nat: "I...um...like wearing it!"
Nat's Friend: "Yeah right, you never wore it before!"
Nat: "Well...it's new."
Nat's Friend: "C'mon Nat, you're obviously hiding something, so just tell me!"
[Nat buries her face in the scarf.]
Nat: "It's nothing really!"
[Nat's Friend then scowls.]
Nat's Friend: "I thought we were friends!"
[Nat stares in shock.]
Nat: "What? But we are!"
Nat's Friend: "Well friends tell each other things don't they?"
Nat: "Well, yeah-"
Nat's Friend: "And we ARE friends aren't we?"
Nat: "Yeah-"
Nat's Friend: "Then you should have no problem telling me!"
Nat: "But-"
Nat's Friend: "Prove that we're friends! Tell me right now!"
[Nat hesitates for a minute, then sighs.]
Nat: "Ok...you won't tell anyone will you?"
Nat's Friend: "I won't, now tell me!"
Nat: "Ok..."
[Nat slowly removes her scarf, after doing so, her friend just stares wide eyed. After a minute, Nat reaches out her hand.]
Nat: "Are you o-"
Nat's Friend: "Don't touch me!"
[Nat jolts her hand back.]
Nat: "What?"
Nat's Friend: "Get away from me you freak!"
[He then runs away from Nat, she simply stands there in hurt and disbelief.]
Nat: "What...happened?"
After that I went home, I told Daddy what happened, and he told me that I should try to talk to him
I tried to talk to him the next day, which led to few times, I knocked at his door, called out his name, but he just wouldn't talk to me
After a few days, I just sat in my room, feeling sad, until I heard a knock on my door
When I went to answer it, all I saw was a note on the ground, it said my friend wanted to meet me outside under the tree later where I usually read, it made me happy, thinking we could talk and make amends
Little did I know that I was wrong, so very, VERY, wrong
There is a saying, if you give them an inch, they take a mile
Later came, after putting my scarf on, I left a note for my parents since Mommy was sleeping and Daddy was taking a shower, and I didn't want to bother them
I opened the door and stepped outside to meet him, when I did however, I saw that all the kids were outside, just staring at me, I suddenly became uncomfortable, but I was determined to talk to my friend, so I just focused on finding him
-STARTS-
I walked over to the tree, as I waited for him, I suddenly heard a noise above me, when I slowly looked up, I was suddenly jumped on my back
As I fell to the ground, my scarf was torn off and I was pulled up and pushed to the middle of the street, I then looked up and saw the kids staring in shock
Girl1: "So what he said is true!"
Girl2: "She is a freak!"
[Nat goes wide eyed.]
Nat: (thinking) "He said he wouldn't tell anyone!"
Boy1: "Freak isn't enough! She's a parasite!"
Boy2: "Not fit to roam the Earth!"
As I laid there with my hands over my neck, my eyes were filled with tears and my heart was aching with shame, thinking it couldn't get anymore painful
Unfortunately it only got worse
[The kids then run to Nat, as she tries to get up and run away, they all grab her and pin her to her knees.]
[Nat watches helplessly as she sees her former friend standing in front of her.]
Nat: "...Help..."
[He simply approaches her, and spits on her face.]
Nat's Former Friend: "Pummel her to the ground!"
[Nat is pushed to the ground.]
[Nat could only hold her arms over her face, as she is constantly punched and kicked.]
Nat: "Stop! Please!"
Boy1: "Aww is she crying?"
Boy2: "She's pathetic!"
[After a while, and sustaining multiple injuries, the kids stop.]
Nat's Former Friend: "Had enough?"
[Nat simply cries.]
Nat's Former Friend: "I'm not hearing a no!"
Girl1: "I think she wants more!"
Girl2: "Then let's give her more!"
[The kids pick up Nat.]
Nat: "Stop! Put me down!"
Boy1: "Don't bother screaming!"
Boy2: "No one will hear you!"
[The kids take Nat to a trash can, they prepare to throw her in.]
Nat: "No! Please!"
[The kids ignore her and throw her in, after doing so, the kids tip the can over and pours the rest of the trash on her.]
Girl1: "Now her whole body matches her neck!"
Girl2: "Exactly what a freak like her deserves!"
Boy1: "She was too pretty anyway!"
Boy2: "Yeah pretty repulsive!"
Nat's Former Friend: "I think this makeover needs a finishing touch!"
[The kids then pick up Nat and pin her to the tree.]
Nat's Former Friend: "Go get the tape and marker!"
[The kids leave and come back with the tape and marker.]
[Nat's Former Friend then proceeds to tape Nat to the tree and cover her mouth, He then writes Parasite on the tape tying her with permanent marker, then writes Freak on the tape covering her mouth along with Pathetic and Repulsive on her cheeks.]
Nat's Former Friend: "There! Perfect!"
Girl1: "We did a job well done!"
Girl2: "Now everyone can see what a freak she is!"
Boy1: "It's what she deserves!"
Boy2: "Let's go already! I'm sick of looking at her!"
[All the kids leave feeling proud of themselves as Nat just stands there with her eyes closed and cries her eyes out.]
-ENDS-
As I stood there I just felt alone, I was covered in trash, beaten, battered and bruised too weak and hurt to move, to break free, my mouth was covered so I couldn't call for help, so I just...shut down, accepted my fate, my head filled with sorrow and questions
Why did my friend betray me? Was it something I did? Did I do something to upset him? Was our friendship even real to begin with? Was he planning this behind my back? Did I bring this on myself? Was I wrong to trust my only friend?
I didn't know, nor did I care, all I cared about, was escaping
I stood there for what felt like forever, until my parents came out of the house and found me, after carefully removing the tape from my mouth, and using my headband to cut the remaining tape tying me my parents carried me inside and tended to me, bathed me, bandaged me, and held me
I was lucky that I didn't get anything that couldn't heal, but I was still a mess, I got a black eye, my arm was in a cast, my leg was in a cast, and my whole body was covered in bruises that gave a sharp sting with every touch
After that it took a while for me to heal, eventually I did, but I was still hurting inside, my parents were fully aware of this and did whatever they could to support me and help me with my aching heart, they even went to the parents of every kid to complain, but all the got, was a door slam in the face
I was actually supposed to start school the next day, but I had to stay home to recover from my injuries with a plan to go when I was better...however although my body managed to heal, the same couldn't be said about my health, I begged my parents not to send me to school, to let me stay where I was safe, and no one could hurt me, and because they loved me so much and would do anything for me, they gave me what I wanted
Since then, I've spent my days indoors, never going outside, my parents would get me tons of books to make up for my lack of education, and stayed by my side teaching me a few things
Mommy didn't want this to happen again, so she gave me combat training to defend myself in case I was in trouble again
Daddy taught me how to continue being a good person stating that kindness is the key to a happy and healthy heart
In fact, there was one specific thing that stuck with me to this day
I told my parents how broken I felt, but they told me I wasn't
They said if I was, I would be sad forever and never feel happy again, it lead to a question if I would ever feel happy again, they told me not to answer, seeing my hesitation to do so
They explained that what I had, was a dent
A dent in my heart, it was a mark that was making me ache and feel sad, but that my heart was still beating and keeping me alive
Marks can be fixed, they said, I was sad but that was ok, keeping my emotions inside is unhealthy, They believed someday I would feel happy again, but it was all up to me
They also said that I had a beautiful heart, but that it would only stay beautiful if I remained that way, if I stooped down to the level of those against me, I would be no better than them, and what is beautiful, would become ugly
Every tunnel had a light, they said, and they asked me to promise them, promise them that I would never lose that light
I did
They then told me these three words, words I was meant to remember, Be Strong, Be Kind, Be Unbreakable
After years of isolation, They offered multiple times to have us move somewhere else, leave all of it behind, but evertime they did, I told them that I knew how settled they were there and I didn't want to interfere with that...however I found out that since the spent more time with me, they spent less time at work, which caused our funds to decrease, so it reached a point where they couldn't afford the house anymore so we had to move anyway
When the day we moved came, I packed all my things and put them in the car and got in
As I did, I took one more glance outside and looked at my former house and my former friends house, although I was leaving and I was never going to see him again, speak to him again, or even remembered his name, it would take more time to leave what we had behind, because sometimes the people with the smallest roles, can leave a huge impact.