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Him
Before
It started with tiles. Black tiles and white tiles. The tiles that every
footpath in a metre radius was made up of. Ever since I was a scrawny
five-year-old, I would play a game with myself. The black tiles were
mud and the white tiles were heavenly clouds. Stepping on the black
tiles meant ruining my sparkly, rainbow-edition shoes. The black
tileswere for the scum. Thewhite tileswere perfectly clean. Carefully,
I’d balance on my tiptoes and jump, zigzag and contort my little feet
over the black tiles, avoiding them at all costs. The game was
harmless. Just a little fun. Until
he
appeared.
He
was charming, at first, and charismatic, oh yes. I’d spend
nights vocalising my youthful dreams to him. Heck, I trusted him
enough to include him in my tile game.
Then nights turned into years and he became so much more
than a mere presence in my life—he proved to be a horrendous
monster.
Two years ago, this one particular September morning was
picturesque. Disney-movie-worthy if you asked me. The yellow
wisps of the sun kissed the sky, turning it to blush a peachy-orange
colour. Grandma, whose skin resembled an old avocado, was
perched on a rickety, termite-bitten chair, a pipe in her hand and a
weary look in her eyes.
“You’re so much like your mother.” Sighing, she shifted in her
chair, crossing her bruised legs over one another, her eyes overcome
with a glassy sheen.
Mother had died when I was young due to an overdose on
I.C.E
and Dad had abandoned us years before because of her addiction.
Since then, Grandma had been the only family in my life and
even she was close to receiving death’s kiss. Grandma opened her
frail mouth once more, commanding me to get the groceries for
this week.
I meandered down the path that lead to the local ‘
IGA
’ store,
looking down at my feet as I hopscotched my way over the black
tiles, carefully placing my feet on the white ones. As I was about to
place my right foot down, a foreign foot suddenly took its place.
Glancing up, I was greeted with the sight of a pudgy-faced boy.
Freckles adorned his face and his blue eyes were squinting down at
me. I told the boy to move. He didn’t budge. I couldn’t sidestep to
the right or the left as I was surrounded by black tiles and I had
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