Bound to Earth

30: Almost An Adult

I struggled to drag the heavy trash bag down my front porch. The glass bottles clinked with every wobbly step I took. The world rocked back and forth, nauseating me.

I closed my eyes to rid myself of the vertigo. My footing slipped and I bypassed the next two steps, my ass tingling with pain as it connected with the ground. Agony began in my ribs and my thigh, the alcohol no longer strong enough after that slip.

The pain coursing through my body was nothing compared to the numbness in my heart. The days dragged to nights. I was too tired to move but too awake to sleep. The warmth of the alcohol was no longer strong enough to numb the pain of my wounds or cloud my mind. It was a constant battle between feeling nothing and feeling too much.

And right now, I needed to take out the trash. There wasn't any room left to throw the bottles away and the trash truck came tomorrow.

I stumbled another few steps, the trash bag dragging behind me. I pulled once more, a hard tug, and went flying forward into the small sand garden. I had to wait until the throbbing dulled enough to pull myself up. The bag became infinitely lighter in my hands.

Coughing and spitting the sand out of my mouth with a sob. I turned to see the dozens of alcohol bottles sprawled and rolling across my yard.

"Wow. You really suck at life." A small girl, maybe 10, leaned over my gate, smirking at me. 

Her skin was a natural, dark tan and her eyes, a bright cobalt that seemed to glow. Southern Asian, perhaps, maybe a little Korean blood. A deeper push with my powers had me rethinking.

"What do you want?" I picked up a handful of bottles, and stumbled to the trash can.

"I don't want anything. You're new here, aren't you? Do you need help?" She opened the trash lid for me, her pony tail swaying behind her.

The bottles shattered to the bottom of the trash bin. "No. I'm fine."

"You're clearly not. Come on I can help you." She quickly fixed the bangs dangling into her eyes.

"Look, I don't want to owe you anything." I collected another handful of bottles.

"How about this, I help you out and you give me a meal in return." This time she didn't open the lid for me.

I fumbled to open the lid, a few bottles dropping in the process. A small bruise peaked under the collar of her school uniform, her body too thin. "Fine. What's your name?"

She held out her hand. "Mirai. And you are?"

I took her hand, noting the small scars. "Token."

Her eyebrows raised. "That's an American name?" She bent down to pick up the broken bottles.

"Don't touch those, I'll deal with them." I ushered her away. "It's an English word turned into a name." My hands fumbled with the broken shards of glass.

"That's so cool. I'm taking English class in school and it's really hard, but they always have these cool names." She threw another handful of bottles away.

"How old are you? 5?" Small shards of glass broke into my skin, burning.

"5?" She announced, outraged. "I just turned 11 years old. I'm practically an adult now."

The bottles continued to slip from my hands, the blood making it hard to grip. "I think you still have a long way to go."

"Please. If adulthood looks anything like you, I'm doing great so far." She finished throwing the last of the bottles away. "Well I'm hungry, are you?"

I followed her into my home, her confidence amazing me. "I'm okay. What did you want to eat?"

"Anything." Her bare feet padded around my house, picking up a decoration to examine before continuing. "Actually, do you have any eggs? I love eggs."