Sentiment of a Witness

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚍𝚎

My eyes widened upon hearing the news, as my parents' probably did too... I wouldn't know – I was too ashamed to look at them.

The silence stretched as I waited for one of my parents to say something.

"No," My mother finally whispered; her voice shaking.

The doctor shook his head as he led us to the door, recognising a conversation coming that he didn't want to referee, "My tests are never wrong, Mrs Korrapati. But it looks like young John will be a great Witness, such a strong connection with the Gossamer already! You should be proud to call him your son."

Yeah. Sure.

I was a Witness. They were Anti-Witness Protesters or whatever. Something was going to change... whether that be my parents' view on Witnesses or my parents' view on me.

You can probably guess which they chose.

I remember the journey back home vividly – the soul-crushing silence, the hatred, the fear. How was I supposed to live now?

Answer: I wasn't.

Once we arrived home, I debated running straight up to my room and screaming my little heart out, or waiting for my parents' instructions. I didn't want to get into any more trouble than I knew I was already in, so I decided to stay put and follow my parents out of the carriage.

I kept my head down, looking at my feet. I followed my parents through the front door of our estate, stopping when they closed the door and came to stand in front of me.

"Eyes up here, boy."

His rough, cold tone was shocking, though I really should've been expecting it. I looked up to my parents' near-expressionless faces and saw nothing but the anger, fear, and sadness burning in their eyes.

"Go to your room. We'll discuss this all tomorrow," my mother said curtly, averting her eyes from me and heading straight to the lounge room. My father gave me a final glare accompanied by somewhat of a snarl before following my mother.

It was foolish, but part of me had still hoped that they'd put their arms around me and tell everything was okay, that we'd get through this, that they still loved me. I remember the burning sensation behind my eyes as I made my way swiftly to my room. I never was one to cry a lot, but ever since that day, it was something I grew accustomed to.

Sleep did not find me easily that night. I was tossing and turning, worrying about what the future now held for me. I doubted it would be very bright. By the time the sun rose, I had only managed to sleep for about three hours. I decided it would be best to stay in my room until my parents called for me.

A few hours pass and the only interaction with the outside world I receive was Alicea giving me a tray of food with a small, sad smile. She knew something was wrong, that much was obvious, but how much she knew... I still don't know.

I spent my day until lunch reading and watching the birds in the trees outside. The Forest of Somerher was a very peaceful place to live, and I often wish I could go back there, but whenever I have tried, a state of panic hits me, driving my mental well-being away into some foreign land.

Alicea came up to take the breakfast tray that I had barely touched and give me a tray of lunch. But my lunch was not all that was on the tray – beside the plate with a chicken and salad sandwich lay a note.

"You might want to read that," Alicea said softly, nodding to the note as she picked up the breakfast tray with a slight frown, "and do eat your lunch – a growing boy like you needs lots of nutrition."

She gave me one last smile as she exited my room. I had always liked Alicea, and I do wonder where she's ended up.

I sighed as I picked up the note, knowing it would be from my parents.

Meet us in the living room at precisely one o'clock. Don't be late – we don't have all day.

Well, I could damn well see that... leaving me hanging around for a reply from yesterday.

I looked at the clock. It was 12:30. Great, I thought, what do I do now?

I opted for staring at the clock for the next twenty-five minutes, which felt like three hours.

At twelve fifty-five, I reluctantly crept out of my room and down to the living room, dreading whatever was to come.

I knocked on the door and waited until my father opened the door. He stared down at me before grunting and pushing me inside.

I sat down on the armchair across from my parents on the sofa. We sat in silence for a minute before my mother spoke up.

"You're a Witness."

Her voice was rough and scratchy, as if she had been crying for hours.

I just blinked at her. She was just stating a fact we all knew.

She took a deep breath.

"Disgusting."

I looked at the ground.

"You're lucky that your father and I have decided to let you stay."

Ha, who said I ever wanted to stay?

"You will continue your studies with Ms Jameson and Mr McKinnon, and there will be two new rules, maybe more if you don't behave; you will not come out of your room unless it's for a necessity, and you will not speak without being spoken to. Is that understood?"

I nodded.

"I said, 'is that understood?'"

"Yes..."

"Good. Now go back to your room."

I nodded and left, running straight back up to my room and burying myself in the covers of my bed with tears running freely down my face.

The people I loved most in the world had just turned their backs on me. People change like the tide... and I'm glad I realised that early in my life.

Written - 24-25 April, 2021

Rewritten - 5 May,  2021

Published - 9 May, 2021