There once was a boy named Tabitha. He was made fun of daily because of his girly name, they yelled in his face, "Tabitha! Tabitha! I've heard girls have manlier names than you, Tabitha. Am I right, Cameron?" A little girl with pigtails looked over and replied in a deep voice, "Yeah. Tabitha, you're a sissy." Tabitha went home every day and hid in his closet, where he thought was safe, and no one could tease him. But alas, he was wrong. His stuffed animals whispered and giggled to each other, saying "Couldn't a manly cheetah like me go to an actual guy, with an actual guy name, like Greg?" They all got a chuckle out of that one. Everyone but Tabitha. Tabitha ran out of his closet and tripped over a balled-up blanket on the floor that he didn't see, because his tears fogged his vision. He fell to the floor, tears streaming down his face, and stayed there until he woke up the next morning. Tabitha woke up at 7:30 to go to school, like he always did, or at least, he thought he woke up then. He heard giggling from his stuffed animals, but he decided to ignore it. But as he went outside, it seemed everything around him was laughing at him and his girly name. The tree, the birds, even the grass was taunting him and calling him hurtful profanity. Tabitha was worried, and assumed that none of this was real, that he was only thinking it, but everything actually was against him. He furthered on to school, wishing his parents named him something else, like Kane, or Caleb, or Trent. Heck, he would've even taken a weirder name, like Aithon, or Grayson, anything to keep him from getting teased. As he approached the front door of the school, it seemed the teasing was getting louder. Inside of his classroom, he felt like he was being watched, and he was, because as he turned around, everyone was facing his direction and looking at him, even the teacher, and the class hamster, Snuffles. He felt a constant anxiety all day, especially since that very day was show-and-tell. As he walked up to the podium at the front of the class, everyone was watching him, as they had been all day, even his stuffed cheetah was staring at Tabitha while he carried him up to the stand at the front of the class. He stood up at the podium, facing everyone but the teacher, whose desk was behind the stand, but he still knew she was looking at him with piercing eyes. "This is Charlie the cheetah.. H-he is my item f-for show-and-tell.. I g-got him at.." His horrible presentation was interrupted by booing and mocking of his name. He cried at started to run away, but he couldn't move, he was stuck at the front of the class screaming and begging to be released until his eyes opened the next morning on the carpeted floor in his room. He woke up, relieved, and ready for school. When he came home, he heard a distant rumble in his closet, but decided that they weren't worth his trouble or time, for he had had a long day, and was ready for a good night's sleep. However, a good night sleep is not what he got. He woke up not even in his bed, but on a couch inside of a house he wasn't familiar with. As he walked through a hallway with semi-painted red walls, there was an aroma that filled his nostrils with hatred. It was blood, not paint. Terrified thoughts filled Tabitha's mind, thoughts such as "Why is there blood on the walls?", and "Whose blood is it?" the average run-of-the-mill thoughts you have when you see blood on the walls. He heard screams, and they seemed to get louder as he approached the door at the end of the hallway. It squeaked loud enough to almost cover the blood-curdled screams when he opened the old rusted door. Another hallway followed. And another. And one more before he came to where the piercing screeches originated. As he slowly opened the door, his vision turned a devilish red, for that was the overall atmosphere of the room. Inside was what Tabitha assumed was the Devil, torturing a young familiar-looking boy. The Devil taunted him, saying hurtful things, like, "You'll never amount to anything in life, boy" "You're just an accident that your parents were forced to keep. A worthless sack of crap" The Devil went on and on, carving into the boy with words as sharp as dagger. It wasn't until he said, "Your parents didn't want you. They wanted a girl. That' s why your name sounds like an old lady choir director at a Presbyterian church, Tabitha." That he realized that the familiar-looking boy was him. A gasp of shock escaped Tabitha's vocal chords like the winds on a warm Fall day, and was loud enough to alert to Devil of his presence. He turned around, and said with a demonic smile, "Well, look who joined the party. For a second time". He glanced over at the tied-up boy, and went to look up and the identical boy in the doorway, but the boy was gone, nothing remained of him but a speck of dust he left in a hurry. The satanic beast charged after Tabitha like a wild bull, but Tabitha was surprisingly fast, due to all the bully-dodging he did, and outran the beast, and made to what he thought was safety. As he walked through the grass outside on his cut, barefoot feet, he started to wonder where his shoes went, for he didn't remember when or how they came off, but his questioning thoughts were interrupted by a sudden yelling and cursing, surrounding everything around him, until he couldn't move. He fell to the floor in pain and agony, and stayed there until the morning sun rose the next day. The "COCKER-ROCKER-DOODLE-DOO" of his rooster alarm clock woke him up on his nice, comfy, bed, as he happily but slowly got ready. His cereal didn't taste the same this morning, it tasted almost like it burnt his tongue, however, Tabitha ignored and ventured off to school. It seemed like everything was going fine that day, given the fact that nobody has said anything to him yet. Although it was strange, because his best friend, a girl, named Breana Elizabeth, hasn't said anything to him, either. As he approached his friend, she didn't even seem to know he was there, no matter what he did. He screamed and yelled to her, calling her name, but no one heard him. It was like he didn't exist. He tried to touch her arm to get her attention, but his hand went straight through her. He was out of ideas, so he tried to kiss her on the cheek, for he had always kind of liked her, but he fell through her and slammed his elbow and forehead hard against the desk behind her, making a noise that made everyone in the classroom jump and investigate. No one saw Tabitha there, and Tabitha saw no one either, for his tears of pain made his vision unclear, like a windshield on rainy day, but Tabitha had no windshield wipers. Only pain and suffering, for his elbow and forehead didn't bother him much, no, the physical pain didn't matter to him. It only hurt him in the heart, a burning pain, because no one cared for him, or asked him if he was okay. No, they checked what happened to the desk. He ran out of the room, bumping into chairs and tables on the way out, startling the class once more and one last time before he left. He sat alone on the swings until school was dismissed. He ran home, sprinting straight through everyone he passed, and he didn't slow down until he got to his house. He came in, exclaiming, "Mom, I'm home!", but this time, the clinking and clanking of pots and pans didn't stop. She kept washing, and cooking, even when Tabitha was right beside of her, screaming in his prepubescent voice. She looked up at the wall clock, and started to speed walk outside to the yard. "TABITHA" "TABITHA, IT'S TIME TO COME HOME!" She stayed silent for a minute. "TABITHA BLANIELLE MILLER, YOU COME HOME THIS INSTANT!" She waited outside for about for about five minutes before giving up and coming inside. "My God, Tabitha, where the heck could you even be?" He replied, "I'm here, I'm here, Mom! Can't you see me?" His mom not only did not realize he was there, she also said, "I knew we should've tried harder for a girl.." Tabitha thought back in fear. The Devil wasn't lying. They did want a girl. He ran to his room, dreading for the next dream, but feeling a dying urge to sleep. He was out of it as soon as his cold skin made contact with the bed. He woke up on the curb. As is his sore, flimsy, body rose up, he heard tauntings from each and every direction. "Tabitha, you're a girl" "Tabitha, you're worthless" "Tabitha, you like boys, don't you, Tabitha??". With each hurtful and torture-induced insult, Tabitha lowered farther and farther down, just as his self esteem did. It went on for about until five more minutes before Tabitha's skin tone was tinted red, and his eyes were full of fire and hatred, as if they were the gates of Hell. "STOP!!!". His mighty voice echoed across the town and through every bully's thick skull. "I AM DONE! NO ONE WILL HURT ME EVER AGAIN!" And with that, Tabitha flew off, rampaging through the town, with hate in his heart and flames in his eyes. Every car, tree, bird, even human couldn't stop Tabitha's wrath, and he didn't attempt to hold it back, for it was a dream and most likely a good way to vent. Authorities looked for Tabitha, for he had committed a horrible crime. As police officers stepped over strangers, friends, and even family, the wrath grew inside of them, too. Tabitha kept plowing, and hurting, his bullies, some of his friends, police officers, even strangers, just for getting in his way. He approached his best friend Breana's house, with rage fueling his every move. Tabitha kicked down her door, causing screams from her and her family. As Tabitha got closer and closer, Breanna scooted farther and farther away, until she was cornered by walls and her own crippling fear. Tabitha grabbed her by the neck, held her up, and while looking into her eyes, broke down crying. He gently let go of her, and ran out of the house, and in front of multiple cars, but alas, not one hit hurt him. He woke up, tears staining his pillow, but relieved that the dream was over. But as he got up and got ready, the house was empty. No Mom. No Sparky, his dog. No anyone, anyone but Tabitha. As he opened the door to go to school, he realized where everyone was. Heaven. Fires flooded the streets, as did his friends and loved ones, and even people he never met. Tabitha broke down and cried immediately. It was his fault. Everyone was gone, because of him. And he thought it was all a dream. He ran straight back to bed, and fell asleep in shame. Tabitha didn't wake up the next morning. Or the next one, or the one after that. No, Tabitha stayed there, stiff as a statue, days, for weeks, and even for years before eventually, he decayed.
Kelly woke up the next morning. "What a horrible but relatable dream I had", he thought. It made him look a life a different way, that maybe the bullying wasn't as bad as he assumed. He quickly got his clothes on, ate his morning cereal, and skipped off to school, ready to block out all the insults.
THE END
