𝕷𝖚𝖉𝖔𝖘 - 𝑨𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓

𝟕.- 𝐌𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"The seats are empty.
The theater is dark.
Why do you keep acting?"

𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

Today is the 9th of September-my birthday.

Today I'm 11 years old.

But I think I'm the only one who remembered my birthday.

This was my first birthday being recovered and away from the hospital. But it also meant to be away from Ian. Ma won't let me visit him, she says she's afraid my recovery will be in vain if we make a mistake. But she doesn't know that I have recovered thanks to the wish we made together to a shooting star, but the star only seems to wish for one person, because he is still sick.

But I remain vigilant every night so that I can make a wish for him.

After I got better from being sick for a long time, my mother had to work all day, so she left me alone in our little house. My dad disappeared a long time ago, and we never talked about him. That was our rule. Although I think they still keep in touch; the other day I found some letters in a language I couldn't understand, but the handwriting was so similar to my father's, so I think I am the problem. I didn't bring it up because Ma would be mad again and I don't want her to leave me. I believe that's why Dad left me, because he was mad at me, because he doesn't like me anymore. I think.

So now, it's just me and my mom, and she was always gone. But that's okay, I think. At least I'm sure she will always come back. Almost always.

Today I'm 11 years old, but it's still a day like any other. So I do what I would do on a normal day. I have breakfast as usual, but after I begged Ma she let me have a biscuit too. She says I shouldn't get used to luxuries and privileges, because it's unfair for me to have something that other kids don't have by doing nothing to deserve it. I understand that, I think.

After washing the dishes and cleaning the house, I grab my books for today, today it's for physics. I sit in my usual place, by the window and near the small fireplace I've lit today. Ma says that heat and cold are natural things of life, and that I have to get used to them to be stronger. But today it's very cold and I don't want to get sick, I don't want to go back to that place. So I'll make sure I turn it off long before she comes home so she won't notice. Hopefully, she won't notice.

I stare at the window, wondering about what are people doing today.

Next door used to live an old man named Mr. Allessi. The other kids in the neighborhood were scared of him because he yelled at them for playing too close to his house. He is always mad about something, especially the government. He said they ruined his life after his wife died in a shooting against protesters. But he liked me because I was quiet. Because I was never outside playing with the other kids.