Merrick was always very feminine. He got into his mother's makeup, he always found himself in the girls section in every store, and he somehow always had gal pals because he found that little pony toys were much more fun than plastic cars and doing each other's hair was much more satisfying than the "fake" fights the other boys took part in.
Merri had white blonde hair when he was young and his face was also girlish, he wore oversized tees because his parents couldn't care enough to get him clothes that fit him. He was only 10 when he met a boy named Kyle. Kyle was an adorable little kid with long, light brown hair. There was always just a thing about Kyle that made Merri trust him much more than other boys, in fact they talked about everything, tried to understand things together. One day they got on the topic of the different kinds of love. They sat together in the corner of the classroom and started to talk about how they say they love their parents but the way they love their parents and the way their parents loved each other was very different. Kyle mentioned how his parents normally kissed when they said they loved each other and Merri concluded that, that was what made the two kinds of love different. They sat there a moment and they thought and finally Kyle broke the silence.
"Hey, I actually think I love you..." the little boy smiled over at the even smaller child and Merri smiled excitedly back up at him and quickly agreed. There was a pure innocence in the kiss they shared, the childish innocence that is normally found to be cute. Cute until kids start asking their parents about boys loving boys, which leads to parents talking to teachers, and, in turn, teachers talking to parents.
Kyle ended up just getting scolded not to do such things in public because he doesn't understand the significance of it yet, Kyle's parents didn't mind much, though.
Merri's parents, on the other hand, were less than pleased. They were sick of their child already up to this point, noticing that he wasn't normal and hardly caring enough to try to understand why, the child kissing another boy was the last thing that they ever heard about in the small boy's life. They dropped him off at the doorstep of an orphanage, but Merri knew enough about this from that one musical he really liked, he couldn't remember the name, but he didn't want to end up in a place like this. Looking around and watching as his parents drove off, he finally skipped down the road, deciding the first thing he needed was a place to stay that wasn't horrible.
He wondered for hours looking for a proper place but never found a home, instead he found a mechanics shop. Being fascinated in electronics and cars -one of the most boyish things he enjoyed- he decided to walk up to the front door, knocking gently. He heard a man call from inside, asking if he read the sign that says they're closed. The boy definitely had but didn't really care as he bravely knocked again, he heard footsteps pounding angrily towards the door and saw a man come out, about to yell again until he saw who his uninvited guest was. Upon seeing him, he sort of froze. The man was rather tall, his hair dark and cut short, a bit of scruff on his face as if he couldn't be bothered to shave it for a week. Dirt and grease covered his uniform and he wiped his blackened hands on the material.
A smile spread across the man's face as he opened the door and asked him what he was doing out so late on his own. Answering honestly, he told him that his parents had left him. The man's smile twitched downward and he sighed before openening the door again.
"As much as I'd love to, I can't take care of you, little buddy, run along now," he jerked his head to motion him out the door and the boy pouted but didn't object, stepping out into the cold of the street and shivering before turning around to wave goodbye to the kind man, even if he didn't let him stay. The man waved back and watched as the kid skipped off, sighing and shaking his head, an exhausted hand ran down his face and he sat there a moment to think before shaking his head again and stepping back into the back room.
YOU ARE READING
The Clearing in the Woods
Teen Fiction"They had waited all day, watching the clocks until school let out, that was when they were free. They were free to go to safe haven, free from scorn or insult, free from religion and moral. Everything here is perfect." = A group of 6 kids finds a s...
