I'm Scared, Please Hold Me

The Beginning

Shhh. Be quite, don't make a sound, they might hear you. They are everywhere, especially when you least expect it. My Mom once told me a story about them, but to this day, none of us have a clue who or what they are. We refer to them as shadows, for lack of a better, more technical name. When I was little, I could sense and even see the shadows better than I can now. I've been told it's because kids haven't stopped playing pretend and using their imagination. This makes little kids wanted by the shadows so they can harvest their power, but also feared because kids hold the power to overthrow them. I don't know what would ever happen if they did ever succeed, but it can't be good. My Mom wants me to have a kid so she can teach them how to use the power they have to help us defeat the shadows. The shadows, the took my grandma from me when I was just a fetus. I would have loved to have learned from my grandma, she was so smart, so caring and so brave. One thing though, that has made her different from all the others, was that she could she the shadows and even communicate with them. She wouldn't teach my mother any of it, the shadows threatened to take her life, just as they have. She knew she was dying, and decided to teach my Mom until they caught her. I wish I could be as brave as her one day, but for now, I'll just continue life as it is, until my time comes.

"Sitting on this cold park bench wasn't the best idea we had." I say sarcastically. "Well I didn't hear you come up with any of your brilliant ideas, now did I?", my friend snaps. "Well damn, what got her so pissed?" I ask myself. Well, at least I thought it was to myself. "People, and just life in general. If you got a problem with it, you could leave!", She says almost yelling. I grab my backpack, headphones, and make up. I stand up, and leave without another word said.

As I walk away, I decide to check my phone. I unlock my phone using the same code I've had since I can remember. 1-2-3-4, I type, it unlocks. Lame I know, but no one ever thinks to try it because of how simple it is.

The first place I check I Snapchat, then Facebook. While scrolling though the posts about who's having a baby and the latest fight, I see a post that catches my eye.

"You can't love someone else until you love yourself"

I read the words over once again because I know who wrote it. I've said that line so many times. It's a code we use to tell each other when we need help. I turn around and walk back to the bench where my friend, Jasmine, was sitting.

She doesn't look up from her phone so I squat so I become eye level with her. I place my index finger under her chin to force her to look at me.

"I saw the post", I say in almost a whisper. She breaks into tears, using her hands as a shield to block her eyes. I go to hug her but hesitated due to the outburst earlier. I sit next to her on the bench and rub her back. In a split second, she turns and hugs me, I don't ask questions, I just hug her back. We hug in silence while sitting on this cold park bench, I wait for her to calm down.

"I-I just....I just can't anymore!" She exclaims through the tears. I hug her tighter because even without knowing what's wrong, I understand what that feels like. To feel like you want to give up, to end it all.

She readjusts herself so that we are facing each other. She doesn't look at me, doesn't say a word, doesn't breathe. I lift her head, "What's wrong?", I ask, staring straight into her dark brown eyes. "It's-It's" she can barely speak. We hug again. "Tell me later", I whisper in her ear as we leave the bench and head home.