Albino Child

Three

I awoke in a small enclosed chamber, the walls painted matte printer-paper-white and as I rolled my head side to side I was greeted with more white-wash wall and a steel tray, upon said item was a beige card bowl filled with bloodied gauze and dark shiny clots; I began to realise that I was no longer lying on the gappy wooden surface but on my back inside an infirmary- the image began to build up as I scanned the room: there was the lumpy medical cot I lay on, a plastic trolley with the tray, a set of barren shelves and, near my feet, a small window obstructed by pale grey blinds- I wondered whether there was a door, and then it hit me, I could move my head so I could probably talk to and try and get the attention of some life-form who could tell me where I was. I opened my desiccated cavern to be greeted with a harsh scratching noise, my tongue lay limply on the base of my mouth and refused to do my bidding, lolling uselessly in the veiny area it I closed the opening and scowled in frustration; if noise was not going to work then surely flailing would, I began to thrash wildly but nobody was there to hear the messy whacks and crumpled cardboard covers.

I lay flat upon the sheet, I was actually tired after the mildly strenuous workout and cloudy tears of salty sweat bubbled on my high hairline, reaching to wipe it away, I realised that my arms were restrained but my legs were not, furthermore, I was unable to reach the attention of anyone so it was highly likely I would have to wait it out; cursing under my breath, I sighed in irritation- why was I being placed in an environment that deems normal students to be chained up, I had not caused trouble previously and there was nothing for people to pull over me, I sighed- all this thinking was being to stress out my mind as I carelessly mulled over the random chains of thoughts that cluttered my mind, mentally organising them into fields that filled the previously predominantly empty tables of 'strange experiences'. I croaked out as bile rose onto the back of my throat, the ugly burning sensation scalding the hypersensitive tissue, the thin membrane was broken as I could feel it peeling away- I began to gag on the bitter fluid and attempted to spit it out but all it did was dribble carelessly onto a crinkled shirt.

The rectangular section of the wall pushed open towards me like a door, I was mildly surprised but no facial expression was replied to the situation- the acidic puree was uncomfortable and I feared that any form of movement may rupture the newfound peace with my stomach- a boy entered, he was not particularly tall nor small and possessed a blank face, an uneven dappling of acne dotted his face but he looked natural- I always wondered how people avoid clogged pores and disfigured lumps but realised through a mixture of cosmetic measures and partying were the best ways to prevent such an outcome- he walked over and removed the restraints, I rolled my wrists to exercise the joints and raised his left hand and with his pinky finger and thumb, grasped my temples and pressed them.

I blanked. Again.

I reawoke to see the boy sitting on a white box- no shadow was cast but it just lay there, with his there too, he sat with another boy but he was albino; white hair, cobalt-blue streaked skin and cadmium red eyes- they were vibrant and were framed by heavy eyelashes that partially obscured the top half of the seemingly unnaturally thick eyelashes. No noise was uttered as they gestured for me to sit on the other free box, I almost did not notice it because it blended with the background so well, I reluctantly went over and did as they indicated, sat on the dubious box. They exchanged nods, Albino grasped my left wrist and Acne grabbed my right wrist, standing up again, they walked me to a solid metal gate that had an ordinary design- roses dotted the portcullis design and thorny leaves wrapped around steely bars- dropping my limbs unexpectedly, they filed themselves behind and in front of me as they opened the entrance. Walking through the arch, we strolled several steps then stopped.

"You came up with names for us I presume?" Albino mumbled, there was a clear sense of hollowness as if he knew the answer but wanted to hope that I had not.

"Of course he had, if one of us were the ones in control we would have done the same" Acne replied softly, I had noticed that they were all speaking in hushed tones as if they were wary of disturbing something.

"Yes," I finally uttered, pointing at Acne first I rolled out his label then did the same for Albino.

"Correct, and you are?" Albino whispered slowly- he twirled his pale locks within bony fingers and rubbed the thin wires tentatively.

"Anorexic" I had simply retorted with the first word that came into my mind- that seemed to be right, that was the correct name as far as I knew.

"We have finally been reunited," Acne sung mellifluously, "We make up the three entities that fill a boy called-"

"You should already know" Albino cut in coldly.

"Correct, I do." I knew exactly what they were talking about as I recalled exactly what we were.

We were the facets that strung together the poor boy that strived for perfection, we had claimed and came to realise that we would die for beauty, we had finally realised the world and what it was- a callous entity that strived for absolute flawlessness, disregarding everything and moving on was the only way to achieve excellence. When I realised that the world cared nothing for the ugly, foul and poor, I finally understood the code that society ran on, a mixture of hypocrisy and pettiness were the two main figures that made up the backbone for the way the system ran; I was going to win, regardless of the consequence and what I sacrificed to achieve the ultimate goal it was going to be worth it to complete, I sure that the only road was to create and attain the impeccable level of immaculateness. I was fixed on the path to success: I walked everywhere to cut down on pollution, gave to charity to subdue the guilt that clawed my empty soul and disregarded everything I deemed to be unnecessary to focus upon more pressing matters such as perfection in school grades, extracurricular excellence and social surroundings.

Nothing mattered more than perfection.