The Nervous Sequence

Flashbacks

The Nervous System. A system in your body that is needed for pretty much everything you do in your whole life. Well if that's the case, then I guess pretty much everything in my life is missing.
    It all started when I was 5 years old. At first I thought that it was normal. That all kids in kindergarten couldn't feel a thing when they turned five. So, I didn't tell my family.
I'm just going to go into the past and tell you my story from the beginning. I knew this day like the back of my hand.
A few days before I turned 5, on a Sunday, my friends, Liam and Lily, came over for a barbecue.
   My mother told me to be obedient, if anything. Of course I obeyed but I didn't see my fate coming at me like a gust of wind from the highest mountain. My family came outside with marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate.

    We all sat around the fire, talking about school, or what we wanted to do before Lily moved to Maine and Liam moved to New York. We all lived in Massachusetts at the time. But soon, the friendship would end and the future would be unknown. Lily brought a marshmallow to her face after putting over the fire, the top a golden brown. It looked delicious. Although, when I brought mine back, it was a charred, black marshmallow. I decided not to eat it. Liam was to the right of me, eating a s'more.

     "It's great to see you before I leave." Liam said, swallowing the remains of the s'more.

    "Yeah. It just won't be the same without you two." I said.

     " It's ok, we'll send you messages, FaceTime, etc. By the way, I have something for you," Lily said reaching into her pocket. She took out a bracelet, that said LOL on it. Lily, Octavia and Liam.

     "Oh thank you! It's beautiful." I had said, putting in on my tiny wrist. "Its leather. The texture is so cool." I touched it but I couldn't feel anything. Let alone leather. I couldn't feel anything physically, just mentally. And I thought it was... normal.

      "Um... sorry I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. There's nothing to feel. Except... happiness? There's no other.. oh maybe surprise?" I said, a little worried.

     "No, I mean physically." I had to leave. I always thought that I was normal. But I was... disabled. But I didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't know the right words to describe it. I got up out of my seat and backed up.

     "Um.. I'm going to get some water." I was about to turn and run, but as I turned, the fire pit was right in front of me. I tripped and fell right into the coals of the fire. All I heard was screams, and crying. But I was fine, although my hands were bloody, burned, black and charred. My mother came running over and the next thing I knew, I was in the car, rushed to the hospital.

   My father stayed with my friends, or so I was told. In minutes, we were at the hospital, and they took me in straight away. In the emergency room, the doctor had asked, "Does it hurt?" I said no because I seriously didn't know what she was trying to get at. I waited for a while, and soon they treated it as much as possible. When the doctors stopped rushing in and my mother stopped crying, I knew that I was ok. For now. That's when I found out that I had nerve damage. I would never be able to feel anything again. Ever. When I got home an hour later, my friends hugged me a hello and a goodbye. But when Lily left, Liam held back.

    "Hey, I wanted to give this to you as an early birthday present and as a goodbye gift." He took out a necklace with all of my favorite symbols from movies and books. It was so amazing.
He handed me the necklace. I touched the necklace at the same time he did, and suddenly something flooded through me. Not emotion, but physical pain. I pulled away quickly. I knew he felt something too because his reaction was too hard to miss. I never wanted to feel that way again. The pain, the cold, the air, the feeling of the burns all over my hands. Liam gave me a moment of interest, of something new. So, when he left, I felt like everything was missing. And after that day, my life went downhill. Bullying, unacceptance, no friends.
    Now, at 16, I moved to New York as well, in hopes of a better future.
We lived in a large house that was a wonderful baby blue, with white siding. It felt almost calmer up here. The air seemed fresh and new.
As soon as we got there, I unpacked, loving every inch of the house. After the weekend I would start Junior year of High School. I hoped it would be better than the years before.
***
I put on Liam's necklace and a white dress that fell to my knees. My hair was in a French braid that crossed the back of my head. Gold earrings dangled from my earlobes, as I put on mascara and lip gloss. White flowers stuck out from my braid. I looked into the mirror before I left. My eyes were a bright blue from the lighting, green specks seemed to float in the infinite blue. Freckles sprinkled across my nose and cheeks. And my hair turned from dark to light brown.
     My eyes caught the picture of me when I was 5. It was in a frame with Lily, Liam and I, sitting on a bleacher at our elementary school. We were all laughing at something Lily said. She always made us laugh. My mom had taken the picture because it was the only time we didn't notice. We never liked taking pictures willingly. My vision became blurry as I reminisced. I blinked back my tears, not wanting to ruin my makeup, and I left the bathroom.
    I finished getting everything else ready, eating breakfast, driving to school and finally walking into the school.
    I got to my locker afterwards and took out my book bag, slinging it over my shoulder. I held a few books in my hand because it wouldn't fit in the backpack. When i closed my locker, i felt that rush again. The feeling of pain and cold and being overwhelmed came back. And I knew exactly who it was.