plastic [ planet or plastic ]

i.

   "Mina! Mina, It hurts."

   The small child's cries made the teen cringe. The plastic was looped tightly around his wrist, and it showed no signs of coming undone anytime soon.

   She didn't know how the small boy manage to get something like this wrapped around his small wrists, something like a plastic bag wrapped so tightly it fished tears from his eyes.

   "I know, Jae," she nipped at the thin layer of plastic with the safety scissors, lips pressed tightly in a thin line, "I'm trying my best."

   "It hurts," he repeated, sniffling as his older sister adjusted the scissors.

   I know. I'm sorry.

   This had happened to one of them, not more than a year ago. The two of them had been out at the beach with their older brother, Kino, playing in the water joyously. Jae was splashing water in Mina's direction, while Mina was in an attempt to yank their eldest brother into the water. Though she had given up after a couple of minutes, and splashed playfully right back at Jae, laughing without a care in the world.

   It was towards the end of the day, after their brother joined them in the water and Mina had left to dry herself off with one of the four towels.

   Five minutes was all it took, and Jae was running in her direction with tears in his eyes, screaming as Kino walked behind him, lightly tugging at a plastic bag that had somehow looped around his neck.

   He was lucky it wasn't tight. Others weren't.

   This problem was one that was inevitable. Children, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens alike were ending up in the hospital, because they had stepped on a plastic fork, or a plastic knife. Some of them didn't even make it out of the water because of the ropes, and the nets that were beneath the surface.

   The plastic bag was soon being thrown into the trash bin, and Jae had latched himself onto Mina's leg.

   "You okay, little dude?"

  Jae only nodded in response, rubbing at his wrist slightly as he rubbed his cheek against the girl's leg.

   A pained smile painted itself on the girl's lips, and she ruffled the boy's hair gently, "do you want to go get some ice cream? You can put whatever you want on it."

   The boy looked at his sister, nodding his head as he detached himself from the girl's leg, and instead grabbed her hand in his and chewed on his other thumb. The tears had stopped falling, but there was a small streak on his cheek that would be enough to prove that he was, indeed, in pain.

   Mina nodded her head, and the two began to walk hand in hand down the street.

   People were turning the planet into their personal trashcan, throwing trash wherever they pleased, whenever they pleased.

   It causing pain. Destroying lives.

   No one even tried to prevent the pain. They didn't care. They didn't understand.

   And they never would.