I was 8 years old.
Charlie Stevens sat next to me.
"How come your always so quiet?" he asked so innocently.
I blinked.
Was he actually talking to me?
No one talks to me.
I pointed myself as if I were asking if he were talking to me.
He nodded.
"I- I wouldn't be s-so quiet i-if people a-ac- actually talked t-to me" I said stuttering over multiple words.
He stared at me for two whole minutes before bursting into a fit of laughter.
The whole class turned and looked at him.
"What are you? 4 years old? You can't even speak English!" he exclaimed as if it were an achievement.
The whole class giggled and laughed, I even saw Mrs. Hues let a small laugh escape her lips.
From that moment I vowed to never speak again.
I stood from my seat, glanced at Charlie and ran out of the class room. I sprinted through the hallways as fast as I could.
Before I knew it I was outside.
Had I actually left school?
How stupid could I be?
My collecting thoughts didn't stop me from running.
I looked down at wrist to see the numbers 2:17 flash on my watch.
An hour had passed since I ran out of the class room.
I looked a round at my surroundings.
Where was I ?
I walked into the tall grass on the side of the road. I carelessly plopped down, throwing my backpack to the ground next to me. I unzipped it and poured the contents out. I made a mental list of everything I had.
7 pencils
1 pen
A binder
A green, red, blue, purple and black marker
A turtle shaped eraser
3 rubber bands
Great. How was I supposed to survive with those dumb objects?
Truthfully I didn't want anyone to find me. I never wanted to go back to that class. I never wanted to see Charlie again. I know now that what I wanted then was a mistake.
I sat there in the grass for 3 hours before anyone found me. I was asked about a million questions. All of which I refused to answer. I vowed to never speak again and I was not about to break that vow.
The doctors thought I was in shock, unable to speak. The therapist thought I was just afraid the talk because I was made fun of for the way I talked. My parents thought that maybe I fell while running away. Somehow damaging something inside of me, making it impossible for me to speak.
They were all wrong.
YOU ARE READING
Living Silently
General FictionI am Callie Marie. I well, I guess, live silently. I go days upon days without saying a word. I'm often asked why I won't speak. They call me mute and other harsh names. I stopped talking because I was afraid. I was afraid people would judge me...
