You walk your black lab down the street. You clench the leash, its your first time walking alone. You begin to loosen the leash with each step, your lips form a smile and like a soldier returning from battle you march. The lab wants to stop to eat grass, you don’t let her. Just like mom told you, you are the one in control. You pull the leash closer to your body. As you pass the first house on your left you remember the screams and the yelling and being woken in the middle of the night. Every night. One day a police car came, and after that the screams stopped. You don’t know why. You wanted to be a policeman or a fighter pilot or a chef or Batman, just like every other kid in your class.
Your attention shifts back to your lab. She stares…
You feel the cool air warm up around yourself. There is a pleasantness that can only be found in these warm winter days. Birds squawk overhead. In a pack they fly in v’s. You wanted to fly, but the dream fled after you jumped off the deck. Birds gain height, you gained a broken arm. The birds slow and descend onto the small patch of grass to your left. Wildlife is all around you, but the adults don’t seem to notice. Not far ahead, a squirrel shoves acorns into his mouth, climbing up a tree he deposits his cache into a hole. He runs down the tree to start the process again. Nature is a cycle, a loop that won’t…
A black van pulls up next to you and the driver rolls down the window and he asks where your parents are. You are scared. You don’t know this man. His car is old and beat-up. Scout growls. You start to walk away. When he yells “come back” you run. Scout is barking. The man starts to follow in his car. He keeps telling you to get in. You won’t. You can’t. You keep running faster and faster. You pull out your flip phone that Mom and Dad told you to only use for emergencies. This is an emergency. An operator answers. “A man is following me!” you yell. The car stops, makes a u-turn, and screeches out of the street. You keep running. Don’t look back. You make it to the front door. You are tired. So is Scout. You’re safe.
The police come a few minutes later. They want to talk about the man, about what he said, what he did. You describe the car, the man’s face, and his voice. The police say thank you, and leave. You don’t want to go outside of the house. You like the policemen though. You want to be a policeman. They never found the man. You hope he went away, forever. When you become a police officer, you want to catch the…
