A place in time I don’t remember yet it is where I took off on my anxious flight towards nowhere
For the next 3 years I was in a fever dream of seclusion
Silence and solitude became the new normal
But it shouldn’t have been normal when I returned to school in person
The sights and sounds of human activity often stirred a quiet uneasy feeling within me
A series of unfortunate events
2022, I walked my way to school, the day dawning bright and bold
Reality crashed into me, a car on a collision course with my life
By the police officer who pledges to keep everyone safe
I have a permanent reminder on my right knee, resembling a grid etched in stone
Everytime I must cross a street, I look twice, thrice, four times over
A series of unfortunate events
2023, the first summer where the not-so-great city of San Francisco held a parade for the first time since Covid-19
The most amount of people I have ever seen gather in one area
It was hard to breathe, talk, think
I seen a happy couple walk by me with a candy apple in hand
A few minutes later that candy apple was catching dirt as they ran right past me
Then everyone was running from the supposed assailant who meant to harm others
I have since never gone to a populated event
A series of unfortunate events
2023, the night of Thanksgiving that I was not thankful for
That night I was tucked in
That night the unusual rumble of a car made itself known
Then BAM!
A delirious driver drove through my lawn and into the wall where on the other side of it rested my head
I am only maturing because of a potted plant and a persistent pipe
Now I sleep furthest from my window’s gaze
Now I anxiously look around indoors when I hear the rumble of a car
A series of unfortunate events
2025,
I still hesitate, hands trembling, before crossing the concrete
I still avoid clamoring crowds
I still sleep the furthest away from my window’s gaze
Because of a series of unfortunate events
--Madisyn C., 9th-12th Grade