Eleven+Shades+of+Grey,+Yunice

It was a dark, dark night. Actually, it wasn’t. It was mid afternoon, a sunny one at that. However, the stone at the mouth of the cave prevented any light from coming in. I could barely see my own hand. The sound of dripping water echoed steadily. Even louder than the water was my own breathing. My chest heaved heavily against my knees. On the day of this incident, I had just turned 7. I didn’t know much, but I knew a cave was an unusual place to spend a Saturday afternoon, especially if that Saturday was your birthday. Still, I had no choice. It was a matter of survival. Food was on the line, and I didn’t think I could manage another hour without food. Apparently, the fact that I was the birthday girl didn’t matter to my chasers. My chasers. What an eerie word – for some reason, it felt strangely familiar. Maybe it was one person, or perhaps a several group of hunters. I had no way of knowing. I twitched in the dark. Something was different, something – I couldn’t quite grasp it, but there was a change in the air. I finally realized that the dripping sound of water was now reduced to almost nothing. A hand clapped over my mouth. I gasped, struggling to get the hand off me. Nothing worked. I finally understood what ‘my voice didn’t work’ felt like. It wasn’t that my voice wasn’t working; it was. But the hand, now sweaty from effort to keep me in place, blocked any sound from escaping me. My mind went blank. I was so startled by this situation that reality didn’t enter my mind. All I knew was that this person was my enemy. I kicked. I shook. I shouted, screamed, twisted, pinched, bit, tried everything I could think of. Finally, the hand let go. The barrier was gone, but I still couldn’t speak. I breathed in and out heavily, gasping for air. “What's the struggle? It’s just me.” I whirled around, despite my aching side, trying to locate the source of the sound. Gradually, a dark silhouette appeared right in front of my face. I scrambled back, still shaken by what just happened. Now, without the hand blocking my voice and thoughts, reality came back. Anger replaced fear. I knew it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it. //How dare he touch me; him of all the people//! He should have known that I absolutely detested being touched. I walked toward him in one big step, put my hand against his throat, and said, “If you ever do that again, I swear to every single god that has ever existed-“ “I think I get your point,” he interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. All the anger and little left of fear inside me melted down, and I couldn’t help but marvel and the ridiculousness of the situation. We walked out of the cave side by side. The cool air of the AC greeted us. The sweat on the back of the head had started to dry up, and I once again reminded myself that I was the birthday girl. We headed down the stairs and into the arms of ‘my chasers’ – my friends. At the blink of an eye, I was surrounded. “Where were you?” someone shouted into my ear. “None of us could find you. We were starting to get worried!” said another. “Except for me,” he whispered. I grinned. My mood improved by a jump. It was my birthday, I won the game, I could have snacks, and I was with my friends. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.