42: Star Child: Dunes of Tolapo VIII

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Ten years ago

"Okay class now remember your homework tomorrow." Mrs. Jackson, my third grade teacher said as the bell rang to dismiss us for the day. I waited in my corner at the back of the class while every other student gathered all their things to head home. I knew better than to move without permission. If I did I would be punished again.

Soon all the other kids in my class were gone and only Mrs. Jackson and I were left. She went about cleaning up the classroom occasionally giving me a sideways glance. The contempt in her eyes was clear for anyone to see. After about fifteen minutes she looked up at the clock mounted on the wall and smiled to herself.

"All the buses should have left by now." She said to herself. She looked and me and smiled vilely. "You'll have to walk home, you disappointing waste of space."

I didn't reply. I just tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible and hoped that she would let me leave before long. When I didn't reply she just shook her head and walked over to my corner. She wiped her hands on her knee length dress and knelt down to look at me at eye level.

"Your mother should have drowned you when she saw that you were a filthy splicer. Save the entire town the trouble of having to breathe the same tainted air as you, share the same space as you, and waste precious hours of my time having you corrupt my precious normal students with your presence!" She snarled.

'Blank, blank, keep your face blank!' I thought.

"How does it feel to know that the entire town hates you and wishes you were dead?" Mrs. Jackson asked. She stared me in the eyes, her expression turning more demented by the second. "Get the fuck out of my class you splicer piece of shit!"

She stood and pointed towards the door. I quickly grabbed my bag and ran out of the classroom. School had ended and the halls were empty same a few teachers and the Janitors. Whoever one of then passed my me I pressed my back against the wall and kept my eyes to the ground. Most wouldn't even look my way while the ones that did would spit at me and curse me.

'I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine!" I told myself over and over again as I walked out the school. As I stood at the top of the school steps I saw the last of the buses drove off. It wasn't mine but it, still hurt to see them leave without me, again.

I walked down the school steps and looked towards the east when I got to the sidewalk. My house was a straight shot from the school and only took a short fifteen minute drive, however it takes more than a hour to walk all the way home.

I headed down the stretch towards home, glad for once that the sidewalk was empty for once. When I did coke across someone I moved to the side of the sidewalk to let them pass. However none of the people I came across felt in the mood to ignore me today. One woman spat on me while she was on her jog, a man threw his drink at me but missed ant hit the sidewalk and a third pushed me into a tree as he passed.

Finally I made it home. It didn't take me as long as it normally did since there weren't as many people put and about and I didn't have to constantly stop. I tried to open the front door only to find it locked.

'Again Logan?' I thought. I lifted up the welcome mate expecting to find the spare key but only found a small slip of paper instead.

"Have fun sleeping outside, splicer trash." I read aloud. I groaned and started pounding on the door and shouting. "Logan! Logan! Let me in!"

I pounced on the door for a good five minutes before I heard Logan's heavy stomping on the other side. I stopped pounding when I heard the door unlock. The door was jerked open and a displeased look of my brother Logan looked down at me.

Logan was my older brother by four years, half brother as he liked to constantly remind me. We shared the same Dad but not the same mom but despite that we looked nothing alike. Though that had more to do with the fact that my mom was half Scottish and half African.

"Stop pounding on the door trash!" Logan growled. He toward over me. At twelve years old he was already almost six foot tall and built like a lumberjack. I always felt inferior to him..

"Logan let me in already!" I cried. Logan rolled his eyes at me then pushed me away from the door. I tripped over my own feet and fell on my butt into the dirt. Logan laughed.

'Don't cry! DON'T CRY! I'm fine!' I told myself.

"Get lost trash! I have my friends over and I don't need then seeing you or your shitty crystal!" Logan said as he walked over to me. He stepped on my right hand; on my crystal which was covered by a leather glove; and twisted the heel of his sneaker it dig in and cause as much pain as possible.

"Logan! Stop that hurts!" I begged, trying to push his foot off.

"It hurts! It hurts!" Logan mocked. "You splicers are so pathetic, how many years did you splicers have us under your heels before we finally said enough? Huh?"

"That wasn't me!" I yelled. "I wasn't born yet!"

Logan stepped off my hand then kicked me in the stomach. The sadistic smile on his face made me want to barf. He knelt down to one knee and hissed in my ear.

"It was your kind! Your kind against hard working Americans that had enough. Don't forget normals like me beat splicers before, we can do it again."

With that Logan stood up and walked back to the front door and slammed it closed. I laid their on the ground for a few moments before I pushed myself back up. As I turned to head away from the house I saw four faces peering out of the living room window.

'DON'T CRY! DON'T CRY!' I told myself as I walked away.

I wandered around the town, not really caring which way I went. It had started to rain just after I turned off our street buy it didn't matter. This wasn't the first time I've been locked out of the house by Logan. Eventually I found myself walking down a familiar path outside of town just as night was beginning to fall.

The pathway was lit by little braziers made of chicken wire and animal bones. Each one made into the shape of a different evo that was manufactured at the local techno-splicing factory. The path led deep into the woods that surrounded town but came to a small clearing. In the center of the clearing sat a medium sized two story log cabin, painted a vibrant purple color with crème accents.

I immediately felt immensely sager and calmer when I saw the cabin. To everyone else in town the cabin was a weird haunted cabin that some old couple lived in. But to me it was the one place I truly felt safe, my grandparents cabin.

My grandparents were both seated in their rocking chairs on the porch staring out at the rain. When they saw me my grandmother jumped out of her chair and ran over to me, my grandfather ran inside.

"Chase! What are ya doing out here in the rain?! You'll catch ya death a cold!" She exclaimed when she reached me. Her thick African accent made it hard for some to understand her English but I always knew what she was saying.

"I'm fine…" I muttered, repeating what I told myself the entire walk there. She grabbed me by the shoulders and ushered me inside. She moved me through the kitchen to the living room where Grandpa Seamus was working to light the fireplace.

"Nonsense!" She chuffed. "Seamus! Start the fire!"

"Already on it love!" He replied. A few moments later he got a fire going. "I'll get some blankets, get him out of those wet clothes."

"Aye'a." Grandma Lulu replied and yanked my shirt off.

"I can undress myself!" I groaned and jerked away from my grandmother. She just gave me a knowing smirk then waited while I fumbled with my pants and handed them to her. Grandpa Seamus returned a few moments later with a large quilt. He wrapped it around me and then picked me up and set me down in front of the fireplace. Grandma Lulu walked off with my wet clothes to dry them. Grandpa Seamus sat down in the armchair next to me and tried to dry off my hair.

"What happened Starlight?" Grandpa Seamus asked using his favorite nickname for me.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I replied automatically.

"I see…" He said softly. The fire was really going now and had started to heat up thr entire room. He finished drying my hair then leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "I'll get your gran then."

Grandpa Seamus stood and left the room, a few moments later Grandma Lulu walked in and took grandpa Seamus seat. She motioned softly for me to come over and without a second thought I stood up and curled up into her lap, resting my head on her chest. She lightly stroked my hair as we sat in silence for several moments.

"It was school again, wasn't it?" Grandma Lulu asked in Torapos.

"I'm fine." I replied in Torapos. Grandma sighed.

"Child you are not fine. You walked all the way from town to our house in the rain and it looks like you've been crying. Now you can hide your sadness from your parents Starlight but you can't hide it from me."

It was like a damn had burst and every emotion that I had been keeping to myself came flooding out of me. I cried loud heaping sobs as I clung to her shirt. The faint scent of lavender and chocolate kept me anchored in the moment. Grandma Lulu didn't say anything while I cried. She just held me and lightly stroked my head and my back. When I cried my last I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

"Why does everyone hate me?" I asked softly. Grandma Lulu sighed and shook her head.

"No one hates you Starlight. People in this country and clinging to old wounds, letting them fester and rot instead of taking the time to rest and heal." She said. "You might not understand this but for most you and others like represent a terrible time in this countries history."

"The revolutionary war?" I asked. She nodded solemnly and lightly stroked my cheek.

"Were you born in any other country than this one everyone in the world would see how amazing and special you are Starlight. Back in my country, in my village, you'd be celebrated and showered with love."

"I don't think I'd be able to handle that Granma." I said.

"Probably not. My village could be…a lot." She said with a chuckle. "But at least here, you have your grandpa, your father, your mother and me who all love you. And we can't forget your brother."

I looked away and clung tighter to her dress. She frowned and grabbed my chin forcing her to look at me.

"What happened?" She asked. I was about to say I was fine but after the crying and the look she was giving me I knew that wouldn't work.

"Logan locked me out of the house." I said. Grandma looked shocked.

"What do you mean he locked you out of the house?!" She demanded. Tears started to fall again as I spoke.

"He was having friends over and he got home before I did again so he locked the front door and took the spare keep out from under the mat!" I cried.

"Has he done this before?" She asked. I nodded.

"Two or three times a week…" I sniffled. "He unlocks it before mom and Dad get home and if I'm not there he just says that I went to play by myself or something."

"By the star fall!" Grandma groaned. "How long has Logan been like this?"

"As long as I can remember." I replied. I sniffled and wiped my eyes. "I'm tired of this! Of Logan and Mrs. Jackson and everyone else! I never did anything to any of them! I'm not the splicers from three hundred years ago!"

"I know Starlight…I know…" Grandma Lulu whispered as she stroked my head. "I'll have a talk with your father about Logan and from now on I'll even come pick you up after school until your parents get off work."

"Really?!" I gasped perking up a little.

"Of course Starlight." She replied with a smile. I hugged her tightly and smiled.

"Thank you Grandma Lulu!"

"Of course. Anything for my little Starlight." She said. Grandpa Seamus poked his head into the living room.

"I got a batch of cookies that just went into the oven, your favorite Starlight: double chocolate chip." He said.

"Yay!" I shouted switching back to English.

"I think we'll need some milk to go with those cookies too my love." Grandma Lulu said also switching back to English.

"Of course me duck." He said with a warm smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes"

Grandpa Seamus disappeared into the kitchen living Grandma and I alone again. I felt significantly better now than I did when I arrived, but I was still down a bit.

"Grandma…can you sing my song?" I asked. She smiled kissed me on the forehead.

"Of course." She replied then started singing softly. "Black crescent moon so high in this dark and lonely sky. This ocean of obsidian tangled in your light. So make a wish now upon this shooting star and watch them fly across the night into heaven's arms…"