Death Does Not Become Me....

There are so many people in this town that look like those that are in the Party. Multi-coloured hair, stylish but crazy clothing, metal piercings and tatoos on all visible spots of flesh... I fit in pretty well. Somewhere along the way, though, I had lost my nosering. Better it gone anyways, with all the memories it held. At the encampment, we’d play games like Charades. It’s a game where you gesture a predetermined word or phrase, and there’s no speaking involved. The other team, the guessers, had to yell out what they thought you were trying to gesture. I became very good at gesturing, at trying to relay what I was saying with my body language, but on the guessing end, I was horrible. I knew the answers, but I couldn’t just pipe up. The days were interesting. The future is filled with things I never thought possible. Everyone walks around with these little boxes up to their ears and talk to no one visible. There’s electricity everywhere, and even more litter on the ground. ...

It took awhile to recognize that when they said "Zeph," they were refering to me. I would have giggled had I the voice to, when I heard them tangle my name into all sorts of sounds. The general consensus was "Zeph" in the end, since it was the easiest. It was a few weeks before my smiles became more genuine. The Derelicts called me one of their own. They were especially pleased to learn that I wasn't afraid to pickpocket those in crowds that seemed to have heavy wallets. It was so easy, because I would just limp slowly down the sidewalks, since it still hurt to move, and oblivious pedestrians would walk on past, not realizing they had lost something precious. Alcohol was abundant on nights that I brought home a big profit, but it still didn't suppress the pain. Physical pain I didn't mind, but my heart still felt as broken as it had the second I saw ... them. Patrick had asked me on occasion if I wanted to go back home. The only response I could ...

My friends took me in readily and happily. They brought me to a nice, green park with a magnificent view where cliffs met the ocean. I washed up carefully, noticing that my wounds were healing more quickly than they had before... youknowwhat had happened. They were all smiles and ogles as we paced slowly back to the encampment, acting like they'd never seen a girl before. The Derelicts made me a nice structure out of cardboard and other miscellany items. Someone had even drawn a picture of a curtained window on the side of the cardboard with chalk, to make it a bit more festive, I suppose. But it was a place to rest my head and dwell. Dwelling on my past turned my stomach in knots. Soon, I was unable to tolerate the thoughts running through my brain, the visions that I don't even want to mention, and had to leave my little ramshackle hut to be among my new caravan. Very few questions were asked, but I couldn't muster the voice to answer them. I had to write in the di...

"Aye, girl!" A gruff man with disheveled hair and ratty, holey clothes waved at me, trying to get my attention. "Yeah, you!" He motioned for me to come towards him when he caught my eye. I tentatively walked over, concentrating on each step since the pain lingered. As I cleared the distance between us, he looked me over, noticing the deep red smeared all over my person. "Dear lass! You've got blood all over!" he flailed with wide eyes. I caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath when he stooped over to catch me in my faint. When I came to, I was sprawled out on a pile of cardboard and newspapers. Seeing newspapers reminded me of him. How he'd drink his coffee, and turn the pages of the paper just so without burning it with his cigarette. What a way to start the day, thinking of how that bastard lied and cheated! I looked around, seeing a struggling fire in a metal basin, and the old guy in rags sitting across from me, eating a bruised banana....