Hope you all enjoy it.
Jungle Gym in Blackeberg
It's been 28 years since I left Blackeberg, Sweden with Eli.
Every now and then, I think about my life there
when I was 12 years, 8 months and 9 days old more or less.
I remember the apartment I lived in with my mother.
She never really paid much attention to me, so I always felt alone around her.
I was a loner at school and the other kids would always bully me.
I can still see my favorite place: the small rusted jungle gym in front of our apartment.
I used to sit there by myself late at night trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.
The snot would drip from my nose and linger on my lips. The cold
misty breaths would blur the cube for a second as I tried unsuccessfully to solve it.
The first time I met Eli was at that jungle gym.
A 12 year old girl who only came out at night.
The cool thing is she was able to solve the puzzle.
Eli always smelled funny, like something was rotting, until I pointed it out to her.
We would always play there even though it was winter and the snow was thick.
She was never cold even with a thin layer of clothes because she forgot how to be.
I taught her Morse Code using the wood that lined some of the railings.
I had to leave Blackeberg because of the bullies' deaths
at Eli's hands as she protected me at the pool.
We're still together as friends but I've also
taken on the guardian role. She's still 12 more or less.
Thinking about it, I don't regret leaving the city and my mother behind.
I only regret that I'll never see that jungle gym again.
I'm more of a short story writer or something. Ah well...
