Who Are You?
By Patrik Moltzen, aged 16
Fallen leaves crunched under a blue stroller. In it rested a one-year-old child. Sunlight seeped through the gaps in the canopy of leaves. He stared at the trees in wonder and an expression of joy washed over his face. Birds could be heard twittering high up on the branches of the trees. The air was chilly but he was wrapped up safely in layers of cloth. The stroller arrived at a cozy wooden cabin, and rolled to a stop in front of the door. A pretty middle-aged woman with a mild smile stepped up to the door and unlocked it. She turned back to see the child awake and her smile widened. She pushed the stroller in and shouted, “Honey, I’m home!” The hour hand of the clock timely hit the first hour after noon. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
The brown, red and gold leaves shuddered as if alive. Sitting on the floor was a baby in a diaper. He watched the leaves as they continued to dance. One second later the head of a furry animal popped out of the leaves. The baby was intrigued, pointing his stubby finger at the squirrel. He slowly crawled toward the window and stuck his wide forehead against it. There the child sat, watching the squirrel run across the forest floor. A pile of Lego lay forgotten by his side.
The pitter patter of two pairs of feet, glided across the stone pavement. Jamie was five years old now, a light autumn wind blew and he savoured its cool touch. Their feet stopped at the edge of the pavement as they waited for the traffic light to turn green. The sun hid behind the clouds, making it a dark day. Jamie was a silent child and he barely ever smiled. He looked down at his coat. It was a coat as gray as the sky. The material was nice to touch. He heard a faint mumble in the background and a tug on his hand, but he wasn’t done examining the coat. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see the traffic light green and his Mom repeating his name. “Come on Jamie, we need to go see the doctor.” They continued the walk, and finally reached a flight of stairs.
The doctor’s office had all types of organ models and instruments. Jamie was seated on a chair next to his Mom. He waited and fiddled with his coat buttons. “Hi Jamie, I am Doctor Hyman.” introduced the doctor. “I am going to ask you some questions about yourself.” Dr. Hyman pulled out a selection of toys and laid them on the table. “I have some toys for you here while we talk. Let’s begin.” Jamie answered most of the doctor’s questions, all the while focused on the wooden toy soldiers. He continued playing long after Dr. Hyman was done talking to him. Only when they had to leave did he finally put down the toy soldiers.
The walk back home was quiet, but Jamie didn’t really mind. His Mom was very quiet with an odd look on her face, but his mind was elsewhere. He was lost in thought. There was always something to think about, the soft imprints of footsteps, the ever-howling wind, the crowded gray sky. The concrete pavement slowly transitioned to soft soil as trees started to populate the area. “Who are you?” whispered Jamie suddenly. The phrase echoed in his head for a few moments. “Who are you?” repeated Jamie, this time with more intensity than before. The footsteps ceased. The wind halted. The clouds froze. His Mom looked at him, eyebrows arched in concern. “Are you okay Jamie?” Her voice was shaky.
The same wooden cabin greeted them once again, but this time it wasn’t quite the same. Each gust of wind seemed to dim the light ever so slightly. Each shadow silenced the beautiful song it once sang even more. Jamie’s limbs felt sluggish, slow and heavy. His confusion slowly turned to fear as the wind tried to uproot him. It took all his might just to stay anchored to the ground. The wind blew even stronger yet the trees still didn’t sway. Jamie shivered from the uncanny air as it plunged past freezing point. Mist slowly clouded his vision, a mist that was oblivious to the building storm. Jamie looked at the ground, trying to find the slightest hint of color, but the leaves were gray, their color leeched by the darkening sky. The trees were absorbed and all that remained were pale outlines, but not for long, as darkness crept through the mist, steadily engulfing everything in its path. “Who are you?!” Jamie screamed into the supernatural wind. “Who are you?! Who are you?! Who are you?!”
The darkness persisted. It seemed to Jamie that he would be forever trapped in this gloom. He waited, lost and hopeless…… until, there was a spark. The head of a match could be seen in the distance, its dim glow growing by the second. Soon it was too bright to look at and he had to close his eyes. The golden flame enveloped his body in a warm light and he felt the warm touch of a hand on his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw his Mom’s alarmed expression as she put one hand on his face and another on his shoulder. Jamie looked at the trees, they had color again, beautiful shades of red. Red that was illuminated by the sun that finally peeked out from behind the cloud. “Jamie! Are you ok?! Can you hear me?!” His mother asked in a troubled tone of voice. “Yes” replied Jamie quietly, confused.
His Mom told him to sit down on the sofa. Jamie sat down and lined up the objects on the table, waiting for his Mom to come back. Not too long later, Mom and Dad came out of the room next door and sat next to him. “How are you feeling, Jamie?” asked Dad. “I was cold Daddy. There was a lot of wind.” Jamie recalled. He looked at the pattern of objects he had lined up on the table. “Mommy, am I broken?” There were a few moments of silence filled by the trees rattling in the wind outside. “No, Jamie.” said Mom, unsure of how to explain. “I am weird Mommy,” Jamie continued. “No, Jamie, you are not weird or broken, you are different. You are……” Mom paused. Jamie tilted his head up, waiting for an answer.
“You are special.”