Miike

He wasn’t an ordinary child. He had always known that. It didn’t bother him. He doubted that anyone would understand his world.

His world.

That’s how it’s always been.

However, him being alone wasn’t going to work this time.

Miike wasn’t used to having so many eyes on him. What was he supposed to do again? No one told him any directions. Somehow, it was going to be fine. His little friend stood up.

“What do we do now?” she asked. Miike lifted his chin.

“We have to hold hands and focus into the emptiness to them,” he said. It didn’t sound like his own words. He didn’t know what he was saying. Still, the boy didn’t stop talking. Miike wasn’t aware of what he said when he closed his mouth. He looked at his classmates staring back at him. His friend put her hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, we understand,” she whispered. Miike looked into her eyes. He didn’t understand how. Now that he thought about it, the girl was like him in a way. The boy never could explain it. But something inside of him told him that he could trust her. She held out her hand. Miike gulped as he took hold of it.

One by one, the children all took hands. It was like fitting little puzzle pieces together. Nobody said a word as they linked up in a circle. The girl turned to her friend.

“Now what?” she whispered. Miike kept his head up high.

“Sit down and close your eyes,” he said. It would’ve sounded like some sort of a prank on any other day. Somehow, the children all complied without question. They all sat on the ground and closed their eyes. They had to block out everything around them. The air around them got cold so quickly. Not single child reacted.

Miike had always been a little bit different from his classmates. There was a reason for that.

“Why am I so different?” he asked his father one night. His dad smiled as he ruffed up his hair.

“You got that from your mom,” he said. The little boy looked up.

“Where did she go?” he asked. His father always had a sad look in his eyes when he asked that question. He pulled the little boy into his arms.

“She went home,” he said in a sad tone.

“When will she come back?” the boy asked. His father shook his head.

“No.”

“Can’t we go see her?”

“No.”

Miike looked so confused. “But why not?” His father did the best he could to answer him. He never could understand what he was saying. It was like his words disappeared in a haze. Now that he thought about it, the girl next to him had the same situation he had.

Her grip tightened on his hand. Her voice in his head caught him off-guard.

I’m here for you, Miike. We can do this. Something in her words encouraged him through the process.

That was when the children caught someone else’s attention to the space above.