Illusion of Words

Coming and Going

Today, the neighbours have left. Coming back from school, I found the windows all locked up, the shoerack empty, and lots of things belonging to them now belonging to us…

Just a couple of months ago, it was unthinkable that they should migrate. No one had the faintest suspicion, save for those people higher up. We all were shocked when my father announced the news that they were moving soon.

Let’s go back further in time. When they first arrived, they were like lions descending upon partying gazelles. In other words, unexpected and unwanted. So we were as hostile to them as possible. We forbid them to join our ’secret society’ (which we had formed with the other neighbours). I still remember we built a cardboard house where we held our ‘meetings’, and there we discussed ways to torture the poor Lions.

Once, we found a disturbance within the house. This caused an upstir within our compound. The Lions have infiltrated our cardboard house! We put them to trial, in which they vehemently denied having done anything to do with it (but I know they were lying). We let them off, however, since it was coming to nothing, but made them promise never to enter the secret area again.

Another time, we made a whole box of paper planes. We prided in our simple, effective planes - the most basic of folds, yet the best of them - and scorned their ‘British’ folds which were complicated and barely flew. Time and time again we challenged them to plane fights, because we knew they were bound to lose. However, time and time again, they refused even to step out of the house when we were playing outside. Spoiled sports, we taunted them.

But somewhere along the line, we all grew up. Suddenly, we didn’t care about our secret society, or our fighter planes. We didn’t mind anymore their presence, in fact we all came to accept them. And it wasn’t before long that they were accepted into our company, and frequently joined us for games and fun.

6 years later, they have gone. Such a short time, yet it held so many memories. For if it weren’t for them, I would never have tasted the strange, perverted sense of accomplishment that comes with successfully bullying and surpressing those helpless ones. And I wouldn’t know the regret and shame of having bullied them. (although there wasn’t much of those feelings). Lord forgive me.

Well, the end of the era of Lions. A disturbing beginning and a shocking end. God bless them, and maybe someday, somewhere we’ll meet again, within God’s strange guidance and plans that never cease to amaze even the wisest and know-alls.

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