I stand before a crowd, one filled with those who were meant to be my peers. I speak, my voice amplified so all can hear the words. The edges glisten, for my words are sharp and all will feel the sting. "When I came to this planet, I expected to find people like me. I did not."
I can already see them laughing, a select few faces among the crowd. They mock my achievements, yet they still came to hear my name. I hold my anger in. "It's funny, actually. So many among you have contributed to what I'd call a life not worth living. Here you stand, though, ready to receive me as an equal only because I bested you at your own game. Despite your best efforts, I get to be a wayfarer too."
My thoughts venture back to that night, my eyes fixed on the thousand-foot fall from the tallest building on Safeharbor, and the one woman capable of talking me down. "I stand here at the top of my field. I didn't gloat when I surpassed you. I didn't point and laugh when you came up short."
I straighten my posture, my chest filled with pride. "You treated me like I was less than garbage. I felt every thrown stone. I've been berated, spit on, and chastised for something I didn't even do. The sins of my mother followed me everywhere I went. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' they said. I heard it from your parents, your elders. How right they were. You don't have a shred of decency either."
I notice them getting uncomfortable, some frowning as they come to regret their actions, others crossing their arms with a look of disgust. "I lived as a castaway for far too long, an outcast among outcasts." My voice rises more than I intended, breaking with every word, "I liked
staring at the stars too, though you never stopped to ask me. I was turned away, night after night. I was forced to find my own stories in the sky. I didn't have anyone to share them with, like you."
I fight the tears in my eyes. I won't give them the satisfaction. "My father was the only thing I had for the longest time. He once told me the naming ceremony was sacred. I hope I've tarnished this tradition for you. I hope I've defiled it in every way possible. You want to know my name?"
I pause for effect. What came next was meant to cut the deepest. I spit the word out, a name I chose with both shame and pride; such an odd combination, "Pariah."
I smiled, the anger finally breaking through in a fevered stream of callous words, "Where will I go? The one place that leaves you shaking in your boots." I pointed to the sky, to the only constellation I really cared about. "You can have the rest. I'm obviously not welcome there anyway. I'll seek my fortune elsewhere. I'll trace the horizon, my ship forever fixed on The Old Dawn. Perhaps
The Others will be more welcoming. Goodbye, and good riddance."
This gave me so much feelings T.T You did a great job as always.
Love to code, but this one is driving me crazy!
My world Shattered won as the "Most ground-breaking premise new world"!