A List of Cages

by Robin Roe

Mom listened, nodding, then she said there was no such thing as a mean child, only an unhappy one.

I waited for her to be angry, to tell me she would call his mother. Instead she said no one is evil, only unhappy, and unhappiness festers inside like a sore.

“Do you understand that this is a safe place, and everything you say here is confidential?” She’s being nice, but it just makes me more nervous, because she expects me to tell her things so personal that they need to be confidential.

The only time I’ve ever taken out one of her pawns was when I got the Sorry card and had no choice. Even then I took out the player farthest from her HOME, so it wouldn’t be as mean. But afterward I found her watching me, not the board, and she looked unhappy.

used to think struggle was what aged you, but if that were the case, Julian should’ve been a hundred years old. Now I wonder if the opposite is true. Maybe instead of accelerating your age, pain won’t let you grow.