Whisper

by Tal Bauer

Every kid on the block had pinned their hopes somewhere on those towers. Every kid had a dream of escaping up the towers like ladders into the sky, all the way to the stars, catch a plane and fly away, disappear to a new life.

Memories played, an endless loop, his childhood under the shadows of the Twin Towers and the morning they came tumbling down.

Why did David want to crawl to him? Stay by his side until his heart stopped beating? Like a wave trying to curl up the sandy shore, beating against the earth ceaselessly, always trying again, parts of David reached for Kris.

For once, the universe appeared as lonely as he felt, seemed to echo inside all of his empty places.

“When I am with you, I feel parts of myself come together. Parts I thought couldn’t ever mix. You make me want to be everything I am. For you.”

“I know what it’s like to be hated for who you are. To have your life dictated by others, your choices made for you. To have that rage in your chest, all the time. That scream, that says you are more than this. The desire to prove everyone wrong.”