Bennie.
Surce
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Image from Wikimedia Commons. Modified at fotoram.io
Bennie tried to make friends at school to compensate for his newfound solitude. His mother was too busy trying and erring playing cupid. Since he refused to share his collectibles with Nick and his group, they started to hit him and abuse him mercilessly.
Bennie tried to get help, but his mother, his teachers and even the priest disregarded his accusations. They all told him to just take it easy and be friendly. They were sure his friends meant no harm. In one occasion Nick dragged him behind the gym and had him pinned to the ground by 4 other kids while he “planted” a tree that would surely give nasty fruits.
Bennie gathered all his strength to tell his mother, who immediately covered his mouth with her own hands. That was a very ugly claim and she was sure Bennie would not want something like that to go public. It was better to forgive and forget.
Mr. White was not available for him to talk to. He knew his father would understand and do something about it.
Nick was determined to get Bennie’s treasure. He went as far as visiting him and asking his mother about his toys. She was so excited these kids wanted to play with her son. That would surely lift a weight off her shoulders. If he could have friends he’d stop asking about his father.
One day after mass, Bennie begged the priest to confront the bullies. Father Francis called the kids and asked them about Bennie’s allegations. They denied everything in Jesus’s name. You see, Bennie, he told him. Kids will always be kids. I’m sure you don’t need adults to mess up with your kiddy world.
That was the last time father Francis saw Bennie alive.
He could not believe his ears when he was told Bennie had been run over by a car; a freak accident, for sure. The whole community was so supportive of Nick that he overcame the hint of guilt that bit him at night. Sure he did not mean to push Bennie that hard. How was he supposed to know that a car would come at that precise moment?
After the funeral, Mr. White, devastated as he was, asked Bennie’s mother about the collectibles. She said she had given them away to Bennie’s friends, fully sure that that would be a nice reminder of their friendship. They were so upset about the accident, they’d surely need some distraction and they seemed so fascinated by that old comic book and that silly robot.
Of course, they were, he thought, and left for good, with the heavy heart only those consumed by guilt can understand.
Thanks for your visit.
What a sad story. I'm afraid that this is however daily life and struggle of many kids in the world.
I am also certain that we all have this 'kind' of friends. Maybe they don't abuse us but they keep using us in such a subtle way that we don't even notice that.
And we as adults very often close our eyes so we don't have to see the bully instead of facing the issue and helping those poor kids.
The world seems to be upside down sometimes and you captured it perfectly in your story.
Thank you for talking about such important issue.
Have a great start of the week!
Thank you for stopping by.
An upside down world it is.
The idea for the story had been hammering my head for a while. This was my attempt to make sense of the absurdity of this world of ours, which locally and gobally seem to follow the same disturbing pattern.
Is this a fictional story based on current realities @hlezama?
Yes and no.
The story per se is fictional. Some of the elements that compose it have some real background; others are purposefuly incorporated as symbols for universal events or events that others may find relatable.
Bullying may be a universal theme no culture is exempt from, every individual may experience it differently; but bullying can also be institutionalized. A whole government may bully a whole population and a whole bunch of other countries may just sit and look with the same disregard or excitement kids contemplate a fight on the playground.
Ahhh okay. I get it @hlezama.
Hi hlezama,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you very much, @curie. You've just made my day!
Holy shit, this was really good. Had me hooked from the opening paragraph. The ending was dark as hell, and all the more affecting for how real it felt. Written with a great sense of subtlety. Loved it, and glad to see the Curie folks did too
Hey, man. Thanks for stopping by. Glad you liked it (and curie too). As you know, fiction is not my forte. But sometimes stories get into our heads and demand our courage to tell them.
Strong opening - and insightful: They owed their happiness to their short memory. It was a blessing to be able to forget pain and suffering. Ignorance is bliss, and so is amnesia! I love his 1941 Captain America and a 1984 Soundwave Transformer--cool details! If only his mother understood. Sad but all too believable story. And well done.
Thank you very much. Way too many people would rather sweep under the rug until the lump is so big they stumble, sometimes they even fall, but usually they make orhers fall.
It's been like that domestically and also applies to global politics.
Hi @hlezama, I rescue this part of your post.
( and left for good, with the heavy heart only those consumed by guilt can understand.)
Sometimes I think, how a person can sleep peacefully after hurting another, the human being is a bit hard of heart.
Blessings
Blessings to you too. That question haunts me, @martha75. Some people want to believe that even if the bad guys show a stright face they are tortured in the privacy of their own selves, i think that some people are oblivious to guilt and actually feed from others' suffering.
Hola hlezama,
Tu post ha sido seleccionado por el bot de @provenezuela, te hemos dado un voto en apoyo a los autores venezolanos!
Gracias por ser parte de nuestra comunidad!
Muchas gracias por el apoyo, muchachones
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Hello @hlezama, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!