Survivor

My friends are now married and are parents, teachers have retired, its been a longtime since, I’ve last been here: HOME. I walk down the weathered pebble sidewalk towards my house. Kids, I met along the way, ask me, if I’ve been in the war, because of my hair. I answer back “something like that.” I settle in my old empty house and wait until my privacy is invaded by the nosey townspeople. Betty, my old friend, arrives a few minutes before I estimated the invasion to begin. Already, Betty has a sympathetic mask on. It’s no secret of what I went through, but of course, I have to tell her my so called “Story” with every sordid detail.
In the small knit community of wakchopea, everyone knew everyone else and their business. I was the town’s beloved princess, until I met Chris. Chris was 3 years older then me, I was sixteen and thought that Chris was the most beautiful person in the world and I instantly fell in love. I basically stalked Chris until finally I was noticed and we became friends. We spent every second of the day together, going to movies, eating at restaurant, until two years later my parents decided that our relationship was too “strong”. Well, Chris and I didn’t care we left wakchopea and got eloped.
Now Betty, knew all of this, in fact I dumped Betty for Chris when I realized that hanging out with Chris was more fun then gossiping with Betty. In fact she seemed a bit mad and angry when I was telling my story, but now she was restless, waiting to hear the rest of my story and I continued without paying much attention to it.
Chris and I moved to New York, thinking that we would be welcomed there, but that was not the case. At first, we just got stared down, but then threats came raining upon us. I couldn’t understand what was wrong with our relationship. We planned to get married but that was destroyed when Chris was murdered brutally by a gang of New Yorkers. I couldn’t believe it my true love was killed, because society wouldn’t allow us. I was not left unscathed, I was beaten, and my head shaved bald, to be “butch” as they called me. I still love Chris and traveled across the country to tell my story. I love Christina Williams and nothing will stop that, even if society wants to ignore homosexuality.
Betty, looked at me with open eyes and confessed that she was the one that told my parents of the relationship between Chris and I. It doesn’t matter anymore I told her, because after losing Christina I realized that we had nothing to hid, and that I’m glad it was out in the open.