Translucent

prej'u'dice (pre j’ə dis): detestation or intolerance of a specific group, such as members of a certain race and/or religion.

Ex: Just like the Black race 800 years before us, we have been the targets of hatred and revulsion, because of, and I’m sure you’ve guessed why, our milky, translucent skin tone. We are labeled Translucents. My tribe and I were discovered on a small, uncharted island in the South Pacific. We were brought back to the mainland solely because of our gossamer skin. We are poked and prodded like lab rats, and we are forced to live in Translucent Holding Institutions (or THIs). We are not named, just tagged with a letter-number combination. I am T-351, no more than a newly discovered species of animal. I am sick and tired of being discriminated against! I will escape and find my true fate, or die trying. One thing you should know about me, I am highly intuitive. Some humans may call me a “psychic,” or a “fortune-teller,” but that is not the case. I have an unspoken theory, but I cannot reveal it until the Day of Darkness. The Day of Darkness will arrive in 13 moons, and then I must go to the hill on the other side of town. There, I just know, my destiny will unfold, and I will be free. But first, I must escape the prison of the THI.

I need a distraction.

Two moons before the Day of Darkness, I unleash the chaos that will set me free. I am given a rock-hard piece of bread and a cup of tap water. I take a bite of the bread and immediately feign choking. I roll my eyes back into my head and flail my arms around. A guard notices me “choking” and hurriedly grabs his key ring to unlock my cell, a specimen dying on his shift made for a bad reputation. The guard comes into the cell, leaving the door ajar with the key still in it. I spit the bread out, sprint out of the cell, and lock the guard in. I dart frantically for the exit, only a few feet away, almost there…

The sunlight blinds me, for I’ve only seen artificial lighting. I spot a dark alley down the street. As I make for the alleyway, I faintly hear a siren go off. “Attention! T-351 has escaped! Be on your guard! Do not alert the citizens. I repeat, do NOT alert the citizens!” This makes my heart beat faster, my legs move more quickly, and my thirst for freedom stronger. I skid to a halt in the alley, and hide behind a gradually dripping pipe that’s about the same width as me. I wait until dusk to travel closer to the hill. I cautiously scope out my surroundings, and I don’t believe I’m being followed. I run for three miles or so, and then I spot an abandoned, old library. I quietly sneak in and find a dark couch in the corner. I sit down, but the couch is lumpy and misshapen. I smell something that smells like rotting meat and mold. It’s just you’re imagination, I tell myself, not thoroughly convinced. That’s when I feel bugs scurrying across my pale legs. I unwillingly glace down, and see a long-dead corpse underneath me. Now I know why the library is abandoned. I let out a piercing shriek and tear out of there. I am so repulsed that I wade into the first lake I come to and viciously rub my legs, trying to get that horrible sensation of maggots off of them. I get out of the lake shivering wet. I decide more running will dry me off faster, and there’s still more time before the sun rises. I start to pick up speed, going faster and faster, and then I realize that I arrived at the hill! I look up at the sky, and it’s a light pinkish gold. Everyone will awaken soon, I must find shelter. I gaze around me, no hiding spots, no bushes, not even a hole. I have to disappear, and fast. I glance to my right, and I notice a large, leafy oak tree. I scamper up the tree as soon as I reach it, find the most comfortable branch, and wait until the Day of Darkness arrives. My eyelids start drooping, but I must stay awake. Far off, a dog is barking rhythmically. Woof, woof, woof. The sky is now a brilliant blue, and a slight, warm breeze blows gently around me. The clouds look like fluffy white sheep, moving across the sky…

I wake up to a bright light shining in my eyes. I look around, hoping for an explanation. I blearily wiped my tired eyes, and see that the sky is dark, but the hill is illuminated by a bright light, coming from the sky. I tilt my head upward, and see a circular disk beaming a light on the hill. But, the beam has a dark spot, moving from the ship to the ground. I jump down from the tree and jog over to the hill, my arms open in an embrace. I pull her into a hug that could not even begin to express the unconditional love I felt for her. Hand-in-hand, we glide toward the ship. I have found my destiny, my freedom, my mother.

-By Olivia B.
Age 13