The Lost and Known

¨In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends¨ ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I don’t know what had ravaged the city, but I remember when my mother, Heather, had picked me up and swung me around, I was about 5. Soon I was in a protected closet, as I sat I listened to the weeps, of my neighbors. I stared at the gray door, I looked away hearing my own mother weep. I let my tiny hand explore the closet and I grabbed a Teddy Bear, I didn’t get a good look but by feeling, and what I could see, the bear fur felt like someone had pour maple syrup on it, sticky, and rough, one of his eyes were sticking out. ¨Mom?¨ I whimpered my voice echoed in the closet. I had heard little kids screaming, the older ones weeping their voices, hissed in my head. Suddenly I had laid down, my ears burned with voices pleading for help, I had started crying and screamed ¨Please! Get out! I don't want to hear the suffering of others!” I soon was greeted with silence.

The closet door was opened up by my father, Black Stare his real name is Johnny but everyone calls him Black Stare because of his chocolate color eyes. His skin was a pale color, his brown color eyes hazel, and his stare was less threatening. ¨What happening?” I asked, I had gotten no reply until my father murmured barely audible ¨The Masters were angered¨ I soon hissed mad at these ‘Masters’’ ¨The masters? Who are they?¨ Black Stare growled at me. I ran the silence, was soon broken by my footsteps as I ran down the hall screaming for Heather. I soon found her, Heather turned to me and she looked at me her bright ginger hair now a brownish color, her bright blue eyes now a gray puddle, she smiled sadly at me ¨Hey Faith, darling¨ she had panted out. I couldn’t help myself I ran in front of Heather, crying but I was able to feel her quiver in my carass she soon pushed me off. As I stood on the ground that I soon noticed how plain the house looked, the once sunflower yellow walls were now a bright gray, the beautiful brown floors were now just black wood, like it had been burned. I looked around and thought ‘Where is the beautiful colors?’

Nobody seemed like them self, Amber, my friend, had been an explorer and liked to break the rules, was now someone who sat at their house and cry eating chocolates. I was the only one who acted the same, and looked the same. Mrs. Chosen, my teacher, had short-rimmed glasses on when she usually wore contacts, I don't know if her contacts did this but her beautiful forest green eyes, were now just like wilted bark, plain black. Now that I look at everyone I notice how they acted like if someone deleted their memories and added different ones, I tested it. ¨Hey dad! Remember when you and me pranked your boss?” I asked cracking a smile, but I was greeted with a shake of his head and him delivering, ¨No we gave him 14 donuts and I got a raise¨ he cracked his own smile but this one was horrid. I screamed and ran, not that I was scared, no because I knew what this meant. The ‘Masters’ had come and took their memories and replaced them!