CHAPTER 2: Joline

Dear diary,

First of all, … Where am I?

I don't exactly know where I am but I will do my best to explain. This is like a whole new uncertain world but, I'm ready for it. There are mountains all lined up in one straight line around me. The monumental tall dispositions frowned down on me whilst; the cool breeze came rapidly. Asserting it's inferiority over common man. Lights are just everywhere… all around me. I can't tell if I'm hallucinating or not but whatever the explanation is I'll gladly accept it. Beats being in a hellhole. As I take one step on the luscious grass, I realise that this is where I'm meant to be. I don't need to go back home anyway.

I don't know what was wrong with me back there but I rarely existed. Nobody wanted to talk to the 'weird girl' and even the teachers felt the need to recommend me to another school where 'my kind' would fit better. The worst part is my parents. They're meant to accept me for better or for worse but instead they consistently believe that whacking me around would turn me into a normal and typical teen. Wherever I went I was just like a wisp trying to find somewhere I could stay and maybe even belong. And no one was missing me. I knew that for sure.

"Joline…. JOLINE… can you hear me?" a strange voice called, calling me back to Earth, my reality. I just wanted that little bit longer – everything would've been perfect if it wasn't for that voice. I desperately tried to drift off back in my dream. To pretend it's not real. However, I knew that this was a futile battle my body was not prepared for. Wearily I opened my eyes only to get barricaded by my parents.

"Oh honey, we were SO worried about you – as soon as I heard about your accident we rushed straight down here! NEVER scare us like that again!", my parents said fervently. To an unsuspecting individual i.e. the Nurse; they'd think that this was a normal dynamic between a parent and child. However, I was able to notice the twitch in their eyes which made me realize that they were NOT finished with me...

That moment was when the Nurse came in and allowed us to go home.

"Don't step in front of another bus, sweetheart!" the Nurse joked.

My parents tried to make it seem like they were interacting with the Nurse. But really, they wanted to get me outta the hospital ASAP. I was really hoping we wouldn't ever have to leave, that's where the real trouble begins…

…

"How DARE you scare us like that!" ,"The Nurse only went and told us that you were in some ridiculous trance and you somehow happened to step into the road where a BUS was headed your way", "Is there something seriously wrong with you or are you just plain STUPID". You may think it's not a big deal but this is my life every day that I put up with. I wished that I could just float away from my everyday life … free as a balloon. But alas, life doesn't always work like that. I feel like my family just doesn't understand me and why I am the way I am. Even at my school, no one even talks or looks at me without thinking about what a weirdo I am but I don't care.

I'm happy just with me, myself and my broken vision 😊