Stranger Danger
I was hanging upside down on some rusty monkey bars when three elderly ladies walked over to my upside-down figure. As they approached me, I felt the blood rushing to my head and my heart pounding in my chest as I hurriedly tried to untangle my legs from the metal bars before I would have to say anything. I had always been a very little girl, driven by a strong impulse to explore the world. My desire to get to know other people has been a corollary to this curiosity. But I simply didn’t know how to. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I stayed home more than other kids my age in my early years due to allergies. Whenever I spoke to strangers, I felt like there was a wall between us, perhaps one that I placed there myself purposefully, but nevertheless an obstacle that prevented me from socializing. But they passed by my thrashing self and headed towards the person behind me, my grandma. Swiveling my head, I could make out her smile as she greeted them cheerfully. Unable to move, I was stuck with watching them talk about the weather and random things for a good 20 minutes. I had always run away successfully whenever someone came to speak to her on the streets, it never occurred to me to watch her. It amazed me how my grandma was able to converse so naturally. Her hands were peacefully resting at her sides instead of fidgeting around. Her ears didn’t erupt in a violent shade of red either. To someone who couldn’t do either of those things, it was 7
