Hidden Pieces

Written by: Marisa Nonnapha

Hidden Pieces
J.D Salingers themes of his stories was always based on basically similar things, ranging
from the war, children, depression, mental problems, innocence and etc. I felt like
Salinger had a lot of ideas with writing his short stories and novels, which inspired me to
base a creative piece on something of his. It was quite difficult writing this piece because
I cut a lot out, and submitted the parts where I felt was really important. I revolved my
story line around all of Salingers themes, especially about children and longing for
innocence. The two characters I created, Annabelle and Dylan, are two people who live
different lives but they both have different things that they long for. They are both not
happy with their lives because they see the world as scary and cruel. Because Salingers
characters were mostly brilliant people, I wanted to create a character similar to what
Salinger created before. But I also added a different character to see how everything
contradicted with each other. I wish I couldve wrote more, but I will definitely make the
story longer for future readers. As of this story that I have submitted, I felt like I
shortened it to make the important parts stand out. I wanted the main characters to have
different needs of what made them happy because Salingers themes were mostly about
one character. My guy character that I created was a rich, wealthy, smart guy who found
an innocent girl most appealing to his life while the girl character found happiness with
little kids. Its a little all over the place, but I promise, that its a lot better when I add
more details and make it longer. I posted it online to my story website so future readers
can read it and give me feedback. But as of Hidden Pieces, Salingers themes of his
stories really helped me create this complex storyline.

Annabelle
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Oh, it was only four this time.
Thats how many cuts I could count on my face as I stood in front of the mirror, as I rubbed my
fingers down my face.
I felt the three wounds on the left and the one on the right that happened to be brand new from
this morning.
The other three on the left were in the process of healing, but it was quite obvious that it was still
there.
These were only the cuts, though.
I didnt even bother counting the bruises that filled the rest of my arms, neck, stomach, back and
legs.
I bet people always wonder why Im all covered up all the time, for all four seasons.
People walking around the streets probably wonder why Im wearing long sleeves and long pants
on a day where the sun is blaring down everyones faces.
People are probably going to stare tomorrow, as well.
My first day at Emory University.
Whether its university, high school, middle school or even elementary school; I was the only girl
who ever got stared down at.
Not those stares that cute and pretty girls get; I never got those stares. Dont get me wrong, I
never needed those stares to be for me. I am just saying, that the stares I got seemed like I wasnt
part of the human race or something. Like I was some creature who came to intrude or invade
their human world.
But I never cared, I didnt really have any time to care.
My foster Dad whose name was Justin, was not going to stop beating me up and I had no right to
stand up for myself.
But I really dont care, dont assume that I actually do care.
My caring feelings completely left my body and mind ever since my foster dad forced a teenage
girl into our small home and abused her sexually until she screamed so loud that he made me kick
her out of the house.
I wasnt even sure if she got back home safe that night.
I shouldve cared, but he didnt let me care, so all those feelings just disappeared out of my mind.
So I really dont care if people stare me down at having all these cuts and bruises all over my
face.
Who said all humans are perfect?
The answer is, none of them are.
They try to portray themselves like they are but its all lies.
Theyre not perfect.
Im not perfect.
No one is perfect.
I dont even know why the hell that stupid word existed in our world when it didnt apply to
absolutely anybody.
Maybe I just notice too much in people.
Maybe I was having selfish thoughts only because Justin treated me like shit.
He never failed to mention how lucky I was to have him because he picked me up from the streets
and raised me to have a roof to live under.
He never failed to mention that I was such a burden to him, that it was my fault his wife left him.

Lucky?
Lucky, he says.
He shouldve just left me at that hidden street he found me on.
Who knows? Maybe I wouldve had a better life. Or even better, I wouldnt have a life at all.
But nope, Im still here, facing the real world, all by myself. No one ever bothered trying to get
close to me and at eighteen years of age, no one is going to continue bothering me.
Then I heard them.
Those footsteps.
Those drunken footsteps.
Those footsteps that made me die little by little inside.
Then there it was.
The calling part.
Annabelle! Get your ass downstairs, right now! He screamed loudly, making me sigh to myself,
in depression.
I sighed to myself loudly, standing up from the bed.
Time for get the fifth wound.

Dylan
I guess three months flew by pretty quickly.
It was already the first day of school.
Time to start senior year.
Time to interact with a bunch of fake people who only talk to me because I have money.
Emory University may have been filled with over seven thousand students, but none of them ever
took the time to ever actually ask me what kind of life I lived.
Sure, I lived in a big ass house, that had a huge backyard and a swimming pool both inside and
outside the house, but who said that was the perfect life?
My life was far from perfect and no human soul could ever ask why. All they did was assume that
my life was perfect and that I was living off of rich and gold.
No one ever bothered to ask me why I lived with my Aunt Cassie.
No one ever bothered to ask me how my Father left to go to war and died while fighting the
battle.
No one ever bothered to ask me how I kept blaming my Mother for my Fathers death in the car
until she lost control of the wheel because of her crying, swerving the car into a big ass tree and
then her body flew out of the front window. Thats how she died, while I just sat injured in the
passenger seat.
No one just ever bothered asking me why I always felt alone.
I walked downstairs with my backpack, seeing Aunt Cassie reading her newspaper at the kitchen
island while Mary Grace, our servant, was cooking nearby her the stove.
Aunt Cassie heard my footsteps walking downstairs, so she jumped back, looked up at the flight
of stairs I was coming down from and greeted me, Why good morning my handsome nephew,
I smiled at her, pulling my backpack straps up my shoulders, while finally reaching the bottom of
the stairs, and began walking towards her.
I went up to her, as she sat up from the stool she was sitting on to give me a kiss on the cheek.
Good morning, Aunt Cassie, I greeted, heading towards the cabinet to grab a water glass.
What time do you have class today, sweetie?
Eleven, I replied, looking at my watch, seeing the hour and minute hand reading So Ill be
heading out soon.

Here sweetie, She responded, uncalled for, handing me a set of car keys. I looked at the keys,
looking extremely unfamiliar, so I looked at her as she continued talking, Take the BMW to
school this semester, the girls will be all over you. Its the new edition.
I frowned a little, placing the car keys on the kitchen table, Its okay, Aunt Cassie. I think Im
better off taking the Lincoln to school, its not too flashy.
That Lincoln, youve been driving for three semesters already because you begged me not to
take the other car I had prepared for you. You need to have a brand new car for every academic
year, so you can start fresh every single year.
Im sure everybody knows me by now, I am a senior,
Dylan, sweetie, you need to be the most known, she said, raising her hands up, You are the
nephew of Miss Cassandra Mitchell, the most well known and respected woman of Atlanta,
Georgia. My nephew has to stand out the most in school.
Too bad I didnt want what she wanted though.
Dylan, if everyone knows you at the school, why havent you brought a girl for me to meet yet,
huh? She asked, placing her hands on her hips, leaning against the kitchen island. You are a
senior already and I havent heard you talked or laid eyes on a girl before.
I smirked, looking away quickly then looking back, And if youre most well known woman in
Atlanta, Georgia then why dont you have a man yet, Aunt Cassie?
Because, I am too good for any man out there in the world.
Oh goodness.
I chuckled, smiling at her, Well, I guess I can say the same thing about myself.
Youre a guy, Dylan. Normal, popular guys like you are supposed to have girls come and go out
of life, I dont understand why you dont have one. You are a handsome, talented, athletic and
smart boy, some girls mustve been interested in you.
I was too lazy to answer her at this point, so I looked down at my watch, seeing it flash 10:11.
Well, I started, ignoring her comment, I better be off to school. Gotta beat traffic. Bye Aunt
Cassie.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and saw her forced smile, as I didnt answer her question. She
slightly laughed at me and handed me the BMW keys that I placed on the kitchen island again.
Youre taking that to school, she demanded, I already hid your Lincoln keys, so you have no
choice.
She walked away out of the kitchen island as I roughly drank all of my water that I poured into
my glass.
I really didnt understand why Aunt Cassie was so obsessed with trying to get me to show off at
school.
Sure, she owned a variety of car companies here and there, but that wasnt supposed to affect me.
I was supposed to have my own life.
Not drive a brand new car every single start of an academic year.
I sighed loudly to myself, walking out of the house.

Annabelle
Stop for A.D Williams Park, Stop for A.D Williams Park, the bus driver, was announcing
through the intercom of the city bus, which made me shoot my head up. I took my earphones out
from my ears, shut off my music player and pulled the string that attached to the lights that wrote
STOP at the front of the bus, causing it to light up.

I quickly stood up, adjusting my backpack strap to match up with the level of my shoulders and
walked towards the front of the bus. The bus driver slowly hit his brakes, causing me to lean
forward a little, but I caught my balance, holding onto the pole in the front.
He came to a complete stop as the bus stop and another group of people awaiting to come onto
the bus.
The bus door slid open as the rest of the people waited for to step outside, as I stepped out, the
bus driver said to me, Have a nice day, young lady,
I turned around to him, smiling, Thank you.
I really enjoyed it when people actually saw me as a human being.
That meant there were still some considerate people left in the world.
I stepped out of the bus, feeling the other people waiting go pass me and enter the bus, as I looked
up at the clear, blue skies, sighing to myself.
I turned around, facing the intersection that was currently at a red light after the huge bus left the
road.
I saw a nice black car, with a blonde hair guy driving in the front by himself, wearing a pair of
sunglasses.
The car was in particular a Mercedes Benz.
The blonde haired guy had only one arm on the wheel while I placed one of my earphones back
into my left air, putting my music player on shuffle.
I looked at him, thinking to myself, what a life.
Being able to drive a nice, expensive car, by yourself and just being carefree about the world.
What I would do to just live a normal life.
Every day, I come down the stairs, wondering if I will get slapped, punched, kicked, slammed,
choked or just get hit.
But there is never a day where I dont get hurt.
Thats just impossible.
The blonde hair guy happened to look my direction I was in and did not turn his face away when
he looked toward this direction.
Maybe he was looking at the fact I was looking at him; highly possible. I was just admiring what
kind of perfect life he had.
I just straightened my body up, turned around and headed towards the other bus stop, which was
on the other side of the intersection I was in.
I walked towards the benches of the bus stop, seeing two preppy brunette girls sit there in jean
shorts and different types of tank top designs, conversing with each other. I took the empty seat
that was next to him, putting on my other earphone into my right ear, pausing the song to pick a
new one.
As I was picking, I heard one of the girls say through my earphones, Is she actually going to
Emory?
I dont know, but shell be the laughing stock of the school, what the hell is she wearing?
On top of that, why does she look so hurt?
They started giggling and I pretended like I didnt hear them, scrolling through my music. One of
the girls continued, The college admission actually accept people like this? And I thought our
school had class.
Hey, you know people like this actually have the highest GPAs, who figured, right?
High GPA or not, Id rather not have anyone that looks like that, in our school.
I tried to hide the pained expression that I was feeling so I played the music loudly, making sure I
didnt hear them again.
Comment number one.
And I havent even got to the actual school yet.
This was only the bus stop.
Stupid university.

They had to accept me.

They had to give me a free scholarship.
They had to provide full transportation from my home to the school.
They had to be the only school that I could afford to go to.
I wonder what else they were saying about me right now.
I didnt care enough to listen in the entire conversation.
Instead, I looked up, seeing a playground filled with young kids, smiling and enjoying
themselves.
As I saw three kids, around the age of five or six, chasing each other around, I only smiled.
I wished I experienced this as a little kid.
Instead, I was just left in some woods on a lonely road.
Where Justin found me and I grew up with him and his wife, Josephine drinking alcohol together
and him beating the living daylights out of me.
Josephine jammed in here and there, but it was mostly Justin.
Like I said before, it got worse when Josephine left because he just began beating me every day
and it got heavier as the days went by.
This is why I liked watching the lives of little kids.
They were so carefree and innocent, and they had no worry in the world, not knowing what pain
was to them besides getting a booboo.
I just wish I could live their life since my childhood just never existed.
As I was having these thoughts, a bouncy ball fell down to my foot, causing me to jump but
before it could go anywhere, I grabbed it with my foot, seeing my sneakers in sight. I looked up
to the two girls next to me, looking at me strangely with their eyes widened.
Before I knew it, a little boy came up to me with pleading eyes, probably wanting his boy back.
I expected him to cry or something when he saw my face, but he just stood there, waiting for his
ball.
Usually when I interact with little kids or something, they seemed frightened and scared, then run
back to their parents.
This kid didnt.
He just stood there, with pleading eyes and smiling at me.
He was an extremely cute little boy, no older than ten years old, with dark brown hair and very
big dark blue colored eyes. He was wearing a blue and white plaid buttoned down and loose
jeans. I slowly picked up the bouncy ball that was at my foot and handed over to him.
His eyes lit up at me, causing them to be even bigger and he grabbed them from me, exclaiming,
Thank you!
I smiled and nodded at him, not wanting to scare him.
He was heading back towards the playground again, when he turned around and waved at me,
Have a nice day!
That made me really smile as he ran off, to play with his friends at the playground again. I looked
at the floor next to my feet as I saw a hard item that fell on the floor, probably out of that kids
pockets. I picked it up and it was part of a jigsaw puzzle; a black background with the white text
of waiting. I smiled, imagining this kid solving a jigsaw puzzle.
I wanted to give it back to him but the bus for Emory University had already arrived at this point.
Maybe Ill see him next time.
I definitely wanted to see him again.
I walked into my first class, where everybody just looked up at me like they had just saw a ghost
or something. They looked up and they didnt take their eyesight off of me. I sighed to myself,
trying not to care about them but then tried to head for a seat.
Check your name in before taking a seat, please, I heard the person in the front desk say, which
I assumed was the professor.

I slightly grinned, nodding my head and headed towards the piece of paper that was sitting on the
desk.
I took the pencil, scrolled down the paper through my eyes, seeing my name Annabelle
Cartwright and immediately checking it off.
Oh, so you are the freshman I have been waiting for, The professor called me out, causing me
to look up, eyes widened. She clapped her hands and smiled at me, I applaud you getting into
this advanced literature class, its not everyday a freshman has the grade standing of a junior or
senior. Your application was really top notch.
Thank you?
You may take a seat, Miss Cartwright.
I nodded my head, heading slowly towards the desks. Everyone seemed to have their eyes on me
and if they didnt, they were probably wondering who the hell I was.
The tables were really long and I was probably sure that no one wanted to sit with me, so I took a
seat nearby the window, sitting at the long ass desk, looking like a loner while everyone else sat
in pairs.
I decided to take out my stuff that I had prepared for this class, which was a notebook and folder,
along with a textbook that they had be buy separately. But I didnt take the time to look at what
was the title yet, not formally, until class started.
When I took my stuff out, that puzzle piece fell out of my backpack. I stopped a little, looking at
the puzzle piece with the words waiting on them, then finally realized I should pick it up.
Before I even reached my hand out, a guy with an extremely deep voice called out, I got it.
His hand picked up the puzzle piece for me and handed it to me, making me look up and I was
surprised to see an extremely handsome blonde haired guy standing right in front of me.
Flashbacks came back to me, remembering that it was the guy from the intersection and that
stopped me a little.
He handed it to me further and said, Here you go.
I slowly took it, replying, Thanks, very softly, and then looked the other way.
I expected him to go sit at another table but he actually placed his backpack down near my legs,
then sat down at the stool next to me. Which meant he was sitting at the same table as me.
Everyone began looking and had questioned looks on their faces even me. He was an extremely
handsome guy, tall, nice build and very clean and well dressed.
I looked if there were any other open seats near me; looking around, I saw plenty. But this guy
was sitting next to me.
I tucked my hand behind my hair, trying not to question why he was sitting here, but I couldnt
help but place it in the back of my mind.
Was he not disgusted by me?

Dylan
Ive sat next to different kinds of girls in my life throughout the course of high school and
college. But Ive never seen a girl that looked like this.
She wasnt ugly or anything, she was just different.
She looked like she had been hurt or something.
Being all covered up and having a bruised up face with cuts.
So far, nothing.
Shes stayed quiet and the only thing she told me was, Thank you. That surprised me, because
usually girls are all over me. But I never wanted any girls, because it was quite obvious why they
were over me. It was because I had the money.
I barely ever looked at myself in the mirror to tell myself that I was handsome.
No, I wasnt as shallow as everyone else.

I wasnt calling myself real either.

I was probably a fake person myself.
Im not trying to compliment myself and say that Im real while everyone else out there is fake.
No, all of us are fake.
We all live a fake life.
The girl next to me, with the cut up face and bruises is probably fake as well.
It all matters is how we handle and deal with fake people.
Maybe I should begin talking to her to see what kind of person Im sitting next to.
I nudged my head towards her, biting my lower lip, starting, So youre the freshman?
She rolled her eyes towards my direction and made her eyes big, with a questioned look on her
face, only nodding her head.
Still no talking.
Well, she wasnt mute.
I heard her say Thank You to the professor and to myself, so that wasnt a valid theory.
Maybe I should just get straight to the point.
Your face looks hurt, I finally said.
Her eyes really went big this time, shooting her eye sight back at me, Huh?
That got your attention, I said, with a smirk.
She slightly chuckled, writing something on the corner on her notebook paper and I continued
talking, Im Dylan, by the way.
Thats nice, she replied, looking up quickly then looking back down.
Damn, she was feisty.
A name would be nice, I responded.
She sighed to herself, rolling her tongue inside her mouth, looking back at me, Its Annabelle.
But, I dont know why youre asking me or why you care, so can we just leave it at that?
She looked down again, holding her pencil in hand and I leaned back a little, looking at the
professor.
Well, she certainly was not the one to open up to people quite easily.
No, the better answer was, she did not open herself to anybody at all.
I dont particularly know why she had no interest in me.

Annabelle
I walked out of the campus area, towards the bus stop, with my heavy backpack hanging off of
my shoulders. The weight of my backpack continuously increased as the day passed, with
purchasing textbooks on the spot and receiving papers in classes.
College wasnt any different from middle school or high school.
The students were still immature as they were when they were younger.
Guess it shows that there are phonies all over the place.
And it shows that people will never, ever grow up into adulthood.
They still judged people.
They still made fun of people.
They still didnt accept people.
Just like immature brats they are.
It doesnt help that this school is filled with rich, spoiled brats that probably got raised getting
everything they want from their parents. So that makes them immature, spoiled and shallow.
That one guy though.
The one I met at the intersection.
I dont know what the hell was up his ass.

At first, I thought he was forced being nice to me so I gave him an answer so he wouldnt have to
talk to me.
Then he just made a rude ass comment.
Saying that my face looked hurt or something; I didnt even know what the hell he meant by that.
He said it then just smirked at me, looking at me sarcastically.
I got to the bus stop, waiting for 4:00 PM bus, with the music blasting through my earphones.
After a few moments, a familiar car pulled up to the front of the bus stop, making me and the
other two people very confused.
I squinted my eyes, tilted my head as the window rolled down as I saw that Dylan guy in the
driver seat.
I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms, remembering the BMW of his at the intersection.
Where you going?
Narnia, I replied.
He laughed, a sarcastic one and replied, Seriously. Where are you going?
The other two people waiting at the bus stop looked at me strangely, trying to ignore our
conversation.
Where everyone else is going Home? I finally replied.
Get in,
Huh?
Get in the car.
Your car?
No, the one behind me, he replied, sarcastically. I looked behind his car and there were no sight
of any cars behind him and he continued, If you dont get in soon, Im gonna be parking here
like an idiot at a bus stop and when the bus comes, there is no guarantee that it will be safe for
both you and I.
Why am I in this equation?
Because Im pulling you in this equation, he replied, making me pout my mouth, Get in the
car, Ill drop you off wherever you need to be.
I bit the insides of my mouth, ignoring him, crossing my arms and humming silently in my head.
But he still wasnt going anywhere.
I dont know why he was bothering me so much.
Rude, rich guy whose probably judging me on the inside, leave me alone.
Unexpectedly, he got out of the car, came to the other side and opened his car door. I stood very
still, arms crossed, looking at him strangely. He came up from behind me, pushed me by my
backpack and forced me into the car.
Hey, I started, but he forced me until I got into the passenger seat of the car, which had no
space for me to reply back. He locked the car on me, as I tried to get out but I was basically
trapped inside.
He got back to the drivers seat and immediately drove off.
As he got onto the road, I started, I said legit not over ten words to you in class today, I dont get
why youre bothering me,
Thats why Im bothering you, he replied, Because you said under ten words to me today, and
thats never happened to me.
Someones egotistical.
Im not egotistical, thats everyone else in this school, he replied, I am just curious.
I looked at him strangely, saying that he wasnt egotistical himself, which was strange. In movies,
I see self absorbed and egotistical guys shooting back and arguing that he wasnt egotistical and
he was something else.
But this guy said he was just curious.
Curious about what?
I sighed, crossing my arms, A.D Williams Park.

Huh?
The place where you have to drop me off, I replied, A.D Williams Park.
Thats 30 minutes away, he stated, You live around there?
No, but I have to be there, I responded, thinking about that adorable kid I saw. I had to give him
his puzzle piece back; what if he needed it to go solve a jigsaw puzzle?
So where do you live, exactly?
Why do you need to know, exactly?
God, youre complicated.
I frowned at him and made a face, excited to possibly see that little boy again. I wanted to see
him, to interact with him again.
To see that sincere smile he was giving me.
To see everything that I wanted in myself when I was around his age, but never got it.
Is it easy to use transportation from the park to get to your house? He continued asking.
I sighed, answering, Not really. I live in West Point.
West Point?! He exclaimed, causing me to jump, Thats mad far.
And your point?
Why dont you just dorm or something? Instead of commuting almost two hours away from the
school.
You really think a dorm would help my life get better or something? I answered, Besides, Im
not rich like any of you guys. Being able to afford a dorm and all that.
I dont live in a dorm, he replied.
Okay, I shot back, I dont have a fancy car to drive like you, okay? We cant all have it good
like people who are born to be rich.
Being rich isnt actually the paradise that everyone is hoping for either, he replied back, turning
to look at me a little bit. You dont know whose actually gonna be there for you at the end. At
least being part of a social status, you can tell whose sincere and whose not.
I stayed quiet, looking away from him and out the window.
He was complaining?
His life was nothing bad compared to mine.
I snickered, shaking my head, Yeah, but being normal and having no one isnt really a benefit
either.
I feel like his only problem would be forgetting his wallet at home, or something.
So why am I dropping you off at Williams Park when you have another hour commute from
there.
Because, I answered, annoyed, I want to be dropped off there.
Will you ever answer my questions formally?
Maybe, I shrugged, If I want to answer it formally.
You never answered my question this morning, he replied, about why your face looks hurt.
I glared at him as he continued, I wasnt making of your face. I was curious about why your face
is bruised up like that.
I wasnt going to tell him.
What point was there to tell him?
I frowned, answering, Its nothing. Im just a clumsy person.
You expect me to believe that with those cuts on your faces?
How about you, Mr. Rich Guy who drives a BMW to school? You know your name is very
popular around the campus. You werent even in my class and your name got mentioned by a
group of girls.
He chuckled, asking, You remember my name?
Yeah, its Dylan.
Did they say my last name?

I raised an eyebrow, confused, Yeah. Dylan Mitchell. Obviously it was you because they kept
saying Ray Ban sunglasses, Mercedes Benz, the guy wearing a nice brand name plaid shirt and
brand name skinny jeans. I dont think it couldve been anyone else.
He chuckled, focusing entirely on the road so I caught a glimpse of him looking extremely
satisfied. I snickered, What are you smirking about?
Is that all girls focus on these days? He replied. I stayed quiet, not answering him as he began
chuckling again. I turned my head to him, raising my eyebrow, giving him a flustered facial
expression, questioning why he was laughing to himself.
What are laughing about?
He stopped at a red light, turning to me, with one arm on the wheel, replying, You knew it was
me.
Your point is invalid, right now.
So I stood out in your head right? He finally asked, making strange eye contact with him. My
eyes widened, as he turned his attention to the road again and drove off at the green light.
I clenched my teeth at him and mouthed to myself, ew, and looked out the window again,
ignoring him.
All I cared about was hoping to find that boy at the park again.

Dylan
As soon as my car parked in front of the parking lot of the playground of Williams Park,
Annabelle immediately got out of the passenger seat of the car and ran to the playground. I leaned
against my car, wondering what she was doing as she was holding her backpack straps, close to
her shoulders.
She was definitely a strange girl.
She didnt once fluster or care what I said.
Its like she didnt even want to talk to me.
Which was strange.
I never got that response from a girl before.
She constantly pulled that Im normal and Im not rich like you phrase to get her to leave her
alone, but it was still strange.
She walked around the playground, going pass some kids that were still playing around like she
was looking for someone.
I looked at a couple who was taking care of their crying daughter, who could be no older than
four years old.
I saw them and began wondering to myself, why I couldnt have that life back.
What did I do that made me deserve the life I had no.
This luxury that I didnt want.
I couldve been normal and being happy with Mom and Dad, in our normal, modern type home.
Instead, I was constantly thinking about who the hell was talking to me because of money in my
life.
It certainly wasnt Annabelle.
I backed away from my car, walking up to her with my hands in my pockets of my jeans and
called out for her, Who are you looking for?
Hes not here, she replied, turning around and pouted her mouth.
He.
At a playground?
Who?
Forget it, she said, frowning, The bus should be here soon. Thanks for dropping me off all the
way here.

Youre not letting me drop you off at West Point?

Umm, no, she replied, Besides, dont you live near Emory?
Yeah, but, West Point is pretty far away, I pleaded.
The bus is here, Ill be back home on time, she said, pointing towards the bus sign. I saw a big
city bus pulling up, and I wanted to force her back in the car again but she ran to the bus stop very
quickly.
I tried running after her, but stopped at the benches of the playground as she got onto the sliding
doors of the bus and I saw her through the windows at this point.
Before she sat down, she grabbed onto the pole and waved goodbye to me from the window,
which made me smile and waved back at her.
I turned back around, stepping on some sort of hard object, causing me to stop at my tracks. I
pulled my foot away, seeing what I stepped on, and saw some piece of small cardboard. I bent
down, picking it up and read it as I sat in that position.
It was a puzzle piece.
From a jigsaw puzzle.
It had a white background and some sort of stars flying over it, and had the words in white text
that said dreaming.
Dreaming? I whispered to myself.
Then I remembered Annabelle when I met her in class this morning.
She, herself, had a puzzle piece that fell from her backpack.
Hers said, Waiting.
Did this puzzle piece belong to her?
I took it, stood up and held it tightly to my hand.
Maybe it was hers.
Why would she have a puzzle piece from a jigsaw puzzle, though?
She was a pretty grown girl herself.
I placed it into my pockets, hoping to see her tomorrow to give it back to her.
Annabelle Cartwright.
Definitely one person who was different from other people that I met.
She didnt make me hate the world, though.
Maybe cause she seemed to be sad. And sad people were always the most realistic people living
on this cruel Earth.
Plus, she wasnt craving for my attention.
She wanted nothing to do for my attention but to get away from me, which was just different
from everybody else.
Maybe there were some real people left in this world.

Annabelle
I walked through the front porch, through the front door entrance and entered my home that filled
with the alcohol and cigarette scent.
Well, that meant Justin was home. And drunk, as usual.
I held onto my backpack strap tightly as I saw Justin laying, sloppily on the couch watching some
type of horror crap.
Ew.
I tried to ignore him, but he called me, speaking in his drunk tone, Anna Get that bottle of
whiskey near the cabinet for me.
He pointed towards the cabinet, but the whiskey was near the sink, and it was a brand new bottle.
He never used his money for anything else.

And when he was slacking on money, he would take the money I worked for at the Super Mart
and buy the alcohol with that.
I grabbed the head of the bottle, walked over to him and stood in front of the sofa, giving it to
him.
He roughly grabbed it, so I tried to get passed him but he grabbed my backpack strap, causing me
trip backwards.
Where do you think youre going? He said, not having any conscious, Why dont you tell your
daddy about your first day of school?
He patted the seat next to him, but I just stood there, crossing my arms. He had no energy to grab
onto my backpack strap so he let go, looking like a drunk idiot right now.
You make any friends? He asked, rolling his eyes up and down. Any girls you can bring to the
house?
I got disgusted by his comment and I closed my eyes, looking down, rubbing my arms up and
down.
What? He asked, picking a fight. Grossed out my what Im saying?
He stood up, having barely any balance and slapped my face extremely hard. I fell onto the
wooden table and the glass hit my arm, extremely hard, causing me to feel a sore pain at the spot.
As my body was on the wooden table, he came up and grabbed me by the chin very hard, which
was a stinging pain through my jaw.
As my hand was on his wrist, he threatened, Dont give me that disgusted face. It makes me
angry.
Everything makes you angry.
I just breathe, and that makes you angry.
He pushed my face out of the way and then walked away, to go outside.
I slowly got up from the wooden table, shook off some crumbs off my sweater and then rubbed
my cheekbones, cause I tasted blood oozing from my teeth.
Oh wow, I didnt even realize he grabbed it that hard.
I got up, in pain, heading upstairs to my own bedroom.
On the rooftop, I stood there with my new bruises around my shoulder and cheekbone.
I stretched my body up to try to get the sore feeling to go away but it wasnt going anywhere
anytime soon.
I even massaged myself to try to get the sore to go away, but it became more painful because
thats where all the bruises were.
I stopped then forced myself to stare at the stars up into the dark, starry sky. The rooftop was
truly the only place I could escape from Justin. I didnt know where else to go without thinking
about him besides this place.
I have thought about jumping off this rooftop many times before, since it was high up from the
floor, so all my sorrows and depression could go away.
But I just didnt want to.
I had a very tiny hope that maybe life would get better when Im done with college.
I also dont know if that will ever happen.
I will never be able to escape him.
And if I cant escape him, maybe I will jump off this rooftop.
I always thought about death and if the time comes for that to happen, I planned it all out. That it
was going to be right here, at this rooftop.
So Justin could see.
Justin could see my pained body.
To see the pain I lived through for freaking eleven years of my life.
I looked down at the cement area that surrounded the house and thought to myself, that this would
be able to make my heart stop racing.

It was a potential way of leaving this cruel world.

I looked down at the rooftop tiles for a while, until I heard a voice coming from the left side of
my ear, PSSTT!
That hissing made me jump, moving my head around.
I heard it again, quickly, Hey!
Who the hell was calling me?
I turned my head left, to see who was calling me and my eyes went surprised and big at the same
time.
That kid.
That kid from the playground.
That kid Ive been thinking about all day.
We made eye contact and he was leaning his body outside the window of the house that was
aligned right next to mine.
When he saw that I saw him, he happily waved at me and gave me an extremely big smile, which
made me almost cry.
His smile was so refreshing.
Like I was born again or something.
I felt the temperature of my cheeks rising up and water forming around my eyes.
He continued waving at me from his window and I slowly raised my hand up, waving back at him
slowly.
Youre the nice girl who got my ball for me at the park this morning, he finally started the
conversation.
You remember me?
He nodded, excitedly, I always remember the nicest people.
I smiled, actually letting tears out, so I looked down, not wanting him to see it. I quickly wiped it
off and looked back at him, grinning at him as I contained my tears inside.
Do you remember me? He asked back.
I smiled, replying, Why wouldnt I remember you?
He smiled again, looking so adorable.
Gosh, was he a happy kid.
What I would do to just hug him right now.
I wish I could smile like he did.
What are you doing here? I asked, I never seen you around here before.
Im visiting my Granny, she lives in this house, he replied, in such a high pitched voice. I have
to see her before I dont see her anymore.
Do you live around here?
No, but my Granny does, he responded, And I have to visit Granny. I go back home next
week.
Are you moving or something?
Yes, somewhere very far, far away, Mommy said.
I grinned, and nodded, Well, I hope you spend good time with your Granny then.
I will, I love my Granny.
He talked so innocently, like he had no worries in the world.
What is your name? He asked me.
My name?
Unless you want me to call you nice girl, all the time.
I smiled, responding, Annabelle.
He pouted his mouth, Thats too hard. Can you give something easier?
I chuckled and answered, Name me anything you want then.
He made a thinking face and wobbled his head around, ANNIE, then! Im gonna call my nice
girl, Annie.

My nice girl.
I cringed when he said that.
My mouth hung open, flustered and shocked that he said that. He wasnt scared or frightened by
me at all so I sighed, continuing, Whats your name?
Daniel, he replied, But I want a nickname from you too. Not Danny though, Granny already
calls me that.
I thought about what I should call him, humming as I wobbled my head like him, then widened
my eyes at him, Dane?
His eyes grew big, pinching his mouth together and nodding his head happily, Okay, Annie. You
have to call me Dane and remember me as Dane, okay?
Okay, I said, cueing him a thumbs up.
What are you doing sitting on the roof, Annie? He asked.
Just thinking.
You cant think inside your house?
Inside my house is not as nice as you think.
You want to come inside my house, he asked, Granny set it up really nice. Its very homey.
I was so surprised by his caring nature that I just wanted to thank him for even talking to me.
I shook my head, No. Ill stay here. Thank you for that kind offer though, Dane.
He nodded his head and just continued staring at me, so I asked, What are you doing inside of
your house?
Oh, Im working on a jigsaw puzzle, he answered. When he said puzzle, I remembered his
puzzle piece, so I looked at him as he pouted his mouth, Im almost done, but Im missing two
pieces.
Two?
I only had one though.
Youre missing them?
He squinted his mouth and nodded, Yeah. I mustve dropped them somewhere. Mommy did say
Im a clumsy person.
Whats the puzzle that youre piecing together?
Its a Peter Pan picture, he replied, With a special saying on the side. But I cant complete that
saying since Im missing words.
Do you know where they could be?
Not right now, he replied, But I know what the words are, so theyll always be in my heart.
I laughed at him, hugging onto my legs tighter.
He made my heart melt word by word.
Why do you look so sad? He suddenly asked. I stopped myself, lifting my upper body up and
widened my eyes, Huh?
You look sad, are you okay?
Im fine, I responded, Nothing you can understand at this age right now.
He pouted his mouth, looking irritated, Mommy said I was going to a far, far place away from
here, why are you saying I dont understand anything?
I chuckled at his response.
Those were the only things little kids knew how to worry about.
Moving away from their loved ones.
In Danes situation, his Grandma.
Im not saying you dont understand, I assured, I am just saying, that, youre too much of a
happy kid to hear how I live my life.
He pouted his mouth again, resting his palms against his chin, I wanna hear though.
I shifted my body closer towards his window, with the light shining in my face from his side light
of the house and nudged my face over to him, Do I look like a monster with all of this on my
face?

He puckered his mouth, and shook his head, What matters is the inside. Mommy always said as
we live life, we dont look at people from what they look like and what they have on their faces.
We look at them from the inside and what good they bring to your life. You bring good to my
life, so youre not a monster to me.
My heart dropped when he said that.
I knew you were good when I saw you waiting at the benches and caught my ball, he
continued, Mommy even said that she hoped that I would see you again before next week,
because you were a good person.
His Mom.
Maybe there were some real people left in this cruel world.
Sincere people.
Sincere people that knew how to accept people.
Changing the topic, I started, So you like Peter Pan, huh?
He nodded and I asked again, Why?
His favorite saying was always, never growing up, and I dont think Ill ever grow up.
Trust me, you didnt want to grow up.
Why do you think youll never grow up?
Because I know I wont, Dane replied, Besides, they say growing up is scary and hard. Why
would I ever want to grow up?
He nudged his head towards me, questioning, Is it scary like they say?
Its worse than what they say, I said, making joking eye contact with him.
How did you deal with it?
I didnt really have a childhood, I replied, I just came into growing up.
Really?
I nodded and he looked confused, but answered, Maybe it would be good if I grew up and stayed
with you.
Trust me, I would like that too.
But too bad Im not seeing you after next week, Im going far away, remember?
Well, promise me, when you do grow up, I pleaded, paused, then continued, Please be the
same boy you are right now.
But Im not growing up, he repeated.
I smiled, knowing that he was just a little kid who didnt understand right now so I responded, I
wish growing up didnt exist either.
We both paused for a moment, so I turned my head asking him, So do you want those puzzle
pieces if I can help you find them?
Do you know where they are?
No, but I can definitely help you, I said, wanting to see him again, and wanting to help him
solve this puzzle piece.
He nodded, Before next week?
I moved my head up and down, assuring, Yes. Ill help you find them.
Promise me before next week?
I promise.
He clapped his hands and jumped up and down, Yay, my nice girl Annie is the nicest girl ever.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I smiled as I heard some womans voice from inside call for his name, Danny! Danny, sweetie,
its time for a shower!
He turned to me, smiling, Grannys calling for me.
I nodded and waved at him, as he continued, You promise you will finish the puzzle with me
next week?
Promiseeeeeeeeee, I replied, expanding my word.
Bye Annie, he said, waving happily, I love you!

Water formed around my eyes again as I nodded, and he ran off, turning around to blow me
kisses again.
He finally left the room again, making me stare into an empty room with an open window, that
looked extremely comfortable and warm to stay in.
Dane.
He ran off too quickly before I could tell him that I actually loved him too.

Dylan
As I saw Annabelle waiting at the bus stop after school again, I remembered that I had to give her
back that item that belonged to her.
She stood at the benches of the bus stop, so I did the same routine of invading the bus road.
Strangely, I had to miss school because of a soccer conference so I was not able to talk to her or
see for the past week.
I drove into the bus stop area, making her lift her head up, while she was listening to music with
her earpieces and I rolled the window down.
She looked annoyed, rolled her eyes and took her earpieces out, shouting through the window, I
thought I got rid of you for the week.
I dont go away that easily,
She snickered, crossed her arms and leaned against the bus stop stand.
Get in the car, Ill drop you off, I demanded.
I can take the bus.
Do you want me to get out of the car and force you in here, again?
She widened her eyes at me and sighed, sitting at the bench for another ten seconds.
She finally stood up, opened the door, in order to sit in the passenger seat. Before she positioned
herself more comfortably, she glared at me, annoyed and pulled her seatbelt on.
I smiled to myself and drove off to the place where she seemed to be looking for someone.
The Williams Park.
As I parked at the main parking of The Williams Park, Annabelle immediately got out and
grabbed her backpack on the way.
Before she ran off, she said, shortly, Thanks, then turned her back towards me.
I then remembered her puzzle piece and stopped her by yelling out her name, Annabelle!
She turned around, touching her backpack straps tightly, while I went up to her and stood right in
front of her.
I have something for you, I said, shortly, while pulling out the puzzle piece from my pocket.
I lifted it in the air from my hands to have her see clearly, as her eyes grew big at me and her
mouth hung open.
She looked shocked and excited for some reason, grabbing my wrists.
I jumped back a little cause this is the first time we ever had physical contact.
You found it, she said, happily, making me realize this is the first time Ive seen her smile,
You found the puzzle piece.
I was a little in awe about why she was so excited to see a puzzle piece from a jigsaw puzzle, so
she looked at me sincerely, pleading, Can you drop me off somewhere? Please. Just this once.
I looked at her, with her pleading eyes, so obviously I couldnt resist to that.

Annabelle
Dylan smoothly pulled into the driveway of Danes Grandmas house and I immediately got out
of the car, heading towards the porch where the front entrance door was located.

Annabelle! Dylan called from the car, nudging his head forward. I smiled at him sincerely, at
motioned my hand for him to come here with me. I held both of the puzzle pieces in my hand as I
rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer.
I heard Dylan shut off the engine of his car and his footsteps coming towards the front of the
house with me. I felt his shoulders brush against mine, so I looked at him, holding the puzzle
pieces tightly in my hand, waiting patiently for the door to open.
Whose place is this exactly? He nudged his head towards me, questioning.
Youll see, I replied, simply.
After a few moments of waiting, an elderly woman who was wearing all black from neck to toe
and had medium length gray hair, opened the door for me.
I looked at her, happily in the eyes, asking, Is Daniel home?
Daniel?
I nodded my head, hoping that he was running around the house or something.
She had a pained expression on her face and shook her head, Im afraid hes not here anymore.
My heart dropped swallowing my words back and my sad facial expression came back, Oh? He
told me hed be here until after next week.
Oh no, Daniel is long gone, my dear.
I looked at Dylan, very sadly and he just looked confused and puzzled as well.
She looked at me and began, Are you Annie?
My eyes shot back right at her, surprised that she knew who I was.
Dane.
The only hope that ever made me happy.
The only human being that ever made me smile so happily.
The only one that made me feel like I was living again.
I stood in front of the incomplete puzzle pieces that lied on the desk, nearby the window with his
messy handwriting right next to the picture of Peter Pan.
His Grandma stood by the bedside, crying, He just passed on Saturday. It was quicker than we
expected because the doctor said he had two weeks left.
He talked about me? I shakily asked, turning to his Grandma.
Yes, she replied, looking down, He said you were his nice girl that was going to help him
solve this puzzle before he passed on.
Now thinking about, flashbacks came to my head.
Where he said, he was moving very far away from here.
Where he said, he knew he wasnt growing up.
Where he said, I had to help him by next week.
Where he said, his own mom taught him to be happy because life is too short.
Why didnt I realize sooner?
Why was I so stupid?
I looked toward Dylans direction who at this point knew what was happening and his Grandma
nodded her head, Ill leave you for a moment.
I nodded my head as she left the room and closed the door, and I felt like I couldnt breathe,
taking short breaths.
I took the two puzzle pieces out and shakily placed them in the blank spaces that were missing,
tears rolling down my eyes as I placed them in their valid area.
My piece, which had the words, Waiting on them, went on the bottom, while the piece that
Dylan had, which said, Dreaming went a little more upper, toward the end. And that completed
the puzzle pieces.
The hidden pieces that he always said he had in his heart.
I read his note that he placed besides the puzzle, writing in his little kid handwriting, To my
special nice girl, Annie. Im sorry I couldnt be here solving the puzzle with you. But you

promise you would finish for me so please do so. Remember, youre always going to be in my
heart. You are very special to me. I love you. From Dane.
My eyes then towards the quote of the jigsaw puzzle, where it read, You know that place
between sleeping and awake, that place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll
always think of you.
From that point on, I dropped down on my knees, feeling like I was suffering a mental
breakdown.
Why did I ever say life was terrible.