TO...FRO...CAN'T LET GO

TO...FRO... CAN'T LET GO

It was that high summer day in August when I had left the classroom to stop by the water cooler.

My eyes had wandered to the school playground and the swings. I never got a chance to play, with the roughshod kids like Jerome making their way there first.

He beat everyone to it and hogged it for the entire recess. The only time I sat on it yesterday, Jerome had stormed across, his eyes throwing daggers at me.

Clutching my collar, Jerome had yanked me off. Even before I could get my bearings, I was face down, his meaty hand pushing my head into the ground and raining blows on me with the other.

Tasting blood and gritty sand in my mouth, I wished I was stronger than him to fight him back.

Raucous laughter and snide remarks from Jerome followed me as I meekly staggered away.

That lowdown worm! I wish I could squish him underfoot until his innards spread out like jelly and marmalade all over the playground! I wish that his so-called territory would be splattered with his blood!

****

Now was my chance at the swings!

Meanwhile, mid-afternoon hunger pangs were gnawing at me and I longingly looked at the school garden as I made my way towards the playground.

Lost in a reverie, I pushed open the garden gate and ventured inside where the children usually weren't allowed.

The wired fences were entwined with strawberries, blackberries and raspberries! The tangy juice and wholesome bites of the fruits refreshed me.

Corn cobs! My favorite snack!

Just as I was admiring the towering stalks, I heard hysterical screaming and another one hollering instructions. The voice was unfamiliar and malevolent.

Gunshots zinged past the metal of the swings. Clamping my ears and pursing my mouth, I urged myself to not even breathe!

The screaming didn't stop.The gunshots were manic, fired haphazardly. Terror cruised through me and I lay crouched, hidden among the creepers, vines and the patch of tall corn.

After what seemed like hours, I heard police sirens, ambulances and school parents in a mass hysteria outside the gates.

A young man in handcuffs was dragged towards one of the police cars.

Injured kids, some dead, some barely alive were being wheeled out in all urgency.

Jerome hadn't made it…his body ridden with bullets was a bloody mess!

Jerome, I didn't mean for you to have such a brutal and painful death…

Jerome…

Jerome is gone! My classmates… all gone!

Torn… mangled…

I survived…

After a while, I was found grasping my head and rocking back and forth, muttering incoherently.

*****

The swings have long since been abandoned and are a host to an overgrowth of shrubbery. The sand, leveled by the breeze and many seasons, bears no footprints of my classmates, although the leaves whisper all their names when a wayward wind rustles them…

Jerome… Mea culpa… Mea culpa…

Author's Note:

Mea Culpa comes as an expression of guilt.

Pic Courtesy: Pixabay and ArtoonsInn Writers Room

Comments

TALES FROM THE GLEN BLOGGING CHALLENGE 2026

Image Courtesy: Pinterest This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026 Chapter1 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/abercrombie-locke-mansion.html?m=1 Chapter2 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/brambleshire-woods-day-2-letter-b.html?m=1 Chapter3 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/meadow-brook-cottage-day-3-letter-m.html?m=1 Chapter4 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/egad-shambles-in-brambles-day-4-letter-e.html?m=1 Chapter5 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/veiled-night-at-meadow-brook-cottage.html?m=1 Chapter6 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/library-of-cryptic-clues-day-6-letter-l.html?m=1 Chapter7 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/hopper-hare-day-7-letter-h.html?m=1 Chapter8 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/chipper-chipmunk-day-9-letter-c.html?m=1 Chapter9 https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/dapper-dormous...

ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION

This post is part of the Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. CHAPTER 1 ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION The sky bled bruises of plum and cherry over the rolling hills. A full moon hung low against the mauve casting silver shards through the trees. The mansion made of cold greystone loomed large beyond the rusted iron gates. It grated on the gravel, rasping on the hinges and yawned open like a predator's jaw as Goldwynn booted it open with her foot. Her sneakers squished heavily on the mulch of dead leaves. Clutching her backpack, she looked up at the towering, grim structure forebodingly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" her friend Lexi whispered, hesitating by the gate. "This mansion's totally cursed, they say." Lexi's voice was a thin thread. A chill crept up her back and she tight...

THE BIG BAD WOLF( DAY 17, LETTER T)

CHAPTER 16 THE BIG BAD WOLF The pigs snarled like proper rascals, fixing their cold steely eyes on the Wolf's cottage. How dare he refuse to part with his cottage! When the pigs demand, it's given to them---no questions asked! Porkinn limped, Baconne was soggy, Swinedell rubbed a sore bump on his head, but they were far from defeated. Swinedell snorted, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "Wolf thinks 'e's posh, don't 'e? " Baconne sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "We want the cottage!” He growled. Porkinn cracked his fingers, his sly glance darting about. The pigs crept towards the back door, their footsteps silent on the soft grass. They spotted the Wolf through the kitchen window, stirring a pot of steaming stew for dinner. They kicked the door in, the wood splintering jaggedly. The latch gave in....

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

#ButterflyEffectSpanning25Years #AllsWellThatEndsWell #DiamondsAreForever #WhereTheresAWill The pivotal phrase from “Kafka and the Doll” by Franz Kafka which says that ‘Loss isn't final but love is transformed and restored to you in ways that you never envisioned; it's all about growth and adaptation—plays a huge part in my new year. The Franz Kafka of my life is a girl called ‘ Charrzzx’. In retrospect, this story was in all probability conceived in 2001 as a miniscule bubble, but nevertheless a significant ripple which would impact my life 25 years later in 2026. **** Year 2001: The landmark year when I migrated to and made my base in Singapore was also a memorable one for another reason that it was my parents’ first visit to my place. The days ran into each other with visits to tourist spots and rounds of shopping sprees. On a very fine day, Daddy and I had passed by a Giordano showroom in a mall which I would generally walk past without a second glance other...

OMINOUS ORDEALS ( DAY 19, LETTER O)

CHAPTER 18 OMINOUS ORDEALS The bears startled, then Papa Koala rumbled, "Goldilocks! You…how can it be !” Goldwynn knelt among the bears in the arbor, Mama Koala still sniffling into her shoulder. "I'm Goldwynn, Papa Koala...Goldilocks was my great grandma. So... what happened that day? Why are you hiding away here ?" Papa Koala’s fur bristled.He growled low, his eyes clouding. "The pigs... they came like a thunderstorm banging on the doors and shattering our windows." Mama Koala trembled, clutching a torn apron corner. "I hid Baby Tasha in the cupboard. Told her... 'Hush, sweetpea, like a little mouse!' But…" Papa Koala’s fur ruffled as he puffed out his chest. "I stood tall.'This is OUR cottage!' I said. Goldwynn leaned in and patted his arm Papa Koala snorted. "Baconne pig struck me with a stick. Porkinn pig fluffed porridge e...

Sangeetha Kamath

Search This Blog