Uncommon Adolescence

Can you please turn off the television?

Why are those radios so loud?

The buzzing in my head never stops.

In the hallways of my high school,

People's faces are staring at me. Cruel and judging. Laughter and jeering.

The teacher's voices just stirred into the mix. I try to listen. Sometimes I can, and sometimes I just drift away.

Lights are loud and glaring. Colors too bright. Stationary objects move.

I can see the atomic structure of things! All is energy and movement. Angels and demons are hidden only to those who can not see. I see them!

I retreat into myself.

Hours lost in the chaos of my mind.

In my room are crucifixes, pictures of Jesus and scriptures written out large. Protection from the edge. Shields against the onslaught of the enemy.

Whispers and crawling things tell me to hurt myself, and I do. They tell me to kill myself, and I want to. But God Himself tells me I must stay, so I do.