Here’s a preview of my piece for Under the Same Sun—the @mlpandemicreliefzine! The digital zine and activity book can be found here, with proceeds all going to GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.
Orders run until August 11th and you definitely don’t want to miss out on all the incredible artwork/writing/recipes/and activities!
A special shoutout to @emsylcatac for beta-reading this piece for me, she’s incredibly lovely and I’m so grateful for her assistance!
“Really scraping the bottom of the creativity barrel, are we?”
He scoffs. “Says the girl who named herself Ladybug.”
“Hey!” She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I became a miraculous wielder at like nine years old. I’m sure you weren’t winning any awards for imagination then either.”
“I’ll have you know I was a brilliant nine-year-old. They still speak of my genius to this day.”
“Lucky for you, I can’t track them down now and show them a video of you crashing into a streetlamp because you forgot how to walk.”
“And lucky for you,” he pushes her with little force. “I can’t tattle to your parents about what a huge bully you are.”
Her shoulders shake as she tries to hold in a laugh and she flops onto the ground, limbs sprawled out around her.
“You could, you know,” Ladybug says. “You could know my family.”
“Like I tried to show you when we first met. You could meet them. We could know each other.”
His mouth hangs open as he stares at her uncomprehendingly. “But—I—what?”
She sits up and rests a hand against his arm. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m not trying to push you.”
Why doesn’t he want her to know again? He thinks back on their first meeting. How his stomach was in his throat and his heart felt raw. How he’d tried to cover himself in a layer of flippant jokes and insincerity. He was alone in the world and determined to keep himself that way. Being alone meant freedom. It was permission to act without restraint, to not be hindered by rules he didn’t agree to and a life he didn’t sign up for. It was existence out from underneath someone’s thumb.
But it was also terribly lonely.
He’d tried to convince himself that as long as he was the one walking away, he’d never feel abandoned, never feel rejected. But that was a lie.
He desperately wants the home Ladybug offers. The chance at being cared for and loved. The warmth of a hand on your back, guiding you through the unknown.
“I don’t think I’m ready,” he says and she nods in understanding. “But I want to be.”