for as long as i can remember,
guns have terrified me.
not just the sound,
not just the bullet,
but the power.
the way it hums beneath the skin,
the way it turns a moment
into a void.
in the u.s.,
anyone can carry one.
no training,
no questions,
no warning.
you could be walking home
and still become
a statistic.
a silence.
a ghost.
that fear lived in my chest
like static.
unshakable.
undeniable.
i brought it to the dinner table
in germany,
laid it bare in front of my host parents,
waiting for dismissal.
but they didn’t laugh.
they listened.
they showed me the laws,
the locks,
the care.
they said,
“you don’t have to stay afraid.
you can learn.”
they took me to a shooting range.
i sat with a weapon in my hands,
fingers trembling.
the air was thick
with every shot echoing like thunder
in a sealed box.
the void opened in front of me,
and for five minutes
i stared into it.
me.
the gun.
the trigger.
the decision.
the shot rang out.
not perfect,
not clean.
a 7.
but good.
and something shifted.
not erased,
just… softened.
the fear didn’t disappear,
but it lost its grip.
i’m still afraid of what guns can do.
i still don’t trust the laws back home.
but i am no longer afraid
of seeing one.
because the void
only has power
when we look away.
and now,
i look straight through it.
for the community prompt, void, by @cherrypicked-insanity and @picklemafia
i tried something more narrative for this one! let me know what you think :)
