Let's Make a Trade

Give me a name and I'll give you a memory. Sound fair?

[the-name-thief]

"Max"

I'm in a foreign country, 7 years old. The air smells like burning wood and holds promises of rain. I've never been to a party this big before, and the large crowds unsettle me. Children and teenagers are gathered in a circle, hitting a piñata. I'm careful not to stand too close for fear of getting hit.

The next kid in line takes his turn and loses his grip on the bat as he throws it in my direction.

Send me your name and I'll give you a memory!

[the-name-thief]

"Dan"

They're not here today. She dragged him off to a wedding, I think, freshly manicured nails clutching his tie. The sky outside is dark already and something in my throat squeezes tightly. The clock reads 9 at night and against my better judgment I slip out of the apartment- and I walk.

And I walk, and I walk, and I walk.

Past stores and train tracks and bars until my phone rings and he's telling me he won't be back until tomorrow and my throat squeezes tightly again.

It's midnight already, and I'm 3,000 miles away from home.

I want to keep walking.

[the-name-thief]

"Sahil"

Summer in Boston and the air is sticky and wet, the sun burning hot on my exposed skin. Sweat drips from my forehead and the light reflecting the sea stings my eyes.

He's taking pictures of me, leaning against a rail on the pier, and I wonder what it would be like if I jumped off, into the water.

I'm happy this time.

[the-name-thief]

"Larry"

I'm 10 years old, I think.

My head hurts and my eyes feel swollen. I hear a man yelling and the roar of the audience from where I am, in a room behind the stage. I want to go home and sleep, or at least play in the parking lot like my classmates. It's late at night and I'm watching the toddlers. They laugh at the talking vegetables on the TV and I'd rather be anywhere in the world than here.

[the-name-thief]

Asks and anon should be on now!

[the-name-thief]

"Tori"

I'd just turned 17. 9 of us would sit in a room and read for hours on end, but my thoughts were on my sister in the hospital. I tried to focus, hold it together for my team.

What do you mean you're quitting? You don't know the meaning of the word struggle. You've never made an effort. You're leaving, and you're doubling my burden.

I want to see my sister.

[the-name-thief]

"Adrianne"

I'm sitting in a room that smells of cheap wine. He's not drunk, yet.

I ask him what my name means. He's not sure, he says, but he knows it's French. We're not French, I tell him. Nobody in our family calls me by it. You picked an odd name.

He tunes me out, and pours himself another glass of wine.

[the-name-thief]

"Zara"

I'm stuck at a wedding, bored, roughly 8 years old. My brother sits beside me, playing with the flame of a candle on the centerpiece. He wraps his hand tightly around one of my wrists and holds it above the candle. I struggle against his grasp in fear of being burned, but he promises I won't be hurt. I dip my fingers into the flame.

[the-name-thief]

Let's play a game

Give me your name and I’ll give you a memory.