Chapter 2

The Outcast

Have you ever experienced what it feels like to be an outcast?

It started right in the labor room where my mother gave birth to me. The nurses looked at me with disgust before deciding to clean me up. I could 'remember' the stares I was getting when I got into the general ward where other women who had just given birth too were. My mother tried acting like she was okay with how I looked, but I could 'see' that she was just trying to be optimistic that I would change once I grew older. Days grew into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and I could not stop growing in that very manner.

It became worse when I started experiencing signs of puberty. No girl wanted to be my friend in school. The female teachers hated to see me in the staffroom. My father was giving me as much attention as fatherly possible. The surrounding males wouldn't let me be. They wanted to be around me at all times, which ensured I was getting ostracized by the female gender even more. In the market, where there were always more women than men, they didn't accept me. This made my mother ensure that I went to the market every day so I would get insulted and rejected as usual.

The most painful experience I had was when I got stained at the marketplace. It was so obvious that everyone could see it. I couldn't go home either, as my mother ensured I stayed in the market for certain hours every day before returning home. The market women and the female passers-by mocked me and didn't come to my rescue. As expected, the males around were the ones who provided me with a sanitary pad and water, then showed me a place where I could clean myself up.

"Hmm, this isn't bad," I said to myself. I guess it is way better than the first. It seems I am getting better at this. I dropped my pen and took a sip from my cup of coffee, which was getting cold.

As I had promised to write over two stories, I picked up my pen again. What should the next story be? Yes! The inspiration should come from what happened between Sarah and me.