Make a Change, Make a Chance

As he ran, all Lucus could hear was the sound of his heart and the cries of Mother behind him. He crashed into a few bushes on his way, leaving only a trail of madness. He only made it to the park before practically collapsing. He walked over to the nearby swing set. It was a rusty red color with a few nice swings, a tire swing, and a few baby swings. He plopped down onto the one on the far left. His side hurt a bit. It might have been from a mix of unhealed injury, and simply being out of shape from sitting in the hospital bed for too long. He sat there crying for a while before getting up.

"I need to get stronger. Then, I won't be a burden. I'll make a better world for myself. One that sees me like the person I am." He had a habit of talking to himself. If any young children gave him weird looks, he couldn't tell. He took off into another run, pacing himself this time. He curled around the park. Once, twice, three then ten then twenty seven before stopping himself. This time he wasn't tired. Not while he was running. Only when he stopped did the wave of fatigue and pain catch up to him and he regretted ever stopping. He smelled ice cream, then roses, trash, then donuts and pizza. Each time he memorized his movement. The feeling of the sun on his arms as he went seven and a half feet past the bakery, the nice old man that cheered him on as he passed near the subway station. It felt close. Comforting, even. By now, he had almost forgotten his warm greenhouse. He came to an abrupt stop. "The greenhouse… and mother." He had left his stick next to the white roses and petunias. Where was he? He had run. That was for sure, but how far did he go to get to this park he had orbited? Nothing was familiar anymore. What was his address again? Was mother looking for him? He needed to apologize. What if he never made it back? Would his last words to mother be that she was just another hater, another bully? The sounds grew louder. The ringing of the bakery door was a bell held next to his ear. The jingle of the ice cream truck a horror melody as the killer approaches. The old man's worried calls now faded into the background, nothing more than white noise. He stumbled over to a bench, head throbbing, until,

"Lucus! Is that you?! Are you okay? You just got out of the hospital! What are you doing out? Why aren't you at school? They said you weren't going to be there anymore!" Ben came running up to Lucus and sat down next to him. His voice cut through like the sun cut through the clouds after a heavy storm. He had a headache. Lucus stayed silent for a second, before explaining everything. He was an open book at this point. The mental barriers in his mind had collapsed. Each sound wave had crashed into it like a wrecking ball to the old building near his house.

After he finished, Ben helped him up and took him home. It wasn't much of an inconvenience, seeing as they were neighbors.

"I was going home anyway. I just wanted to grab a cookie." he held out half. It was a rather large one too. One of the nice ones with the huge chunks of chocolate. "Want some?" Lucus declined. He was focusing on the steps he was taking. "Careful dude, there's a huge root there." Lucus made a mental note and stepped over it. It was a much shorter walk than he had expected. Only a few blocks and they ended up right in front of the orphanage. "You good from here?" asked Ben, finishing up his cookie.

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you, for helping me get back. I would literally be lost without you." He gave Ben a fist bump and pushed open the beaten wooden door.

"Mother? I, I'm back. He heard the familiar clicking of her shoes start to walk swiftly closer. "I just wanted to say, I'm, so, so, sor-" he was cut off. Before he could say anything more, he was whisked up into a tight hug that prevented his breath from letting out anything more. Forget the greenhouse, the park, this was where he wanted to be. Home.

When Mother finally released him from her warm embrace Lucus took a deep breath and explained what he wanted. "I want to go to school. I know you don't think it's safe, but that was just one bad teacher. She was punished rightly too."

"I know, but you could have died. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing I let you go there, and then you get hurt, or worse, actually die this time." she sighed and looked down sadly.

"There won't be a 'next time'. I won't let there be a next time. I'm going to change the school. Make a place where I can feel safe, and you can feel at ease."

"But you can't promise me that-" she started taking a step forward.

"I know I can't, but I'mm asking you to please trust me. Not enough people trust me enough, but I know I can do this. I might be blind, but this is and has been my life. I know my own abilities and I know I can fix the school. If I can make a change… I can make a chance. Not just for me, but for countless other disabled kids!" he raised his voice a little here, but caught himself and stopped. Mother paused.

"I, I'll trust you." she said quietly, and they both left to go their separate ways.