She’s Safe... Right?

The walk back home from school was something I never enjoyed. People, cars, backpacks, feet, and protruding elbows got in my way. People, especially crowds, were definitely not my thing. But today, I didn’t have to worry. The usual afternoon sky had morphed into a deep cobalt with a shimmer of gold and pink melting into the hills. The streets were silent. There wasn’t a sight of anyone. It was perfect timing, I relished. Not a single human being. Just the beautiful evening sky and me. Nothing else. 

Nothing except for four other figures looming ahead of me. Three of them were obviously best pals. But something was wrong. I could hear laughter, cold, harsh, cruel sounds that could’ve cut through granite. Foul words of poison were being carelessly being thrown around, causing the silence to disintegrate. I came closer, watching their twisted, mutilated smiles of glee. A wicked glint flickered in their eyes like wild fires. They felt cold, devoid of warmth, with no signs of empathy. I was instantly reminded of a pack of ravenous wolves looking for their next victim. 

Then, I noticed another figure scurrying along like a petite, white doe caught in the circle of snapping jaws. Her head was down, but I could see her wide eyes flickering nervously around her and shining out of her shadowed face with anxiety. She wasn’t running but I could see a slight tremor rippling across her legs. Her back was hunched over, as if she wanted, more than anything, to grow smaller and smaller until she was just a speck on the ground. A piece of paper was crookedly taped onto the back of her jacket with some handwriting that I couldn’t decipher. One of her predators was snickering at it, howling with laughter and jeering triumphantly. More virulent words. 

In an instant, I knew what I was seeing. I’ve seen this multiple times on TV shows. It was in almost every book I had read. We had even talked about it in Health at school multiple times. I knew bullying when I saw it. But this? This was real. It was happening right before my eyes. A scene that was only supposed to happen in movies or TV or books. My heart sank like an anchor into the depths of the sea, and my throat seemed to have stopped functioning properly. What should I do? Call a friend? Or a parent? Tell them to stop? Or just keep walking? Ignore what I saw? My mind seemed to erupt into a blur as my thoughts clashed in a battle. You should go and do something, one voice urgently told me. No, don't get involved, another protested. What if somethings happens to her? You could save a life! Gods, nothing will happen to her! She’s a big strong girl. She can handle her problems herself. Yeah, right. Are you blind? Look at how scared she is. Just keep walking. She can protect herself. Don't be a coward! Coward? This isn’t even your business. Don’t butt into other peoples‘ affairs! 

My mind went blank as it was torn apart by my one choice. The taunting was getting louder. Seriously, why isn’t anyone else doing anything? Are they deaf? I continued walking. Ten feet. Nine feet. Eight feet. Now I was panicking. Sweat was trickling down my neck, supergluing my shirt to my body. I swallowed. Should I step in and be the hero of the story? Or should I leave that role for someone else? 

Three feet. Two feet. One foot. I looked back up at them and caught the eyes of one of them staring viciously back at me. In a flash, all my thoughts of being the hero disappeared, depositing only fear and a hollow, deathly silence in me. The thought of a second doe trotting into an image of gory slaughter grew in my mind. I mentally shook my head. No, this isn’t any of my business. I need to keep out of these kind of issues, the voice in my head reminded me again. What could I do? Besides, there wasn’t anything I could do to change this. How could another smaller, insignificant, victim-to-be help another victim? 

I started to hurriedly skitter away, not at a sprint but at a nervous stroll. As I passed, one of them threw me a malicious look. I understood. If you want to get hurt, stay out of the way. I hurriedly turned my face away, but not before my eyes met hers. For a fraction of a second, the pale silver-blue orbs stared back. They were fragile, as if they were glass, about to break and shatter into a thousand tears. I could see the terror and panic swimming in them, on the verge of spilling out like rivulets of waterfalls. 

Pity started to tug at my heartstrings, but she turned away and I was left alone with the three pairs of wolf eyes, throbbing violently with hatred. One of them muttered at me, “Get lost, little girl,” then motioned for his friends to follow, leaving the corner of the street empty again. 

I walked in the opposite direction, trying so desperately to dispel all thoughts from my head. She’ll be fine, I consoled myself unconvincingly. Someone will help her. It won’t be me but someone else will. They’re only words, right? She’ll be all right. I took a deep breath. It was quiet and still again. The warm spring breeze tickled my face as it flew giddily past me. Crickets were singing lullabies to the trees, and everywhere, ripe, flowering buds burst open like fireworks. Everything was calm. Still. Peaceful. Yet there was a whisper, She’s safe... right?