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Zachary Dillon's avatar

This is another beautifully rendered snapshot, and it of course makes me feel concern for you, but the other thought haunting me is: why was it in the bathroom in the first place?…

I saw your note that “Jose” just happened to contact you out of nowhere. I say don’t respond. Yikes.

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Zani D's avatar

You kinda just captured the heart of why this is so quietly brutal.

I was only 15.

He was 16.

Just a stupid kid. Same as me.

Another lost child trying to find meaning in our trauma on the edge of the abyss.

It's not his fault society cast him in the dominant role and me as submissive. He was just as trapped in the violence as I was.

His father was obsessed with Hitler. I choose to cut him a lot of slack.

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Zachary Dillon's avatar

Yeah, that's such an intense time. Children wielding adult weapons, often handed to them by adults wielding childish minds.

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Zani D's avatar

Absolutely. Kendra's mother pretty much lived at her boyfriend's house, they pretty much only saw her in the morning before school. Jose's father was insane, his mother was enthralled and desperate for validation.

As a parent I can now see everything they got wrong - and how very easy it was for them to rationalize it.

People are so so broken, it's heart wrenching.

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Zachary Dillon's avatar

Yeah, any time I see stories like this get unpacked, my reaction is, "That's horrible, and it makes sense how things happened that way."

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Vera's avatar

I like the way it was written, but HOLY FUCK! I am worried for the you back then and you now too. Sending love 😭

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Zani D's avatar

I'm not sure it really occurred to me what I've been through until I started writing this series? 😆

But it's at least given me the confidence to write more about my life. I hate writing about myself. But it's even worth it. Thank you so much ❤️‍🩹

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