The childhood I lived never truly belonged to me
It was shared with all the other curious minds in the world
We didn’t spend our days playing outside
No
We spent them fighting bad guys and villains
We weren’t busy sitting in front of the T.V
No 
We were occupied dealing with the dragon terrorizing our kingdom

One day, I was a high school student struggling with friendship
The next, I was surviving in a dystopian world 

My life was spent living through the viewpoint of another person
My face was never my own
My actions were never my own
My feelings were never my own
My childhood was never my own
My life was never my own.

The many friends I made throughout my life never existed
The countless adventures I went on never happened
The hardships I’ve faced will never be a reality

When my parents’ screams echoed throughout the cold house at midnight
I did not cry
Instead, I tiptoed my way into my big brother’s room
Snuck into his bed
And hugged him 

It was just another night
The trilling shouts
A sudden new hole in the wall
And the front door slamming shut
Brother had already cried himself dry and was restlessly tossing 

I slipped out of his bed and closed the door behind me
I shuffled my way to the dining room

Mama was holding her head at the dining table, shivering
From the cold of the house or the heart-wrenching sobs, I wasn’t sure
But I gently took her head and pulled it to my chest
And countless other lives whispered with me
“I know…”