Echo

#PrideOnThePage - Day 27

This is day 27 of my participation in the creative challenge found at:

✍️#PrideOnThePage (a fun, free, creative community challenge) - runs June 1-30

27. Echo

I have decided that the sounds and echos of my life is best described by a short story:

A child was born and started exploring life. There were other people in this life, such as parents, a number of other big people and a few that were smaller, but still bigger than the child. When it was allowed outside in the garden, it discovered another child of roughly the same size, and the two played together each day. The child’s parents had given it clothes and toys that were mostly green, while the other child mostly wore pink and red.

At some point the child requested a doll from its parents, which it got and the child was given a nickname, that could be translated to “non-conforming”.

Younger siblings were born, clothed in blue and red. They moved to a bigger house to give space to the expanded family and che child lost contact with its only friend. A sequence of au pairs were hired to look after the children, as the parents were busy with work and personal interests.

At the age of four the child’s mother took it three times to a place where people watched the child play with different toys and asked the child questions.

Shortly there after it was decided that the child should be introduced to other children of similar age. It did not go that well, as the other children did not want to play with the child - the boys called the child a “girly boy”, and the girls kept their distance. As a result the child spent a lot of time hiding in a cupboard by itself. This went on once a week for a couple of years.

At home the younger siblings played together, refusing the child to participate. The child took this very hard, as it would so like to help and protect its younger siblings. Fortunately the child was often taken to visit its aunt and her two daughters that were slightly older than the child and which the child had no problems playing with.

At the age of six the child started in school, and was told to behave as a boy, which it really did not want to do. Again the other children did not invite the child to play with them - the child was again called a “girly boy,” but now also encountered some violence, and was isolated from the other children in recesses for several years.

At home the child was berated when not behaving as a boy, and was given boys toys at birthdays and Christmas. Each Christmas the child looked with envy on the many presents their sister got and cried itself to sleep.

At the age of eight the child gave up, hid itself away and let a conforming avatar take over, but not much changed. The avatar got a few friends - specifically the neighbour’s youngest son. As the avatar was trying to conform, it perceived this friend as a role model. This turned out to not be a good idea, as the avatar was introduced to a number of mischievous activities. Fortunately the neighbours moved away before it got out of hand.

As time went by the avatar grew up and tried its best to fit in, but people kept finding it odd and kept their distance. By pure luck someone else got a glimpse of the person hiding behind the avatar, and decided that they would like to share the rest of their life with that person, hoping one day the person hiding would come out. After many years it happened, and the two agreed on letting the child free.

The morals of this story is that trying to get a person to give up their identity will not end well. To begin with you will not get the echo you expect. If you keep trying you will get a false echo, inducing anguish and possible irreversible damage to the person. In some cases you may drive the person into criminality as a desperate attempt to fit in.

Even if it appears you have succeed, the real echo will eventually break through.

Bo Ea