The Poetry of Sanctuary 251: Birthday Boy

He takes in a deep long breath and billows out the flames on all nine candles His mother smiles and remembers they day he was born the only doctor in the sanctuary at the time had been a dentist he pulled him out of her like a stubborn tooth For those first few months she stayed awake every night watching him terrified hoping and hating herself for hoping that he would stop breathing in the middle of the night On his first birthday 218 had experienced a breach nearly everyone was infected no survivors she thought about taking his life then She poisoned his sippy-cup with the stuff they used to kill the roaches and in a fleeting moment of weakness dumped it down the drain When she does sleep she relives her father changing into a monster and watches the man who raised her chomp into the forearm of the man she was to marry She remembers how much blood there was and how much she hated them and loved them at the same time The little boy turns and shoots her a thank you smile she smiles back faint and almost fake She makes a wish but does not dare tell a soul and continues to hate herself for loving him too much

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Written by

jm-romig-1

34 / M / American

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