It is often said that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt.
But wait if each word were beautifully carved into stones, the size of each letter.
The smaller the word, the bigger the stone.
The bigger the word, the smaller the stone.
Idiot became much bigger than intelligent.
Dumb became much more common than bright.
Shy became an excuse for exclusion.
And the word friend had a double personality with adversary.

I didn’t understand.

Each stone formed a meteorite,
Hurtling down to destroy my purpose,
Slay my heartbeat,
Butcher my happiness.  

My happiness, however, was too powerful.
The exterminator disintegrated as it peeked at my face.
Each pebble hitting my skin like confused bullets.
It took my hands, then my shoulders
Then my back,
Then my legs,
Then my lips,
Then my voice.
It melted my skin,
Screaming demons lay atop.
Each layer of skin peeling, falling apart.
My smile had been long gone.

PLOT TWIST:
Instead of melting like a witch,
I remained.
Today, I stand before you, stronger than ever.
A message from the universe told me to tell you:
Never give up.