Since I can remember, I have stayed within the boundaries society marked and operated within the confines of the norms of our community. I am usually commended for this and used as an example. Mother is mighty proud of her boy.
Truth be told, part of the reason is fear. I've heard too many tales of those who went against the grain and were never seen again.
The other bit is a lack of interest in whatever lay out there. A bit odd, I admit, for those my age.
Lina, not Angelina, not Angela, not Angel, changed all that.
From the moment she began to requite my attention, I felt a simpleton. She questioned everything.
Suddenly, my trust in the order of things seemed like the swallowing of unfounded fables---hook, line and sinker---by a half-breed, ignoramus.
I realized I needed to learn some things for myself...show Lina I could also discover stuff.
I chose late one afternoon, when everywhere was calm.
I ventured past the border of our commune, onto alien territory. Trepidation gnawed at me. But I was not going to let that stop me. I had to return with a story worth sharing.
Then I saw it.
A worm, swaying with nary a care in the world. It was too appealing to pass up. I closed in.
"Jo, no!"
I turned at Lina's scream. Too late, I'd clamped my jaws around the worm. I felt something sharp pierce through my upper lip. It made no sense, worms have no bones. I struggled to free myself.
"Oh no, Jo!"
Lina's horror-filled eyes and sadness-laden voice told me something was terribly wrong.
I was still trying to figure it out when I was yanked out of the water and into a fishing bucket.
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