Chapter 1: Me

I cry, I fear, I feel. Why is it so hard to understand? I see, I know, and I coward. Why must it be so hard to show? I feel alone, as if I can’t speak to anyone or quit the act. Why must I feel? Please, please, please help me my lord, my love, and my family. I feel as if I must scream but I have no mouth, I must think but have no mind, I must fight but have no hands, I must run but have no legs, I must see but have no eyes, but most of all, I want to experience life but have no soul. I feel empty, I feel like I’m alone. All I ever want to do is to yell and run as if I have no responsibility, but I am a bird in a cage. Why…., why must I be alive with no purpose, no feeling, no spirit. I am as fragile as an egg, and as complex as the human mind. Who am I? Who are you?..

Chapter 2: I see

Mr. Shadow, I see your hate towards me. I see the secrets you hide. I see someone as lost as I am. You and I, we are not so different. We may believe in a different system, or religion. Or we may be a different color or size but you and I, we are not so different. You want to run, scream, feel but you don’t know how. Just like me. You may see me, but do you really see me? What do you see? What do you understand? Why can’t come forward and see me. You and I we see each other, but we don’t see each other. So close yet so far. Please see me as I see you. I am more than what you see. I am alive and so are you. 

Chapter 3: I feel

Mr. Shadow, I feel you, I sense your pride, your ego, your hatred, and your love. It’s like looking through an exhibit of endless curiosities. Can you feel my heart, that aches endlessly? Can you feel the damage in which you’ve inflicted? Can you feel my mind in which melts with every word, every action? Mr. Shadow, you call me names, you say I am different. You say I’m weak as a newborn baby. You declare me as the villain in your story. I feel as if I am shunned from society. I feel your eyes burning at the back of my skull, judging my every move, every thought, every mental action. Why, why, why must you see me as a criminal? Does my color frighten you? Do my mannerisms confuse you? What, what, what do you want? What must you say to me, Mr. Shadow. I feel angry, frustrated, and confused; you withhold your truths because you’re afraid that’ll come for you. But the truth is, I am the same as you. You and I we’re two peas in a pod.

Chapter 4: I think

I’ve spent time pondering, Mr. Shadow. I’ve reflected in the truths we believe and the lies we’ve been instructed to follow. You and I, Mr. Shadow, we experience life so differently but so similarly that it boggles my mind. I’ve come to realize that you and I, we were not born this way but taught to believe that you’re my enemy and I am yours. My color, my actions, my dialect, my way thinking, and my perspective are things you must fear because they’re so different and I fear yours because they don’t align with mine. We’re not perfect, and not rich in perspective but we share one obvious trait. We think. Our thoughts, our own genuine thoughts are the truth we must believe in. Without knowledge, without thought we are empty. We are lost. Funny, isn’t it, Mr. Shadow, that we were convinced that were the enemies but are we really? 

Chapter 5: I forgive

Mr. Shadow, I forgive you. You’ve shown me that the enemy is not a person, an ideology, or a thought. But the demons in which we fight internally. These chains, these cuffs in which have been imposed upon us seem difficult to rid of but not impossible. I believe in the power of hope and faith that it’ll get better. Without hope and faith, we are but mindless sheep that wander. Mr. Shadow, I am not alone and neither are you. I see you, I feel you. I know you’re there watching, and I hope you learn as much I have. You’re not a stranger Mr. Shadow, I am here