That struck me like a blow to the gut.  No one, not even my parents knew about my secret obsession.  Even from a young age, I knew that I was different.  I could see things that others couldn’t.  I remember that when I was in fourth grade, a strange man came to school to tell us about fire safety.  Even though it was warm outside, the man wore a dark hood that covered his face.  Nobody thought that was odd!  After he left, no one would believe me when I said he had fangs, reaching all of the way down to his chin.  Later on in sixth grade, a bad storm hit the outskirts of our town.  Within with the dark thunderheads, I could see shadowy figures, weaving in and out among the overcast clouds.  I was the only one that saw them.  I tried telling my parents about the strange sights, but they only laughed and told me to stop messing around.  I thought that I was all alone in the world.  But that was until I met Sage, Antigone, Quinton, Jada, and Holly.  They could see these things too!  Together, we made a fine group- the losers of middle school.  Sure, we were teased, beaten, and mocked, but it felt good to finally trust someone.  Now, though, I felt like the scared little girl I was back in fourth grade.  My true identity- that’s all I really wanted to know.  It was the one thing that haunted me throughout all the moments of my life.  Who was I?

           I felt a hand on my shoulder, yanking me back into reality.  “Shiloh, are you alright?”  Sage’s face was tight with concern.  I pulled away from her embrace.  “Never better, now bug off.”  I grumbled.  Immediately, I feel terrible.  Sage’s face had fallen, her eyes brimmed with tears.  “I’m sorry.”  Sage glanced up.  A tear made its way down her cheek, staining her dirt streaked skin.  “It’s just been a long day, and I’m just all confused.”  I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed.  She returned the warm embrace.  She whispered into my ear, “I understand.  We’ve all had moments like these.”  Just that short comment made me feel better.  It reminded me that we were all in this together, we were all the same.  Sage pulled away, smiling.  The sight of it filled me with warmth and hope.  Who am I to snap at people who have the same problems as me?  We were supposed to be there for each other!  With that, I wrenched open the door, prepared to face my worse fears.