Disposable

Today concluded my rebellion. For months, I have been planning my escape from this terrible place. I set my alarm clock an hour early. I left my cage-like lab room to move to the dining hall. Roaming hallways was strictly prohibited.

In moments, two guards approached me, asking why I was awake so early. I told them they gave me the clock, so whatever time it said is whatever time I follow. Trying to hold in my sarcastic and violent tone took a lot of energy this early in the morning. I was told to watch my mouth.

I continued my act. I told them they couldn’t speak to me that way because they needed me for experiments and I was not disposable. I had been very mouthy with the guards and scientists before, but fortunately, this sentence was the last straw.

They tossed me outside onto the hard asphalt with the few belongings that I owned. It was not a feeling of displacement or sadness. The feeling was one of freedom. The lab room I lived in and the places I went throughout the day on a tight schedule had already begun to fade from my memory. The screams I heard from creatures just like me would be silenced in my mind, once and for all.

It was only 8:12 AM, so the sun had just begun to warm the city. My alarm clock lay next to me, now cracked and flashing numbers.

I turned away from the massive laboratory building and faced the city street. The sight of an early morning in the city did not make me feel lonesome, but rather independent, like I gained a second life.

I was bleeding a little from the force of the guards. Through the labyrinth of the city street, I noticed a zoo. I considered the possibility of finding my own kind there. After all, a massive laboratory being just a few roads down from a zoo was certainly no coincidence.

I slowly and carefully made my way down the sidewalk. The way I watched the city wake up was truly a work of beauty, one that I had never seen even through lab windows. I passed stores, cars, people, pets, parks, and all sorts of other things that I had been so sheltered from my whole life.

When I approached the gate of the zoo, a sign caught my eye. The sign said they opened at 9 AM. A nearby clock tower told me it was 8:30. I had half an hour to find my kind. Half an hour to find my new home.

I passed many different cages. One was very colorful and bright, but the creatures inside harmed me once I placed my hand on the cage. Another contained animals that raced away as soon as I came close. A third cage contained animals tearing apart meat with only their teeth.

I began to lose hope, but I also realized something in comparing myself to these animals. It made me realize that I am no animal. Sure, I have bright skin and I am scared easily. I have a bluish-pink skin tone, wings half the size of my body, six eyes, and more features than I can count. I have many differences in myself that would make some consider me an animal, a creature.

But standing before true animals, I realize I am not among this crowd. I am not an animal. I am not a creature. I stand on two legs, I understand human communication, and I am intelligent enough to plan a proper escape from my prison.

I left the zoo before 9. I decided that instead of accepting what I was deemed, I would rather resort to what I really am. A person. A very atypical person, but a person nonetheless.

I found people who accept and love me. I found people who took care of my bleeding without hurting me more. I found people like me. I found freedom. Not getting a window in my room freedom, but real freedom. I discovered that finding home is not searching for a place. Finding home is an adventure that comes when you’re searching for just the right people.

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