Hyla H.

Topic: LGBTQ equality

Coming Out of the Dark

It’s dark. Too dark to see anything. I can hear water dripping, though, and it’s freezing cold. Maybe I’m in a cave? My thoughts shift to a light as I notice it for the first time. How do you miss a light when it’s so dark that you can’t see? I walk toward it. Reaching it, I realize it’s a candle. There are more candles; I follow them. I read their labels: blood red, deep orange, bumblebee yellow, Kelly green, Carolina blue, Prussian blue, amethyst purple. If I’m not mistaken, this pattern is the colors of a rainbow… I think I learned that in History… You must be wondering, “Wait… what? She learned that in History?! Hasn’t she at least seen the rainbow flag before?!” Well, to tell you the truth, I haven’t. There hasn’t been a rainbow since 2018 (that was twelve years ago), and it’s been illegal to sell rainbow flags since Mark Quence became president. I find a graveyard, filled with old, ripped, rainbow-colored flags. People are gathered around an empty grave, including my parents, my friends, and- MARK QUENCE?! They’re all looking at me, a lot of them mad, and one wears a mask and holds an ax. I read the tombstone: Here lies Hailey Faith Hazel Hill, 2012 - 2030.

Crying, I fall on my knees, somehow landing in front of the person in the mask, who I realize is the executioner. He swings his ax, and everything goes black as I scream…

***

Having woken up still screaming, I stop and sit up, glad to find myself in bed, in a cold sweat.

“Honey, are you okay? We heard a scream.” My parents have run into my room.

“I’m fine, Dad, I just had a bad dream. That’s all,” I say, smiling up at him.

“You’ve been having a lot of bad dreams lately. What’s up with you? Do I need to get you a counselor?”

“No, sweetie! She doesn’t need a counselor,” my mom answers, finally saying something. “She has us.” Turning to me, she says, “You know you can talk to us about anything, right, Hailey?”

“Of course I do,” I reply, crossing my fingers behind my back. I love my parents, but I can’t tell them my secret. You see, it’s illegal to be a member of the LGBTQ community. If someone comes out, they have to go into hiding to avoid being executed. I recently realized I’m bisexual. So I lie, and distance myself from everyone at school. I have friends, but they don’t know a lot about me. I’m the mysterious girl hiding in the hood.

***

A few hours later, I arrive at school. Getting off the bus, I join my friends.

“Hey! Hailey! I thought you only use the bus when you don’t wanna be around your parents. Is something wrong?” my best friend, Elisabeth asks.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just had to lie to them, that’s all,” I answer, once again crossing my fingers behind my back. I mean, I did lie to them, that part’s true, but that’s not all; I don’t want them on my case. They can’t find out that I’m bi! No one can. I have to keep this a secret if I want to live. I doubt a life in hiding will save me from death for long.

“Really? Why?” my other best friend, Sarah, asks.

Uh-oh. Have to think of something fast! A flyer catches my eye. “The party tonight! I told them you and I were staying at Elisabeth’s house,” I say. That’s right! The party. I completely forgot.

“Wait, you’re coming?!” my boyfriend exclaims.

“Honey, when do I not go to a party?” I ask. “I mean, that’s how I met you.”

“Uh….”

The whole group laughs, except for him; I guess he’s still embarrassed.

***

“Mom, Dad, can I have a sleepover with Elisabeth and Sarah tonight? We’ll go to a party first, but don’t worry, we’ll stay safe!”

“Of course you can, sweetie!” my mom answers.

“If you want to go, you have to tell us what your nightmare was about, and make sure you stay away from boys,” my dad adds.

I can’t lie. Not this time. It was easy before, but this time it’s different. It’s too challenging to come up with an entire nightmare, especially one that would leave me screaming it was so scary. So, I guess have no choice but to come out. Here goes nothing!

To be continued…
The rest of the book comes out May 2019