The Queen's Dilemma

Ch. 12: The Other Side of You

The kid in question happily munched at his chicken nuggets and fries, occasionally dipping them in the ranch that sat nearby. He looked very content.

A blistering wind slapped Rani's hat from the table to the floor and swirled around smells of fried foods and milkshakes.

As she reached down to pick it up, Rani made a point of looking behind the woman and said, "He looks pretty happy to me. Not scared at all."

Red blossomed on the woman's face and the sneer iced into a glare. "You need to get out of here. It's sickening to see someone like you. You're ruining our day out and freaks like you only deserve to be at home!"

Instantly, like a stink bomb had gone off, everyone within the radius was silenced. Some people looked like they wanted to intervene, but what could they do that could remedy the situation?

Rani knew the words were coming.

But what she didn't expect was the knife that sliced her heart, while a slow burn took out her cheeks and forehead. She'd heard the words before.

Why, after all this time, do they still affect her?

Her fingers slowly started rubbing the raised flesh on her neck and she lowered her face, so others wouldn't know that tears leaked out of her eyes. Her heart constricted her windpipe and she had to take deep, shallow breaths to clear her vision.

"Seriously," the woman said. "You should think about others before yourself."

"That's enough outta you," a voice chided.

The older black woman had stood up on her walker and had inched over to where they were. Behind her, her grandchildren hid, clutching onto her loose yoga pants. A fiery look burned within her eyes, but her derisive tone wasn't directed at Rani.

"This young lady wasn't doing anything wrong. What's the matter with you?" The older woman asked.

Sneer queen gnarled. "Everyone here thinks that! She's ruining all of our—"

"She's certainly not ruining mine and this woman is a beautiful human being. You're the one that's ruining everyone's day," the grandma said.

Hearing it from a stranger slowly removed the knives piercing Rani's emotions, but the tears still spilled down, and she shuddered a breath.

"Hmph!" So much for being a sneer queen; as soon as someone called her out, the lady ran away with her tail between her legs.

For a few moments, Rani couldn't hear anything except her own gasps as she struggled for air and the furious motions to swipe away at her eyes. The blistering heat gave birth to winds that dried the salty drips to her face.

"Baby? Would you like to sit with us? Or are you waiting for someone else?" The grandma had approached her. The little ones still hugged her, but they peeked out and gave Rani a toothy grin.

Rani wobbly smiled back at them. "I'm waiting for my friend and his daughter to come back. But I'd love to sit with you."

Maybe people wouldn't judge her as harshly as she assumed they would.

~~~

The security area for the park hadn't changed all that much in over two decades. There was that odd coffee stain behind the chief's desk, unchanged after all these years.

The woman who'd reported him stood smugly near the officer, whose words zoned in and out of Matt's ears.

The last time he'd been in here, the chief officer had been an old, bald, rounded man who looked older than the park. Matt had been in for goofing off on one of the dangerous rides and dropping his stuff.