wild Wild Boy

Fear

The wild boy escaped the freak show and now was in my shed. This was something that I did not expect and I did not know what to do about it. It meant that I was not alone here and now I had an extra responsibility that I did not ask for. All I knew is that I could not send this boy back to the evil circus director and force him to be part of a freak show. I had to take him into my own home, and give him the care and compassion that he deserved. This would be until I knew what to do with him.

The problem was that I was used to being alone. The only guest I ever had was Miss Sullivan and she never was a burden. You can say that I was not good at being with other people. This also was with children. I had no experience with children. Did I even have the patience to have a child around me? What if he was a brat? What if he was so wild that he could not learn how to live as a human? There were so many questions going through my head. This would be a challenge,

When the boy saw me approach him, he started screaming and hopping around. He threw what he could around and at times he was pulling his hair. Most people would be frightened of this behaviour and conclude that he was wild. They would think that he was dangerous. I did not see this. All I could see was a boy that was afraid. I could see a boy that was earlier kept in a cage and had no wish to return to that life. We had this in common. I would not be responsible for sending him back to the freak show.

I did not go closer to the boy. I sat outside. As I sat there I told him that he was welcome to stay here and I would not send him back to the freak show. When he was ready, he could come out. I would not do anything to harm him. There was no answer from him. At least he stopped screaming and jumping around. I did not know if my reaction was the right thing to do. Should I just not have hugged the boy and let him know that he was safe? Maybe that would be the worse thing to do. I think I was just as confused and afraid of what I should do.

Miss Sullivan found me sitting outside the shed and wondered why I was there. When I told her who was inside the shed, she told me that she thought I did the right thing. The boy must have been so afraid. He needed time to trust me. It meant that I needed to have patience and wait for the boy to come out. You would think that being alone all my life and with the simple way that I lived, I would have patience. To be honest, having patience was not one of my strong sides. It was wise that I followed Miss Sullivan's advice and let the boy decide.

There were a few possible outcomes. The boy could come out and give me a chance. If this was the case, I would have my hands full. It made no difference if I wanted this or not. It was what fate has decided. The boy could also escape. If this happened, it would not be my problem. This was a scenario that I did not wish for. If the boy escaped, I would be so worried about his fate and suspected that at some stage, he would be captured and back in the cage.

When Miss Sullivan left, I found some food and put the food in the doorway. The boy was still in the corner. His eyes looked so afraid and it was almost as if he was trembling. I told him that the food was for him. It was some ham sandwiches and a glass of milk. This must have been the best food that the boy experienced in a long time. It was not the animal food that he had when he was in the cage. I could see the boy staring at the food and then at me. I told him that I would leave the shed door open. He could come out when he wanted. This meant that I also reassured him that no harm will come to him.

I left the door open and found my guitar where I started playing some songs and singing a few songs. I admit that I was not the best singer, but I wanted to give the wild boy an experience that he never had. The only sound that he was used to was people jeering and shouting at him. They say the music has healing power. I could only hope that the music would have pleased the boy and that he would feel safe. Music would help give the boy some peace. It could show him that I was not a threat and that he could trust me.