Impure; The Untouchable Saga

Chapter 1 (fully edited) 1990

Even after Marissa stood up for me, they secretly picked on me. When I was daydreaming by the school pool, Neisha and Leah came by me,

"Fraidy, there's a reason you shouldn't stand up against us, Tattle Tale," Neisha stated. I stood up and wanted to walk away. "violence is not the answer," I thought. They cornered me by the pool,

"Hey, stop it. I can't swim!" I knew that was a mistake to say as soon as the word vomit came out of my mouth.

"Aww, poor baby, can't swim," Neisha said sarcastically as she shoved me towards the pool. She then pushed me in. After being submerged and reemerging, I had to go to the emergency room in the ambulance with my scalp covered in flakey, burnt skin and red itchy protruding bumps, which were a mystery.

After Marissa heard about the incident, she was in my hospital room,

"Do you want me to tell her parents? She'll get in big trouble," Marissa stated.

I pursued my education by homeschooling after the incident. I loved creativity classes. If I couldn't touch water, I could imagine texture through art by painting or writing poetry.

I loved to paint the sky. The white overlapped the blue sky with the clouds' gray and white colors. I admired sunsets and was excited to paint the sun that beamed through the clouds. I enjoyed painting the different shades of land horizons. I stroked out the green and blues of oceans with the swift movement of my paintbrush. I visualized in my heart what it would have been like. The smell, the wind gust, and the birds squawking.

The neighbor would always be away at school when I was outside painting. I would consistently think about the neighbor boy. I was secretly writing poems about the neighbor boy because I felt a spark the minute I saw him; I was intrigued. I finally realized I had feelings for the neighbor boy all this time. I suffered from social anxiety, so I aimed to shy away from love.

I only remember one time when my stomach did a little flutter like this. I was in 3rd grade. I was still in public school then and remembered this boy; Marissa and I were rolling around in the grass. We would pick dandelions during recess, and he played soccer because he was an athlete.

I recalled when in public school, the know-it-all athlete boy "accidentally" kicked a soccer ball at my head. It hurt a lot, but I'm glad it happened because it allowed me to meet him. He apologized and asked if I was okay.

After seeing I was okay, he asked if I wanted to play soccer. I politely declined the offer. I did not want to fool myself, as I was no athlete. I was so young, and it was just an innocent little crush. It felt weird because I had never experienced those emotions again until I saw the neighbor boy outside.

I told Marissa about it, and my face turned bright red. Marissa teased me for the longest time until I was taken out of public school.

The sad thing was that he did not know what happened to me in third grade. I was gone the next day. I guess that's how it works when you are young. I knew he had other friends, but I was upset because I felt a special bond with him.

After starting homeschooling, It was unnecessary to wear waders. I wore overalls most of the time. I was finally used to their warm temperature, so I acclimated to them. I also cut out the pants from them and made headbands that were decent to use. I knew how to sew and find embellishments for my headbands to fit in as best as possible.

My mom got discounts from the school since she was a teacher so that I could attend specialized art classes. We weren't wealthy, but we weren't poor. My mom would donate blood at the local blood bank if she needed extra money.

I loved my art classes, but sometimes I needed to miss a few days due to my health. I wasn't allowed to sweat without breaking out in hives. I rarely ate meat, and my diet was restricted; I wasn't allowed fresh berries or nuts. I had many appointments with specialists to get treatment, but every treatment I received made things worse.

Doctors had insisted my diagnosis was fake until they saw the evidence. There were red raised bumps on my skin, and they were so itchy, like poison ivy. We tried everything else, and the doctor was the last resort.

"Let's try submerging the entire skin," said the doctor as he walked out of the room. My mom stormed after him.

"Are you insane? Do you want my daughter to die?" my mother shouted so loud that the security officer was called over. I didn't want my mom there, but my mom had to be at doctor's appointments since I was a minor.

"Ma'am, what seems to be the problem?" the security officer questioned. I piqued open the door and saw him. The security officer stood 6 feet tall with piercing brown eyes and a husky voice.

"This doctor doesn't know what he is doing! He is trying to kill my daughter!" My mom was 5ft tall, but she defended me like a bodyguard. she was ready to swing at the security officer until I made my way toward her and delved into her shoulder.

"Ma'am, you will have to calm down." the security officer firmly said.

The nurse behind the desk interrupted, "you say your daughter has a rare disease that there are less than 100 documented cases worldwide. There is very little research. The doctors here are doing their best to accommodate you, but we can only go so far with such extensive accommodations."

I grabbed my mom by the hand and led her back to the hospital room, away from trouble.

The last straw was when my mom opened the door to ask the doctor a question. She was horrified by how openly they were talking about my medical diagnosis.

"There's no way somebody could be allergic to water; it's next to impossible. The body is made up of 70% water," one doctor said.

"So you think I am a liar?" My mom swiftly chastised the group. My mom had never been a liar, but being told what I had was made up made her angry. She was a teacher and took offense to people calling her a liar.

After that situation, my mom walked me out of that hospital, and I haven't been to the hospital ever since. This was something that anybody would take offense to. My mom had told me that if I had something obscure, doctors didn't listen to their patients, because the doctor themselves wasn't specialized in this rare disease.

When I was ahead in my schoolwork, I would go with my mom to her classes since I loved creating worlds I couldn't have. I didn't mind calling my mother Mrs.Smith because she made me refer to her as that during my homeschooling. I was homeschooled during the morning, and in the afternoon I was able to attend her classes.

As long as it wasn't raining outside, I was safe. Nobody knew who I was since the classes were so big and diversified. It was fun watching my mother teach. I was so proud of her.

Most of the time, I would stare out the window and up at the sky as time passed. Other times I would see animals grooming themselves in the rain outside; my mom often tried to distract me from looking out because she saw the wishfulness and hope in my eyes.

Other times I would sit at home and do my homework, but one time I was sitting on my bed when a basketball flew and hit my window; it startled me. I went to the window precisely to see the neighbor score a basket. He was playing basketball with his friends. I blushed. He towered over his friends and had the most incredible brown hair and magnificent brown eyes. Marissa was watching me, and she giggled.

I remember the first time I saw him. It was raining so hard, but it was so humid. I loved to watch the rain drip down my windows as I sat on my bed and just zoned out of reality.