Bulls eye!

I was born somewhere in the summer in a place I recognize because of my parents. My mother told me that I had a father who has gone to prove to the world what he is, at least that is what he thought. I did not see father for a long time but when he came back, he was hurt, so badly, that after a week, he died. He could not stop the pain. It took his life.

I am a boy; I was made to carry loads, from places to places which I did not recognize without my owner. He always told me what to do. Sometimes, it had me thinking, “Why am I listening to him?” My mother tells me, you get food, shelter and a person you can depend on. “Why?” did not go away from my mind and he keeps hitting me so hard that it hurts all day.

When I was a little taller, my mother sent me with the lord once to learn the "skills" but I told her, I wanted to be with her. She said “There is nothing I can do child”. The owner spoke in a language I did not understand, and he poked me all day with a stick making me walk even slower than I used to. I was then given away to another owner. I did not know what I have to sad about to leave the lord I always knew or the fact that I may not see my mother, ever.

I wanted to go back home, to my mother. I tried to talk and tell the owner “I do not want to stay here anymore, this is not my life”, he did not understand, he gave me food. He gave me medicines that I refused to take. I did not want to sleep or eat until I go back to my mother, until I see her wide eyes of love.

That night, even though I refused to sleep, I slipped into a dream so deep that I could see my mother and father; right in front of me. They looked at me with so much love; I closed my eyes and did not want to wake again.

Next day, when I woke up, there were a hundred others just like me. They told me, they wanted to go home. I wanted to as well. There was one of us that thought we were all going to die today and that we all have to pray for our death. Another claimed that they would teach us to fight another kind called “men” and he also said it was going to hurt.

I was scared; I did not know where I was, so that I could run away. I asked a few, they were too scared to even reply, they kept their eyes on the men because they did not know when the men would get cranky.

I was trained, day and night, whenever the men probably thought I was bored.

After many days, they took us together in a container that was so small; hardly five of us could fit. We were looking at the blank walls, all day. We heard sounds and a few jumps every now and then. We were all tied to the wall, food right in front of us. I was feeling happy that I did not have to go through the training again.

In the training, they made us arrogant, very wild. We were given medicines and food that we could not deny because we were beaten so hard that we would sometimes bleed. There were men around us, all the time, trying to take control. I did not understand why. They were so serious and trying to bend to my size, to take over. Sometimes, I kept quiet but when I did, I was hit so hard I could not move for a day. Other times, I felt it was fun but these men leave scars, it hurt so bad.

Suddenly, the sounds and jumps stopped, I checked back to reality. I was among the others, nothing had happened yet. So, I tried to go back to sleep. When I tired, there was so much light in the place I could hardly see, the pushed us to walk down. I did not want to. I stayed but they started hitting me, scared I got off and to my surprise, there were a million men around me.

While I was still wondering what happened and how I got to this place, I saw the guy who came along with me, lying down in blood. I screamed to him asking “what happened?” He replied “It is a war, you will die”. I was trying to figure out what he was telling me, a war, that’s what he said but with whom?

It was my turn now, they let me in, I was looking at the crowd, they were all ready to pounce and suddenly I was scared, I moved back saying "I do not want to go, take me home". They as usual did not understand, they were screaming words that I did not understand. I was there, trying to run away but which way?

When I was going back, someone from behind hit me, and when I tried to move in the front, someone else was ready to get over me. I did not know what to do. I was stuck in a space so less with a million men around me. I kept going back, the men behind hit me, I said "I do not care if you hit me, I am not going there".

They sent me out finally, I came back with much less scars than the others, and I lived to see my life.

I was sent back to mother, I was happy to see after all that I had been through, I was feeling safe again. The men around me were saying probably screaming some words I did not understand yet again. I looked at mother; she said "they are saying you were a worthless bull". She also said "I am happy you are back".

I never felt so happy in my life, ever.