Verba Daisy Walls

Verba: My Story Without Words Daisy Walls

Words. Hey were something I took for granted before the Word Counters came along.

I remember the days, back months go, when I would say “Hello” to everyone I came across but now a smile is all I can muster some days.

Another year of torment passed I called “Goodbye” to my friends leaving the classroom after the bell hindered my thoughts. A light gleamed in my perineal vision, Seven Words Left, shone explicitly. I vowed I would never find out what happened after they apprehended you … what if it can’t be helped?

My teacher surpassed the limit and that’s when they came. They apprehended her, they laughed while she struggled and no one showed anguish.

I began the trek home still pondering. What exactly happens? Who are they?

Unaware of the three inconspicuous silhouettes behind me, I felt a rough hand seize my arm. I flinch away, the skin where the Word Counter had been inserted, just weeks prior, still tender to touch. They pulled me to the ground, I looked up at the hooded figures before me.

“Give us everything!”, a deep voice spoke from the shortest member standing on the right. Sixty-Five Words Left showcased across his wrist.

“No”. The grip on my arm grew stronger. I spotted the irrefutable Six Words Left.

“Excuse me? What did you just say?” The woman poised on the left asked, her wrist I could not see.

“I said no”, ‘WARNING: Three Words Left’ “What are young….”

And just like that, they appeared out of nowhere.

Unlike my teacher, I didn't return. No one dared search.

Schoolgirl, thirteen declared missing, read the newspapers