1
October 28th, 1991 ~ It’s been three long years and
Youngster, a tall slim black male, is still
having nightmares of a night
that is surrounded in mystery, warning, and his
fate. Waking up in a cold sweat has
become the norm for this young man who
constantly has the same dream of being cornered by nine gang members in a dark creepy alley. The decision of allowing himself to become a product of his
environment is continuing to haunt
him due to the uncontrollable situations of the
streets and the circumstances that comes along with being involved in it.
***
A jolted charge of
fear runs through his frozen body as nine
gangsters approach him with very
bad intentions toting guns from
.38 revolvers to all types of semi-automatics. Nervous and shaken by the sight
of nine large figures, some wearing red beanies while others red baseball caps, slowly approaching and closing the gap between him and them.
He stands in silence from the uncertainty and suspense of the moment. He stares ahead extremely scared as
he is only able to see the white
of his predators eyes. They all have red
bandanas tied tightly around the bridge of their nose. He sees the bandanas hanging down each one of their necks so they wouldn’t be identified by him or any possible witnesses while they carried out the slaying of their jittered prey.
Having nowhere to turn
and run, the young man has no choice
but to conjure up the courage to defend
himself. His only option is to go out
in a blaze of glory or else he
would certainly die like a
coward on this night. His heart beats furiously as he pulls out a
black 9 millimeter Smith & Wesson from
his waist belt to let off rounds on
the nine gang members. He aims his weapon in their direction. He starts
to press down on the trigger hoping to
end the pursuit of the threats headed towards him. Nothing happens.
He grips the weapon tighter. He
attempts to squeeze the trigger again only to receive the same results, nothing.
All of his courage quickly vanishes as he realizes that his gun has jammed on him. He feels a
fear that overshadows his entire body. He becomes stiff and numb. He watches the gang
members advance towards
him. They are getting closer and closer threatening his young life which seemed to be coming to a
tragic end. He braces himself and prepares for a short-lived life to no
longer exist. He closes his eyes tight while listening to the
yelling of gang slurs and
taunting. The sound magnifies and his fear grows. He pleads to God
but he feels helpless. All hope is gone
and it is confirmed when he slowly opens his eyes to watch his
demise at the hands of a gang.
On this somber night, death will soon follow the sight of a group of
arms rising up against him aiming their deadly arsenals towards the very terrified male known as Youngster.
***
Youngsters’ worst fear haunts him as he awakes
from another nightmare perspiring at the forehead. His heart was
pumping and limbs shaking like he had just
narrowly escaped death. He turns
his head slightly to the left towards his nightstand to check for the
time. The black digital clock read
8:05 a.m. He rose up and sat at
the edge of his black lacquered queen size bed. While wiping the sweat
from his forehead and thick black eyebrows, he began to gather his thoughts. He attempted to regain the strength mentally to prepare for another day of the uncertain journey in the street life.
