Shattered

"Your young friend seems to be in dire straits", said my cyberfriend on the phone. He told me to open my mailbox which he had sent everything to. I open and there were lots of documents. I thanked him for the help and hung up. Downloaded everything he had sent me. Documents and more documents. I started reading. And I was startled at the first lines.
Figueira was a young offender.
I printed everything and went to the living room to read and think. Started looking for his offence everywhere I could, with that sinking feeling becoming stronger and stronger on my mind. When I came to the reason of the lawsuit against him I realized I should never have done it. Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance was bliss. But I don't have the right to bliss anymore. It has been cut.
Figueira had disabled the upper and lower members of a kid during a fight. I saw his photos included in the reports; it would have been better if Figueira had managed to kill him. According to the reports, the kid could barely move from his neck up. I tried to cry, but I couldn't. Reports on Figueira's medical reports pointing out hypertension, severe blood pressure increase since the incident. I didn't know what to do. My only impulse was to call Figueira to my house. He was impatient on the phone, wanted to know why. I told him I couldn't say anything on the phone. I had him at home twenty minutes later. He stepped in wary of what might happen, seemed uncomfortable and even nervous. Had him sit down. He did and was looking at me, expectant.
"So...?"
I gave him the papers. He didn't have to look at them for long to know what I had called him for. His black eyes shone brighter and brighter as he raised them from the papers to look at me. The papers all fell from his hand filling the rug in front of him. One tear started rolling. Another. Another. His lower lip started trembling.
"How did you get this?"
"I'm more worried about what is going to become of you. Where I got the information is the least of our problems right now."
"I didn't want to do it, Miss Grisam, it was an accident. I broke his backbone during a fight and he can't walk no more. Nobody believes me. It was an accident. It was an accident. It was an accident. It was an accident!"
He started sobbing and I sat down at his side. I stroked his hair. Sudden, to my surprise, he hugged me strong, his body was shaking in involuntary convulsions I didn't try to stop, let him release all his tension. He said he was going to be sent out to FEBEM after the wrestling season.
"And the team? What about the team?"
"They will carry on", he said weakly while the tears rolled down, staining the papers down on the rug, "Corporal will carry on and the world will keep turning round."
"I read the reports about your medical condition. Having hypertension at 13 is rare and it's serious. Do you think you are in good conditions for fighting?"
I hated myself for doing everything I had to do. For telling a wrestler he shouldn't be doing what he so passionate for. For telling him he was a criminal deserving borstal life and had no conditions to fight due to hypertension. How many dreams have I shattered before, how many will I still have to?

Profile | Blindfolded terror

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