Dotha sat in the back of the room as her teacher scanned for an answer. - Oh thats easy- she thought- to be as the same as you possibly can be- Just then, the collar around her neck started to beep -Stupid thing! now I have to answer- Though the thought was said in her mind, the shock from the shackle around her neck forced her up out of her chair to relay both both thoughts to the class. The other students no longer needed to wear the collars. They got theirs off in about the third grade. Dotha was now 17-years-old and still had to wear it. the other students looked at her with stone cold faces. Another shock and she cried out “I HATE BEING DIFFERENT!” Tears streamed from her eyes as she ran out of the classroom. She was shocked so much that she spent most of her days in the nurses office.
That night when she got home, the same thoughtless look on her parents faces stared at her. “I-I got shocked again.”her parents looked at each other.
“We must call the council” her mother said
“Maybe they can finally get her off our hands.” Her father said sternly. Tears dripped from her eyes once more as she ran to her room. When she got there she wasted no time in screaming off the top of her lungs. Later that night when her parents were asleep, sh thought out loud to herself. “If I could only get this thing off. then i would be free!” She snuck down to the living room where she saw a new message waiting on the messenger. Dotha clicked a button and the head counselor became a hologram on the screen.
“It appears that the only thing we can do for Dotha .. is to execute her” Dotha stumbled back in shock.”The council has decided and she has no place in this world. we will come at noon tomorrow and pick her up. we will execute her in silence. It will be like she never existed” he bowed and the screen shut off. Dotha stumbled to the garage.
“How could they kill me? Why do I have to be so different?!?!: Just then, she saw something she had totally forgotten about. “A tool box!” She searched through the tool box and went straight to work making sure to say whatever came to her head.
She struggled for hours trying to find the weakest point, when finally, SNAP!! The collar broke free and crashed to the floor behind her. She put her hand to her neck and smiled -I'm free- she thought. She waited for the shock… It never came.for the first time in years she smiled and even laughed!! Her celebration was short lived when she herd her parents morning routine starting. she quickly and quietly found some some shoes and ran out the door. she ran for what seemed like forever when finally she made it to the wall. The wall was at least 100 stories high and 20 feet thick. It was dark grey and covered in words “ Down with the council!” “We are not dogs’ “Take away the shock collars!!” Were written all over the walls.
“There are people like me” she smiled and searched the wall for any means of escape. She finally found it. A hole the size of a door that allowed fresh air from the other side to flow in and blow her long hair around her face. She herd a gard driving her way and without another thought she jumped into the hole and ran as fast as she could. From the long tunnel she could see light! Natural precious light! She exited the tunnel and collapsed into into the soft green grass. She was dizzy by the fresh air and blinded by the huge yellow sun. The sky is… blue?” She remembered colors from a book she found in the closet when she had just moved into her house. She always kept it a secret.
When she finally was able to stand, she turned her back to the wall and bravely walked head on into the unknown. She walked so far that when she turned back, she could no longer see the prison that she left just that morning. She swirled around smiling in the beautiful sun and the soft grass. -Maybe just one more hill and I will try to find something to eat- She thought-I'm starving- Dotha ran over the hill, but what she saw on the other side made tears come to her eyes once again. “ A-A village!” she cried. She ran down to it as fast as she could but stopped just before entering. A boy was picking up some firewood. She looked a bit closer and saw something on his neck. A scar. -Did he escape like me?- she thought. He looked up and saw her standing there. He smiled at her. she started to cry and collapsed to the ground. he dropped what he was holding and ran over to her.
“ Are you alright?What happened?”
“No one has ever smiled at me before!!” she sobbed loudly. Other members of the village ran up to her and saw the pale weak skin on her neck.
“It is alright young lady” a woman knelt down and touched Dotha on the shoulder. “ You are among friends .” Dotha stopped sobbing and looked up at the villagers. The woman smiled at her “ Welcome home.”
