OSW // ISSUE #004
When you're going through grief, you find yourself reminiscing moments in a sporadic style, you never plan when a memory hooks you like a fish and starts to reel you in.
I didn't expect one to hit me like a truck at the grocery store.
My brother was the one who taught me how to box so at the very least I could handle my dad when he moved out and could no longer be my shield.
He had every skill on me except for one, durability. He would swing on me more times than I could count and he definitely got his licks in.
My face would become a tapestry of colors as each strike landed, classic red and blue then more vibrant shades of purple, yellow, and green.
Eventually, he gassed out and I knocked him down with a shot to the liver. In that moment, he had to just knowingly laugh. I was confused so I simply asked, “what's so funny”?
He smiled wide and said “I just got knocked down by a piece of candy, look in the mirror man, you're like a gobstopper, you're even everlasting!”
I rushed to the bathroom and looked, sure enough I looked like someone took their time with me after buying me from the store then gave up after they couldn't finish me.
I still endured despite taking so many licks.
It was one of my favorite memories because if I could take on my hero, I could take on anyone.
But memories become agony when they can no longer be shared, he got one last lick in the candy aisle and this time he broke me. I had to hold on to the cart so I wouldn't collapse to the floor.
I broke him, he broke me, we were even but it reminded me of something. I'm not the one to just let things happen to me, I take the licks the world gives me and I just keep on going to last longer than anyone.
It's why I fight the virus or anything else that tries to change me or destroy me, there's layers upon layers and you're only piercing the most exterior.
So come on Candy Man, do your worst and try to throw as many licks as you can at me and you'll just see what everyone else has, a color change. The virus changed the top shell of me from alabaster to ebony but I'm sure you can add more colors to the palate as you go.
Make sure to get as many colors as you can get because you'll get tired and do the same thing he tried to do, take one last bite and break your teeth on what was supposed to be so sweet.
I wasn't made like the other candies in OSW, not a cheap thrill or a quick munch. I was built to last, I'm not made for one night, I'm made for commitment.
Can you commit or will you just be another person that licks but doesn't finish the job?