I Am Ten Novels & Stories

10 years later Ivy P.O.V. “KIDS I AM GIVING YOU 5 SECONDS TO GET OUT HERE, OR WE ARE GOING WITHOUT YOU! 5, 4, 3.. Thank you!” I’m standing outside the packhouse with Isiah, Eli who is 10, and knows by now not to piss off his mother when we’re going somewhere and our youngest, Ilina who is 2 and sleeping in her stroller. Isaiah shakes his head at me, and kisses my temple. I sigh. I know I’m more impatient today than usual, and that says something, because I’m always impatient when we’re going somewhere, but today is very special and we’re going to be gone for quite some time as a family.

“Duh. Like I care. Just stay on your side.” Chase gestured toward the floor. “Are you doing this project for school?” “Yeah,” Liam muttered, sitting down cross-legged on the floor next to his work. “What? How old are you again?” Chase asked, raising an eyebrow. “Ten,” Liam snapped, his eyes flashing defensively. “Ten? Brooo.” “What are you trying to imply? Ten-year-olds can’t do this? Is that what you want to say? Because you’re old and dumb doesn’t mean I should be.”

I - don't judge me "Yes Mom, I'm fine " She gives Dad a look "Not those meds, honey the other ones", oh She means my other meds. I'm 9 years old and I have to take meds for schizophrenia. That's what the psychologist diagnosed for me when my parents said I speak to someone at night.

I didn’t touch it right away; I just stared. Then, like a memory had been waiting for the right moment to knock the breath out of me, it came. **Flashback** Ten-year-old me was fidgeting by the doorframe, clutching my doll in one hand and pouting hard enough to make my cheeks ache. Aria was seven and sick again. I stood by the window, arms folded, pouting so hard my face hurt. “Why do I have to stay inside?” I whined to Abuela. “I want to play with the other kids. I’m tired of watching Aria.”

"Tell me something real. Something true about yourself that's not in the notes." I blinked. "Why?" "Because maybe if we know each other as real people, not just facts on paper, this will be easier." I thought about it. "Okay. When I was ten, I used to pretend I could fly. I'd stand on the back porch with my arms out and convince myself that if I believed hard enough, I'd lift off the ground." A small smile touched Alexander's lips. "Did it work?" "Of course not. But I kept trying for months. What about you?"

I continued, playing along. “Stop being dramatic,” she shot back, but I could hear the laughter trying to escape her voice. “Okay, K,” I said more calmly now. “Tell me something about yourself. I mean your age, hobbies, things you enjoy, things you hate… normal people stuff.” There was a short pause, like she was thinking carefully, before she finally answered. “Well… I’m thirteen years old.” I smirked a little. “Good. At least you’re not secretly eighty.”

The room felt ten degrees colder. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. Because suddenly, I was ten years old again. Alone. Powerless. And the monster had found me.

I am a rather shy person. I am short, petite, blond, and smiling. A good girl like many others. I believe in true love. I believe in world peace. I believe I will become a great writer. I believe in love at first sight. I believe that Chips and ice cream go well together. And I believe that teenage life is the hardest of all.

Mia POV. My name is Mia, I'm sixteen, or I think I am, it's what my mother says I am, she hates me, like really hates me. The bruises on my body stand witness to her tough love, to how she treats me, when everyone else get to go to school, make friends and be classified by my age, I wasn't I was locked inside.

I had short hair, a missing front tooth, and a radiant smile. The photos changed one by one. At five years old, I was flying a kite in the park. Halfway through, I fell to the ground and cried at the top of my lungs. At seven years old, I went on stage to play the piano for the first time. My palms were drenched with sweat, yet I managed to finish the piece. On my tenth birthday, I hugged a giant teddy bear and made a wish at the camera. My eyes sparkled like stars. After that, the tone of the photos seemed to change.