02. sticks and stones

There is a phrase that was popular among the human children. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. If only those children knew exactly how wrong they were. Words were what made up our very being, kind and loving words from our mothers comforted us as children, the words of our peers shaped our personalities, our friends opinions of us maintained our self esteem. So who is to say that words cannot break us?

I had first hand experience with hurtful words. Stupid. Troublesome. Useless. These were words I encountered so frequently that they became part of me. My father resented me based on how I looked. Just like her. He would whisper that to himself, thinking I couldn't hear him. All I was to him was a painful reminder of his dead wife. My mother. It wasn't my fault that I was identical in every way except hair color, my father knew this, but it didn't matter to him. He just needed a way to vent his mourning over her, so he took it out on his eldest daughter. He wasn't physically cruel mind you, but mental scars were long lasting. His words would remain with me always, and I would never reforge the relationship I had with him as a child, before she died.

Sticks and stones may break you bones, but words will irreparably harm you.