XI.

DISTRICT 9

This is our jungle
In here, we move according to our own rules
My district, District 9

Stray kids everywhere all around the world

Where can you run to escape from yourself? Where can you hide to break away from your inner demons? Just like the world full of illusions, our mind prison, the paradise is also not a place, it's a state of mind. It only exists in brief moments when our souls connect. Just flashes of happiness shining through the darkness. Break the invisible walls. Cut the chains around your heart. We are reaching up to the sky. This is our place. No negativity. No ignorance. No rules. Just understanding. Being different isn’t being wrong. Welcome. This is our safe house. Our own asylum. So join us on our journey. Be happy. Be free. Be the change you wish to see in the world. However, if you are still a clown, still just a soulless follower, you are not allowed here. This is not a place for you. So get out. Go be the same as others. We will protect what is ours. We have the right to be ourselves. To do what we want. We do not ask for your approval. We do not need it. So laugh, sneer and mock us all you want. But we are already flying while you are still only crawling.

And just like the hell inside of us can give home to demons that are not our own, the heaven we dream about can take in angels that are not us.

Starting with 9 but in the end, it’ll be everyone’s refuge

XII.

MIRROR

Where am I?
Who am I?
I am not me.

I wish I could have a mirror for myself.

How many times have I looked in a mirror and did not recognize myself? How many times have I looked in a mirror and saw someone else starring back? Which one is the real me? The line between who I am and who I think I am is very thin. The reflection of myself is blurry. Why can't I see what is inside? Why can't I read myself and know what I want? What should I do? Which dreams are my own and which were placed on me? Have I always wanted to grow up? Or have I just followed my peers? Is the road I am taking the right one? When crossroads appear which way should I go? Who will decide for me? Who will encourage me? Who will take my hand even when I make the wrong choice, even when I fall? Friends who are like a mirror to me. Never laughing when I cry, never lying. Friends, who are like shadows, never leaving me alone, following everywhere I go. Maybe I am still lost, still wandering... But with friends by my side, I have reached District 9. I do not have a mirror to reflect my flaws nor beauty. I do not have an answer to all the questions. I cannot solve all problems that a life has in store for me. But perhaps it's not about knowing everything... perhaps it's about overcoming whatever happens. It's okay to escape the reality sometimes. It's okay to break the mirror in which we are trapped and go to our own District 9.

The best endings are the ones that end with question marks. For the answers will come in a form of new beginnings.