Voices

• Ruby Fleischer, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2015

Christian was the strongest. He was also the nicest.
Christian didn’t think he was the strongest. He thought he was the weakest because Adulterinum, Quasi and Falsum say scary, horrible, nasty things to him.
Adulterinum was the scariest. He would say things that annoyed Christian. Adulterinum could rapidly increase the temperature of the room to an uncomfortable state.
Christian was scared of Adulterinum. Adulterinum had the deepest voice. Although Christian was many years older than Adulterinum, Adulterinum had much deeper voice and as Christian got older, Adulterinum got louder and deeper. When Christian would try to sleep, Adulterinum would start laughing. If Christian tried to ignore him, Adulterinum would become very angry and scream. For a long time. Christian didn’t like it. Christian’s mother would come to his room and make him feel better, tell him to stop crying and give him a lolly to make him feel better, and a cup of water to go down with it to help him sleep. She gave him a lolly every night to help him sleep.
Quasi was horrible. And Dangerous. Once, when Christian was going to see John, he had to wait for the green crossing man on the traffic light with his mum.
Adulterinum said, “run across the road,”
Christian said “No!”
“Do it,”
“No, no, no, no!” Christian screamed. “Please be quiet,” both Christian and his mother said.
“I’ll do it then,” Quasi responded with a tone of dark amusement. Quasi pushed him on the road, hurting Christian’s ankle and disrupting the traffic which swerved around him.
“Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!” Christian yelled, trying to pull Quasi’s hair out. Instead, Christian accidentally ripped out his own hair. Adulterinum just laughed. Once again Christian’s mother would help him up to safety and make him feel better.
“Christian look what you’ve done to your leg. Now I have to make an appointment with your other doctor to examine it. Come, here. Have this to make you feel better.” She gave him a lolly, it hurt to swallow without water.
Christian’s mother was upset with him, and it angered Christian that she was never angry with Adulterinum or Quasi. When this happened, Falsum, who had such a little voice that it was raspy as if constantly speaking with phlegm in his throat, would snicker at Christian. “It was your fault, that’s why she’s mad at you.”
Falsum was the most quiet, but he was the meanest of all.
Falsum was the weakest, although he teamed up with Adulterinum and Quasi to make him a little bit stronger. He made Christian feel bad and guilty. Falsum was the youngest. Christian met him not long ago, when Christian did something wrong and he heard somebody laughing at him. This was before Christian’s mother took him to see John. His mother called him Dr Irving. Christian called him the lolly man. The door to John’s room called him a psychiatrist.