Secrets

• Milla May Muirhead, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

I have a secret. I hold it tight. I won’t let it slip out of my fingers. It will never fall from my lips. It will never be whispered, murmured or spoken of and I will protect it with everything I have.
Yes, it may bring me pain and yes, I may wish to say it, to let it fly, to let it be free. But I won’t. Ever. Even if my life depends on it, I will not let this unruly, untrustworthy, hidden being out of my grasp. I will never give in.
My secret will never run, never sing, never dance. It will always stay locked up, in my heart’s cage. It will rage and burn and beg. But I swear I will never listen to its cries, to its moans, to its pleas. All it’ll ever be is a quiet melody playing in the back of my mind, in the darkest corner.
If it were to be spoken of, the chaos that would follow would be irreversible. I can assure you, nothing would ever be the same again. Why do you think I’m keeping this secret? I don’t want to ruin the world by saying a few words. Words that can shatter meaningful things to many people.
There is only one other person on this planet who knows about my secret, my Grandma. She couldn’t keep it safe by herself anymore so she gave it to me. She was too weak to hold it, so she uttered the frightening words to me. They hung in the air, wavering and floating above our heads. I grabbed them and wrapped my heart around them. Then I banished them into clouds and mist.
I remember Grandma clasping my hands in hers and smiling. I could see how much telling me about the secret had helped her, so I smiled back. Even though the secret was lashing and growling inside of me.
I see Grandma every Monday and she asks about school and friends but we never speak about the secret. We pretend it isn’t there. Pretend we are hiding nothing. But we are, we just can’t acknowledge it, you never know who might be listening in.
Everyone has secrets. I do, Grandma does, my teacher at school does, my neighbour most definitely does. Why else would his curtains always be drawn and his lights always switched off? You also have a secret. It might not be as earth shattering as mine but it's still important to you and you will do everything you can to protect it. It may be as simple as, “I didn’t do my homework this week” but it's special and I’m sure there will always be a thrill racing through your bones while you keep it.
Secrets are always exciting, yet scary. You might choose to keep them forever or let them disappear and fly away. It’s your choice what you do with your secrets. Share them or hide them. But always keep them safe.