Twenty Three

Two and three make a scary number when they’re together. Two by itself is adorable. It’s curvy yet straight and children draw a duck from it. Three by itself is funny. It’s half-circle, curly and teenagers draw boobs and butts from it.

But when Two and Three are side to side, they become a nightmare. Together, they have three gigantic mouths open facing to the same direction. Three seems like teeth of a revengeful monster trying to chew Two, and Two looks like a cursed swan which head reaching for an invisible prey. None of them are kind-hearted nor forgiving. All they want is to make the world as a bloody place full of intolerance and ignorance. Beside, no one draws anything with them together.   

I’m here though, with them as a companion for the next twelve months. I know Two. I’ve been with her during the past two years. But Three, I have no idea about this guy. I used to be with him a decade ago. I surely did make a good time with him, but I was with One too, and One was the best number ever! He was so humble and gentle. He was just my type.

I’m so nervous that I’ve been counting down the days since January. The thought of Two and Three eating me alive, chopping my head and body brutally, made me wish the time to stop, or my family to forget that I was born at all.

“Look ahead,” whispered Two. Her voice was attempting, manipulative. “The time will be stopped and you will be forgotten,” she said.

“It’s just around the corner. Hang in there,” growled Three whose vowel was as hard as metal.

I don’t know how, but I found them dancing gracefully in the center of a darkened room. Right, left, right, left. A piano was played, all in minor chords: mysterious yet sentimental. No one knows who did the play. A spotlight followed their strange steps, as if it agreed with their words.

Hang in there. I echoed and nodded.

It’s odd.

I was hypnotized.

I believed that everything will be all right. They will be all right and I will be too. We, together, will seize the upcoming year beautifully just as how they dance. Though it might seem strange and scary as how they look.  

Hang in there. I repeated.