Ni Shite! [better] | Ijimeru Nara Watashi No Karada

“Probably,” I said, straightening my spine. “But I’m also standing right here.”

The smaller kid stared at me, eyes wet and wide. “Why would you—” ijimeru nara watashi no karada ni shite!

“Ijimeru nara watashi no karada ni shite.” “Probably,” I said, straightening my spine

“Because someone did it for me once,” I lied. No one had. But someone should have. And now, someone would. ” I said

The sneering ringleader tilted his head. “You’re weird.”

That night, I traced the bruise forming on my shoulder blade. Purple and green, ugly and tender. A map of someone else’s anger. But also—a shield. Not for me. For the kid who went home unbroken.

The phrase echoed in my skull: my body, my body, my body. Not as a prayer. As a promise.