Stumbling

Tripping

Falling

I can't say the words

I try to read

It comes out nonsense

The humiliation

They laugh

I run

They run after me

Jeering

Screaming

Hid, must hide, have to hide

Running down a beach

I've been there before

But only in dreams

Nothing good ever happens on this beach

Huddle next to a building

Crying, crying

I hear them

They are near

I feel like such a child

Then an arm

Strong, loving

Not familiar

And yet, not the first time

Wrapping around my shoulders

Drawing me near

A shoulder to rest my head

But whose?

Safe, warm, loved

No longer embarrassed

They disappear

But who is this?