Promises

There was another boy in his neighborhood named Will. Will was not like the other boys he knew. He was mean and spat on the little boy and his friends, and says words that the little boy doesn't like. Will really isn't much older, but the boy feels like he is.

Will tells the boy and his friends one day, "I want to show you something cool. But you have to promise never to tell."

The little boy is scared to promise, but he sighs and nods along with the others. "We will not tell," they promise, curiosity overpowering.

They follow Will into his house. He turns on his TV, and hits a button. On the screen, the boy sees a man and a woman touching each other, their voices soft, their bodies bare. The little boy gets an unfamiliar sick feeling, like a warning, in his stomach, and a voice tells him, "Something is wrong."

Obeying that voice, holding back emotions of fear and unexplainable sadness, he runs outside and sits on the steps and squeezes his eyes shut. Will comes outside, alone.

"You're gunna tell," he says, his voice sad, maybe angry.

He shook his head. "No. I promised."

He stands up, trembling. Will grabs his shoulders, angry. "You won't tell?"

"No."

Will seems relieved, believes him. He is true to his word. He never tells. He is only five years old.