Warped Narrative (Gynter)

Gynter’s heart was beating. The cold air sent chills down his spine. He was scared. “We’ll take good care of you said,” the anaesthesiologist as he placed a breathing mask on his face. Gynter had suffered a gruesome accident that Saturday morning, and now he was in the operating room. He had been running down the stairs to meet his aunt that he hadn’t seen in two years, who had just arrived from New York. His mother had just finished mopping, and as he ran, he slipped down the stairs and fell hard at the bottom of the staircase; so hard that he broke his arm. And that’s not the worst part. When he fell, he tipped over a table that had a fish aquarium on it. The aquarium fell on him and there was broken glass thrust deep in his face. He didn’t feel his arm and his face burnt like hell to the point where it became numb. So it goes. As the anaesthetic took effect, Gynter travelled in time for the first time.

It was September 2004. Gynter had just arrived in Toronto Pearson International Airport.  His family had decided to immigrate to Canada in search of a new and better life, but he missed his home country already. As his parents talked to the customs officials and his sister played with her doll, he thought back to what his friends back in Albania were doing. It was the first day of school for them. He remembered how excited he always was for the first day of school. He thought about his grandparents. They had been strong and hadn’t cried when they had greeted him and his family good bye. Gynter’s mother said they probably cried afterwards, and with good reason. It was hard saying goodbye as your child left for a country halfway across the world. It was pouring rain outside the airport. This first thing as Gynter had noticed as he stepped out of the airport is that the air had a different smell. This country a different look too, and a different feel... He felt hope and envisioned opportunity in this nation. He fell asleep as he was riding on the Greyhound bus to Windsor, the city that would become his new home. As he closed his eyes, he travelled in time again; on this occasion he would travel to the future.

It was grade six. He had learned how to speak English by now and was accustomed to his new home. In more ways than one, Canada seemed like the perfect country. He was enjoying his new life, but it was not perfect. There was a particular student at school, by the name of Jon, that loathed Gynter. Gynter did not know why. Perhaps it was because he was the new kid in school, but nonetheless, he was constantly teasing and bullying him. Being a person of calm character, Gynter was not easily provoked. He managed to ignore him for several weeks, taking his insults and teasing. During this time, Gynter’s parents had purchased me a new bicycle. He loved that bike; God knows he loved that bike. He was always taking good care of it and seen riding it to school every day. Taking notice of his attachment to the bike, Jon decided to use it as a tool to harass him. Up to this time Gynter had taken his insults, name-calling and verbal abuse, until one day when Jon went too far. Gynter was riding his bike home when Jon and his friends ambushed him. They stopped him and started kicking his bike. At that moment, blood rushed to Gynter’s head and he snapped. His emotions got a hold of him and he resorted to violence. He punched the bully in the stomach. He punched him so hard that he threw up. So it goes. Jon’s friends jumped at him and Gynter went home with a bloody nose that day. Gynter wasn’t proud of what he did. He had never fought before. But that didn’t matter because the next day at school, he was suspended for a week, while Jon and his friends received no punishment whatsoever. So it goes To this day, Gynter still believe this was one of the greatest injustices ever done to him. Even before hearing his side of the story, the principal had already come to a decision. You see, the bully’s mother was head of the school council. She made sure to get retribution for her son. But that’s life. You go on living.