Polyp

I ran into a wall. I said to a boy nearby, be careful of that wall. He was running in circles. It looked like he was laughing. I just ran into that wall, I said, pointing to the wall. Are you laughing? The boy’s mouth was open. I lay on the ground waiting for something to change. The boy kept running in circles. You little asshole, I said to the boy. You fucker, I’m going to kill you. My nose hurt from the wall. Are you laughing? I hope you run into that wall and your teeth fall out! I started screaming and didn’t stop screaming until nightfall. That was two hours. The boy was running ragged circles in the dark when an older man walked up with a lantern. I pointed at the wall and said, please watch out for that wall. I ran into it earlier. My voice was hoarse from screaming. The man looked at me kindly, placed the lantern on the ground, and started walking toward the wall. The distance shrank between the man and the wall. Very slowly, the man walked into the wall. The scraping of the boy’s jeans ceased. Everything was still, silent. The lantern made a circle of light that contained the older man, who stood with his lips gently touching the wall. I felt the lumps of cracked earth against my back. Moths flew against my shirt. This is really fucked up, I thought. Then the boy started up again, running in circles and gasping. Then the moon came out. Then I fell asleep.