~Prologue~

The room was dim, as it had been for days. Enzo liked it that way, it helped him focus less, somehow. 

He'd been lying among his rumpled bed sheets for about a week now, only emerging to use the bathroom and make himself bowls of microwave mac n' cheese or ramen every once in a while. He'd showered once, on Wednesday. Or Thursday? He wasn't sure. 

His brain was a sea of intense thought. Strange thoughts went through his head, pondering, musing. He inexplicably remembered things he hadn't thought of in years. Anita's favorite show when she was a kid, about a penguin or a toucan, one of the two. The old blue toilet they'd had before Papa remodeled the bathroom. His old t-ball bat gathering dust in the closet. 

Enzo realized he was hung up on that old bat. He couldn't get it out of his head. Why? 

Mama. Mama had bought it for his 6th birthday. That's why. 

Enzo sat up and swung his bare feet to the floor, stretching his stiff back. He wanted to find the bat, hold it in his hands. He wanted to see how much his hands had grown since he'd last held it. 

He slid the closet door to the side and pulled the little bat from behind a pile of old Halloween costumes leftover from happier times, and he swung it back and forth in front of him like the pendulum of a clock. 

Enzo didn't know what possessed him to do what he did next, but what he did know was that he immediately regretted it. This bat was meant for nicer things. 

He gripped the bat in both sweaty hands, reared up, and blew out a dusty, gaping hole in the drywall. 

~~~

Hey guys! This was kinda short, but it was only a prologue, you know? The next chapters will be longer, I swear. 

Please leave your opinion or any suggestions in the comments, I'll be happy to respond! 

<3Liz