When I grow up
...
Life blurs, in and out. Just keep breathing. Ann sobs rack the hut with the bandits. She Is a month old. She has not stopped crying but to let herself fade into an uneasy sleep.
...
I will be tall enough to reach the branches
That I need to reach to climb the trees
You get to climb when you're grown up
...
Dadan sighs as she picks up the sleeping babe and can't help but wonder if the reason she was crying was that she knew what happened, what her birth caused.
...
And when I grow up
...
Dadan cradles Ann to her chest.
...
I will be smart enough to answer all the questions
That you need to know the answers to
Before you're grown up
...
Ann has dreams. She can't understand them sometimes. They always go away. Words and a Melody replace them. She knows who she is supposed to be. Clarie. She knows she is someone different now. For the life of her, she can't remember... She can't. Nothing. She remembers nothing but a manga.
...
And when I grow up, I will eat sweets every day
on the way to work
And I will go to bed late every night
...
She knows she is not supposed to be here. She knows as soon as she heard it. GOLD. D. ANN that she would die before she reached the age of 20. She knew she would have been happy about that a lifetime ago.
...
And I will wake up when the sun comes up
And I will watch cartoons until my eyes go square
And I won't care 'cos I'll be all grown up
...
Ann isn't though. She is Afraid.
...
When I grow up
I will be strong enough to carry all the heavy things
You have to haul around with you
When you're a grown-up
...
Month four comes with acceptance. She isn't Claire; she is Ann. Tears stop, and guilt eats away. Silence follows. The bandits get worried. This creates more guilt.
...
And when I grow up
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures that you have to fight
Beneath the bed each night
To be a grown-up
...
Month five comes, and guilt drifts away in the currents of the sea that is her mind. A family starts to form. A grandpa with guilt that pours from him like a waterfall. A Dadan that comes to comfort in her own way. Bandits that come in and out but will always give her a smile or two.
...
And when I grow up
I will have treats every day.
And I'll play with things that mum pretends that mum's don't think are fun.
...
Ann knows this is not an ideal family. BUT, it was her's, and she knows it was more than anything she had before.
...
And I will wake up when the sun comes up
And I will spend all day just lying in the sun
And I won't burn 'cos I'll be all grown up
...
On her bad nights, the hands wouldn't move. Just keep taking and taking even when Clarie screamed and cried and begged. The words and melody wouldn't come soon enough.
...
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
that you have to fight beneath the bed each night
To be a grown-up
...
On her good nights, Ann would find herself on a roof that is not her own. With a body that should be too big but fits perfectly. Calloused fingers and a guitar in her hands. She sings and plays the night away.
...
Just because you find that life's not fair It
doesn't mean that you just have to grin and bear it
If you always take it on the chin and wear it
Nothing will change
...
She wakes up feeling too small. Her back feels like it is missing something. Her fingers were itching to strum. Underdeveloped vocal cords ich to let the sweet melody free. By Six months, she is crawling and beginning to talk in a strange langue that is not her own. By eight-month, she is walking, and her first word is "Ji-san." To the man who she knows is a soldier before a grandfather but family all the same.
...
When I grow up
...
Ann knew at twelve months surrounded by people who called her many different names. Demon Brat, Ann, Portgas, Brat, Grand-child, Grand Daughter. She has found the beginning of her family even if they do not consider her family. She was beginning to find the ones for who she wouldn't die for. She was beginning to find the ones who she is learning to live for.
...
Just because I find myself in this story
It doesn't mean that everything is written for me
If I think the ending is fixed already
I might as well be saying
I think that it's ok
And that's not right
. . .
A butterfly beats its wings. A bird starts to sing its melody. A new tide is created. A new path that is about to unfold.
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Portgas D. Ann and the Riot Pirates... WHAT?
FanfictionA soul, Portgas D. Ann, Clarie, Brat, Bitch, Gold D. Ann, Demon Child, and Angel. Ann has lots of different names. Her name means so many different meanings to so many different people. She likes to think, though, that with her guitar and family, he...
