Tower

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Four-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room with five other people who he calls his friends. They are older than he is, but they treat him kindly. They build their own towers besides N's, but they make sure that his tower is the biggest because he likes it that way. They laugh and giggle and have a good time.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, and everyone falls silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N begins to cry. One of the five friends pats N on the shoulder.

"Keep trying," says Chili. "You'll complete it one day. I promise."

N wipes his tears and promises to continue another day.

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Seven-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room with four other people who he calls his friends. They are older than he is, but they treat him well. They build their own towers besides N's, but they make sure that his tower is the biggest because he likes it that way. They laugh and giggle, but it's hard to tell if they're having a good time.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, and everyone falls silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N begins to cry. One of the four friends pats N on the shoulder.

"Keep trying," says Concordia. "You'll complete it one day. I promise."

N wipes his tears and promises to continue another day.

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Ten-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room with three other people who he calls his friends. They are older than he is, but they treat him good. They build their own towers besides N's, but they make sure that his tower is the biggest because he likes it that way. They laugh and giggle, but it feels forced.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, and everyone falls silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N begins to cry. One of the three friends pats N on the shoulder.

"Keep trying," says Cress. "You'll complete it one day. I promise."

N wipes his tears and promises to continue another day.

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Twelve-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room with two other people who he calls his friends. They are older than he is, but they treat him okay. They build their own towers besides N's, but they make sure that his tower is the biggest because he likes it that way. They chuckle a few times, but it is mostly quiet.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, and everyone falls silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N begins to cry. One of the two friends pats N on the shoulder.

"Keep trying," says Anthea. "You'll complete it one day. I promise."

N wipes his tears and promises to continue another day.

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Fifteen-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room with one other person who he calls his friend. He is older than N, but it doesn't make a difference. He builds his own towers besides N's, but he makes sure that N's tower is the biggest because he likes it that way. They merely make small talk.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, and they both fall silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N begins to cry. The single friend pats N on the shoulder.

"Keep trying," says Cilan. "You'll complete it one day. We still believe in you. I promise."

N wipes his tears and promises to continue another day.

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Seventeen-year-old N builds a tower out of blocks.

He sits in his room alone. There are no friends with him to build towers alongside or to laugh with. N's tower is obviously the biggest because it's the only one.

Ghetsis then walks into the room, but the room is already silent.

"What are you doing?" Ghetsis walks by N's tower and throws his foot forward, knocking it over and scattering the blocks everywhere. "Stop playing with these stupid toys and do something useful. You're going to be King soon. Stop acting like a child."

Ghetsis walks out of the room and N doesn't begin to cry. There is no one to tell him to keep trying, but that's okay. He's been told all his life to keep trying, and that's given him enough confidence to keep going. He doesn't need to cry.

"My friends," N speaks to himself, "I will save you when I become King. And I will complete my tower. I promise."

N stands in confidence and promises to continue another day.