Xin Fao lay on his side, letting the calming, meditative sounds of the running water soothe him. His breathing slowed and fell into a calm rhythm. His crying also stopped, though the tears still stained his cheeks, leaving evident trails behind, marking their paths.
He laid there, lost in his thoughts, unable to notice the sound of his door being opened. It wasn't subtle, either. It was a low squeak, very similar to a mouse. Depending on how fast you opened the door, it could either be extremely short and concise, or long and drawn out. In this case, it was around the middle.
"Yuck, this place is a pig stye!" a female exclaimed, making gagging noises.
"What else would you expect? This is how pigs live, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he lives like this." a males voice responded, followed by a few laughs.
There were at least three of them. They began to move around, causing his old house to groan and creek, pulling him from his fantasies.
He didn't say a word as he lay there, his ears perked up as he strained to listen for more sounds. All had gone quiet, no more voices, no more moving around. The silence was overbearing.
Just as he was about to chalk the noises up to his home just being old, the voices once more started up.
"Man, this house makes a lot of weird noises. Just how old is this place?"
"My father said it's several decades old. He said it used to be a beautiful home..."
"Ha! No way! Our little piggy wouldn't be able to live in a beautiful house. Look how he lives, as well as looks! This suits him well, don't you think?"
"You're so cruel, haha! What do you think he would do if he knew we were in here, I wonder?"
The three conversed as if they had no care whether or not anyone was home.
"Oh! Where are his parents? I've never seen the little piggy with them", the girl asked, curiously.
"That's right! You moved here just a few years ago, Bai Lao, so you wouldn't know what happened."
The girl named Bai Lao shook her head in response. "Tell me, then! I want to know, Yu Kong! Please!"
Yu Kong chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at the girl. He pondered for a few seconds in silence, looking intently at her as he rubbed his chin. He smiled and puffed out his chest, lightly banging it with his fist.
"I don't know!" he exclaimed proudly, a smug grin on his face. Everyone else just stared at him blankly for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. He was caught by surprise, looking dumbfounded at them, but soon joined in their laughter.
"I'll tell you what happened," another boy said, stepping up to Bai Lao. "They were thrown out of the village."
"How come?" Bai Lao asked.
"I dunno, my momma says it's because they were demon worshippers."
"No way! Are you telling us the truth, Lee?!" Yu Kong asked excitedly.
Just as Lee was about to respond, a shoe came flying through the air and smacked him across the face, making him stumble sideways. Surprised, the others looked to see where the shoe had come from, finding Xin Fao standing in the doorway. "Get out," he said.
The others looked at one another, a puzzled look on their faces, then back at him.
"Get out, I said!!" he yelled, lifting his other hand which happened to be holding his other shoe, ready to throw at the group. He was breathing a little heavily, his face turning red with tears starting to gather under his eyes.
The group began to laugh as they turned and nonchalantly left. They murmured amongst themselves, but not so subtlely that Xin Fao couldn't here.
"I bet his parents didn't want to raise him, so they abandoned him."
"I bet they were killed by bandits as they ran away from him one day."
They all laughed as the door shut behind them. Out of frustration, Xin Fao hurled his shoe at the door and cried out, letting the tears flow once more. It was one thing to make fun of him, but he would not stand for people making fun of his parents. Unlike the stories the adults spread, he knew what had really happened. They had given their lives to make sure the rest of the town folk had survived when their town had been attacked.
Of course, the adults would never admit that two people like his parents did something so selfless when the others constantly beat them and made them suffer. They would never admit that they were in the wrong and that instead of trying to save his parents, they turned their backs on them and shut their ears so as not to hear the cries of pain and anguish. Those cries lasted for a long while, only ending when militiamen from a neighboring town came to aid them.
Taking several breaths as he clenched and unclenched his fists, Xin Fao leaned against the door frame, doing his best to control his tears. He hated that he couldn't do anything but cry. He wished he had the strength to fight against the bullies that picked on him and spoke I'll of his parents. But what could he do? He didn't have any fighting abilities, after all, he was just a round butterball.
Huffing again, he went back and laid down once again. The recent activity drained him of what little energy he had left, so he soon drifted off to sleep, his eyes shutting and casting his world into darkness.