Zach rushed toward his room. Upon entering, gloom immediately flooded him. He looked at the busted light near the bathroom's door yet to be replaced by Xander. He tried to push away the emerging melancholy and approached his bed. The wooden floor creaked with his every step.
Together with his worries, he put his bag and Little D down. Little D behaved well as it idly sat on its place. Its head jerked to the right and looked at Zach with its luminescent blue eyes. Docile and still—Zach tenderly stroked its head as he saw his current self with the little puppy.
In an attempt to pull the strings of their connection closer, Little D turned over and showed its bruised belly. Tears welled up on Zach's eyes. The need to escape from this world's cruel reality coaxed him to enter his own universe. He granted Little D's desire and gently rubbed its stomach, easing away the pain. Little D slowly closed its eyes as the warmth of Zach's hands lulled it to sleep.
As darkness slowly approached, Zach threw his back on the bed and faced the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark stars. He distinctly remembered how his grin had reached his ears when Sabrina had given these stars during his seventeenth birthday. They symbolized a huge part of his personality; they represented the vastness of the universe he created in his mind.
He pondered it for a while, closed his eyes, and started to indulge in his favorite hobby—fantasizing.
His mind was a blank canvas until blurry images of his current room began to manifest. This bedroom had only two big beds which the four boys occupied. He shared the same bed with Xander, while Yin and Yang held the opposite bed. He still remembered how Yin and Yang's pair of Teletubbies shirts scattered atop their mattress, while their Yu-gi-oh cards cluttered under their bed.
Unlike the twin's bed, his and Xander's bunk was neat and arranged, as always. He felt the smoothness of the bed's cover at his back, leaving no room for annoying bumps and creases. The ocean-breeze scent of the fabric conditioner wafted into his nostrils and shattered all the seams of anxiety and discomfort.
With much free time on hand, he leisurely smiled on the memory of how secured he had felt inside the four corners of this room. He had always recreated the world he imagined since he was ten—a world without violence; a home where he could settle down peacefully together with his family.
This fantastic world soon materialized in his mind.
[Old Matron Chen and Papa Chen were smiling on a rocking chair, while the warmth of the setting sun touched their faces. The freshly roasted chicken Xander brought to their picnic made his stomach grumble, while Sabrina chased Yin and Yang for their mischief. The cool breeze of the wind swung his hair back and forth. The sharp tip of the Bermuda grass pricked his skin as he lied down and listened to Xiao Lu, Uno, Dos, and Tres singing "Rain Rain Go Away" in harmony under the clear skies.
'Huh? Is it raining?']
Little did Zach know that the land of fantasy eventually consumed him into slumber. His subconsciousness took control.
[In the orange explosion of the evening sunset, Zach stood up and saw the scowling wisps of clouds began to curl up like wicked genies. He could feel the humidity began to ascend, as the taste of metallic thunder hung in the air. The blinding flash and the deafening sound abruptly devoured his senses. The once tranquil park started to shake violently and torn open rifts that menaced every sentient being.
His siblings blared in panic.
"Ge, I'm scared!" Xiao Lu screamed.
The song that the four little kids merrily hummed was replaced with cries of fright and helplessness.
"Xander! Sabrina! Take Uno, Dos, and..." Zach's voice wavered as the people he depended on vanished amidst the maelstrom. "Ma, Pa, where are you?" His knees trembled.
In the blink of an eye, a crater appeared in front of Zach and swallowed his little siblings. It only spared Xiao Lu who was left hanging on the pit.
'Uno... Dos... Tres... Are they gone?'
Zach stepped back as blood surged across his head. He instantly felt light-headed; his stomach churned out witnessing the phantom of death.
"Ge! Help me!" Xiao Lu stretched his hands but the earth split apart, creating a fissure that hindered them from reaching each other. Together with Zach's anxiety, the crack grew wider separating them meters apart.
"Xiao Lu! Xiao Lu!"
Zach started running and leaping across the crevices. Thoughts of losing the warmth that his family could only provide lent him more adrenaline. Despite this risk, his mind continued to trick him—the faster his feet moved, the bigger the distance they created.
'I don't want to be alone. Please don't leave me, everyone...'
As Zach's strength faded, he dropped to his knees. He moved his head to seek the shadows of his kindred, but the black chasm of isolation shrouded him as the replacement.
He rose to his feet and suddenly found himself peeking behind the familiar antique wooden door of his bedroom.
Zach's subconsciousness hauled him into a suppressed memory he might have wished to never resurface.
Splinters of their home's broken entrance door cluttered in their living room.
"Where's the little brat? We'll take him." An intricate red scorpion symbol imprinted the man's black suit at the back.
"Please spare him! He's only five years old!" Papa Chen, together with his wife, blocked the stairs using his frail body.
"Why do you even care? He's not even your biological son." The man and his troop devilishly laughed.
"Now, hand us the little brat, unless you want your real precious son and daughter to—" A sound that came from his pocket interrupted the leader. He paused and picked up his phone.
"Yes, Mr. Martyn. We are here... We will, we will..." The man squinted at the couple. "These two lovebirds are... how do I say it... stubborn? Can we just trash the house to find that little bra—" As a last resort, Matron Chen sprang on her feet and snatched the phone from the leader. She would do everything to protect Zach.
"You! Give it back to me!" The man hissed and chased Matron Chen with outstretched arm. As he was about to claw the phone back, Papa Chen stopped him, gripping his hand with all the strength Papa Chen's old bones could muster.
"Mr. Martyn?" Matron Chen exclaimed as her hands trembled. "Please give us a chance! I'm begging you... Leave the kid to us."
The man's subordinates rushed to their leader's aid and thrust a blow to Papa Chen's gut. He fell onto the floor holding his stomach in agony.
"How dare you?!" The leader vehemently slapped Matron Chen with the back of his hand and yanked the phone back. She dropped on the floor with a mark on her face. The searing pain on her cheek burst into crystalline waters that flowed from her gray eyes.
Zach shrieked their names and grabbed the knob to open the door. But in the last second, Xander hugged him tightly and covered his mouth. Zach's wail blended together with his parents' sounds of sorrow.
"Yes, Mr. Martyn, I'm sorry." The man ceased from talking as he intently listened.
"Why?" The man's expression darkened.
"Okay. I understand. I'll tell them." The call ended.
The man closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He looked back and nodded to his subordinates.
In a matter of seconds, pandemonium erupted. The once serene home was cloaked with barbarity: tables were turned over, chairs were broken into pieces, and shattered debris covered the floor.
"Oldies, remember this. After high school! After high school when he turns eighteen, he will work for the company. And if we hear any news of him causing any trouble under your wing, we'll take him away. You understand that?" The man poked Matron Chen's forehead with a baton. "We'll take him away, like a thief in the night."
"Do not try to provoke us, or just like the others, this filthy orphanage will go down the drain." One of the leader's subordinates poured a bottle of water on top of Papa Chen.
The leader turned back and kicked the family portrait on the floor.
"Oh, by the way, tell that little prick not to talk back next time, or your ancient tongues will pay the price." The group of men smirked and left their home.
'Trouble... Take him away... Not to talk back...'
'Trouble... Take him away... Not to talk back...'
'Trouble... Take him away... Not to talk back...']
These words were etched on Zach's young mind.
From this day onward, Zach learned that obedience equates to life.