'You good for nothing ghost! Why did I give birth to you?'
A vicious looking woman with lilac eyes and flashy colored hair said to a pale young boy. She was holding novel with red colored binding, 'Story of Ferdinand' it read. She was waving it angrily in the air.
The boy was no more than five years old. Trembling at the rage of his mother.
'I am sorry mommy. I will not read anymore. Please do not be angry!' the boy coaxed the older woman. She must have been beautiful. However, with her face contorted all she looked frightening and ugly now
'Can we eat books? That you are wasting my money on them when I am starving here?' she said looking at her little one. Not once she thought about her child, how pale and thin he looked. For her he was a simple toy that should only be used and abused.
'How dare you waste my money like that!'
'But it was brought from the money uncle gave me mommy'
'Shut up!' the woman screamed
The child felt his ears ringing, blood coming out from the scratch made on his cheeks and lips by his mother's extravagant ring that one of her costumers gave her.
It was truly a terrible pain that numbed his senses. Himself surprised at the intensity.
'Shit I hit you on the face. How will you attract customers now with this swollen look? You dare not make me angry anymore! Or else I will punish you more than this.' she said pointing her index finger at him. Her nails were long and painted vulgarly in animal strips. A cheap woman with cheap tastes, that is how everyone described her. Her capricious nature and greedy eyes that lurked everywhere there was profit.
'Wait a minute I just thought of a good punishment. Since you cannot live without books just like food why not I make you eat them?' the capricious side in her thought about the punishment.
The woman tore the book into pieces and put tomato sauce on it. The child's heart sank on seeing his treasure torn. He did not care what punishment came after it.
'Little Az, say aah 'the woman took the torn pages and started choking the kid by making him eat it.
***
I woke up with a choking sensation which made me cough and hyperventilate
Crazy bitch … why did I remember her. why now
I thought while coughing furiously till my lungs started hurting.
Was it because I saw the book shelf yesterday? Shit I hate that class.
'Hey Aziel, you alright?' Elijah called from outside.
He must have heard me coughing.
'Yeah' I lied while barely mustering a yes.