I unconsciously covered my mouth with both of my hands as I was left speechless. Red liquid was beginning to pour from out of his nose and my pupils shrunk at the sight of blood.
***
"I'm exhausted..."
The owner of the voice was a man who showed visible drowsiness and frustration together with the delivery of his words.
Unexpectedly, the sound of a switch turning on was heard as it echoed throughout the dim and infinite space. A horizontal line of stage lights were displayed as they flickered with light beaming out of them. They automatically positioned their lights at a specific area as it revealed a pair of green and worn-out curtains. Both sides of the curtains parted ways with one another and unveiled a stage from behind.
An antique looking film recorder began to play as the tape of film above it carefully treaded. The images were projected perfectly onto the bland wall that stood erect on top of the stage.
The beginning of the cinematic film took place inside a shabby looking house. The furniture was as simple as it could be and half of it was either broken or untidy.
A small child could be seen kneeling at his lowest point while his seemingly fragile body trembled. In front of him was a tray that contained freshly burnt coal, filling up even the corners. It was clear that whoever were to come into contact with it, they would receive a long-lasting scar.
"Stand up."
The sound of a groggy old woman's voice commanded the trembling child to stand. He was reluctant as he made a firm decision not to listen to her. The old woman's voice raised louder as she yelled at him.
"STAND UP!!!"
The child was scared to death as he flinched and quickly prompted himself to get up. Seeing him in such a sorry state only ignited the sadistic part deep within her as she ordered him to step on the burning tray of coal.
"Put your feet on the coal and make sure to keep your posture straight."
Just as he was about to do so, she added another statement that caused the poor child's heart to momentarily stop beating.
"And take off your shoes."
He was on the verge of crying, but obediently did as he was told, and his hands shakily took off his shoes. His feet, now bare, stepped on top of the burning hot pile of coal, and his emotions could no longer restrain themselves as he burst into a fit of tears.
The old woman remained unbothered as she nonchalantly left the room, and her voice grew faint as she gave him a warning while walking away.
"If I see any traces of you leaving your punishment I won't hesitate to throw you out to the streets for the beggars to feed on!"
He cried severely as he cursed his so-called 'mother' to her grave. Ever since his father had moved on into the afterlife, she had slowly but surely lost the last bit of sanity she had left and soon began abusing their only son. Their financial status wasn't in good condition because her husband was the only bread winner in the family. With him gone and her having no luck with finding a job, she resorted to forcing his son to study and quickly get a scholarship to support both of them. Each time he made a mistake in school she would take out her frustration on him as she punished him, assuming that he would do 'better'.
The second act of the film played out as it transitioned to him in his teenage years. The child that used to look so fragile now had a healthier outer appearance as he wore a smile on his face whenever a person came to greet him. Due to his exceedingly high grades, he was given support along with a scholarship to an extremely expensive academy. Given his current condition, things were going smoothly just as his mother had planned. Which is why he was secretly unsatisfied with this development.
'That b*tch got what she wanted in the end. F*ck, I wish she would've disowned me.'
At first he pretended to do awfully with his grades as he purposely messed up his school work. However, his abusive mother was genuinely desperate as she whipped him into shape and made sure not to let him go in case he would gain success in the future. Her plan, of course, worked as he became the top student in all the subjects at his school.
The accommodations they offered him were amazing. In this dimension, the majority of people valued those who had talent specifically when it came to the topic of intellect. They treasured people like this and would treat them with the utmost respect as they offered them hospitality that equated to their worth. Since he was skilled with knowledge, it was safe to say that he was given great treatment from the academy that supported him.
The film transitioned to their school's graduation day finally arriving, and two people could be seen in a cramped up room. An expensive dress was hung up with a plastic hanger on the side and a woman stood beside it as she faced a mirror. She was applying cheap lipstick on her lips as he powered her face using her other hand. But because she was slightly excited, her hand slipped up as the lipstick formed a short check mark that went over the boundary of her lip.
"Tsk. Hey you. Throw me a handkerchief or anything that can I use to wipe."
Her son wore a deadpan expression on his face as he carelessly threw the handkerchief directly landing on her back. She was startled as she felt its sudden touch and shouted.
"Sh*t! Use your manners! You almost scared me to death."
'If it meant you dying then I would gladly scare you every chance I get.'
"I only did what you told me to."
Just before she could walk up to slap him, her thoughts went over her past words and the realization clicked in her head. Huh. So she really did tell him to throw it at her. Her mind no longer allowed her to dwell on it further as she wiped the lipstick using the handkerchief she received.
"What job are you going to take after this?"
His eyebrows furrowed as he sent her a glare.
"... Janitor."
"Janitor!? The hell has gotten into you?? You're going with accounting whether you want it or not."
'Why even ask me, you...'
His teeth gnashed back and forth against one another, and he tried to calm himself. The main reason why he had chosen to be a janitor wasn't out of the blue or a random option he picked. It was because his late father originally used to work as a janitor to make a living for their small family. He had always looked up to him and he even told him that he wanted to have the same occupation as him once he grew older. Obviously his father was flustered and told him that it wasn't an easy job. But he was hell-bent about his dream as he praised his father for his efforts.
His thinking was hazy, as he thought to himself.
'This wretch really likes to run her mouth. So what if I don't earn much. I'll go work as a janitor and leave the house; let's see how you'll keep living by then.'
His mother stretched her arms as she finished applying her makeup and ran her fingers along the expensive dress in which costed her all her savings. Well, they weren't exactly her savings, but instead her son's savings. She felt entitled to use them as she still shamelessly considered herself to be his 'mother' after all.
"I raised you well."
Hearing what she had just blurted out of nowhere made her son petrified like a statue frozen in place.
"What... did you just say..?"
"But it's true, isn't it?"
The short thread of patience he had left was shrinking ever so slightly as turned his body to face her, and he saw that she wore an arrogant expression on her disgusting old face.
"If it weren't for my disciplinary actions you wouldn't have made it this far."
"You-"
"You only studied because you were afraid of my 'lessons' were you not?"
His left eye twitched violently and his breathing became unstable. His mother, on the other hand, resumed her words as she thought nothing of his current condition.
"I honestly don't care if you were afraid or if you were getting tired of my 'lessons'. It will never change the fact that it molded you to be what you are now."
'Meaning to say that the years your spent abusing me were all justifiable..?'
He took one step forward.
"Intelligent. Well mannered towards others. Top achiever."
'Aren't you naming the opposite traits of what you are..?'
He took another step.
"All of these things. They were born from my 'lecturing'. You should really thank me."
'... You still have the audacity to expect gratitude from your behavior..?'
Another. And another. Until finally,
"You ungrateful piece of sh*t that was born from an accident."
His hands were swift as they snatched the thin belt from the hanging dress while his feet extorted with full force and aggressively kicked the lower abdomen of his mother. She roughly collided with her back against the floor, and with no given time to react, he stepped on both of her thighs, not allowing her a chance to escape. In the blink of an eye, he had already wrapped the thin rope-like belt around her neck; and he had secured it as tightly as he possibly could. She helplessly gasped for air, now horrified with what was unfolding. Her hands were clenched as they formed into fists, and she punched her son's face with all her might. The more she punched the darker the bruises became as they hit the corners of his face. And despite blood beginning to gush out of his nose, the corners of his mouth went up as his lips wore a sinister grin.
His bloodlust was shown as clear as day and he displayed the euphoria he currently felt due to the satisfaction of getting his long-anticipated 'revenge'.
'... This.'
His thought process turned grim as he concluded.
'This isn't enough.'
The scars on his feet and hidden underneath his clothing were deeply engraved and they were permanently there to stay for a lifetime without any sort of healing method.
The old woman who had previously thought that she would die from asphyxiation, felt her heart twist as he noticed the hollow look in her son's eyes. Her hands quivered as her consciousness was beginning to fade, but then her son suspiciously gave her the ability to breathe freely again. The belt surrounding her neck loosened as she retained consciousness.
Indeed. He wasn't going to let her off that easily. Choking her to death seemed like a slap on the wrist, considering what she had done to his body in the past. Using a knife to write words on his skin. Burning his feet until their senses went numb. And almost drowning him for getting a grade below average.
He tugged on the slightly loose belt around her neck and he quickly threw it to the surface of the mirror his mother was using a while ago. The right side of her face crashed on to its brittle surface and it broke into countless shards of glass. A few of them, specifically the large ones, were dug deeply into her torn and ripped skin. She cried out a blood-curdling scream, but momentarily got interrupted as she felt a hand firmly gripping the back of her head.
Bang- Bang- Bang- Bang-
With no breaks whatsoever, he ruthlessly bashed her head against the mirror's still broken surface nonstop. His gaze resembled that of a madman who enjoyed such a gruesome sight.
Eventually her skull was vividly heard cracking as it was now fractured. Sadly for the woman who had yet to die from this, her son was merciless as he continued to mindlessly bash her head.
Drip... Drip...
The faint scent of blood wafted near his nose and only then was he able to snap out of it as he retracted his hand and the old woman's body tumbled down onto the floor. One fourth of her brain was leaking out of her now wide-open skull. A pool of blood presented to him the reflection of his face. Shockingly enough, he saw himself smiling as bright as ever.
The rush of having to face reality caused him to laugh. Any normal human being that saw this would undoubtedly call him 'unhinged'.
"Ha... Haha... HAHAHAHAHA-"
He did it. He got rid of that horrid old wh*re. This was all he ever wanted in life. And he finally achieved it.
His eyes were tinted red as hot tears started to endlessly run down his cheeks.