Chapter 2: His Name Is Ajax
"I hate you! Because of you, your father had left us for dead!"
A harsh slap came into his way and he stood, frozen.
"Why can't you do anything right?! It's just simple instructions! All you have to do is just follow it!"
A hard kick came to his abdomen.
"You're not my son! Never in my life have I ever had a dumb son such as you! Leave!"
He whimpered silently as his mother continuously cursed him.
He was able to withstand any physical pain inflicted on him, but not the words of abuse — especially coming from his own mother.
"Ajax! Guess what? Someone has asked for your hand in marriage! Aren't you excited?? Come! Come! Let's dress properly and meet them up soon!"
It was such a rare sight to see his mother smiling brightly at him and he did not want to mess it up. He needed to get on his mother's good side. He had always wanted to be a good son for his mother.
"Ajax, meet Brandon, your fiancé. Brandon, meet Ajax, my beloved son!"
That was the first time she had put an endearment before his name. Looking ahead, his so-called "fiancé" was handsome and tall. Ajax felt his heart beating faster when he saw the man's smile. He blushed when they locked eyes.
However, something in his guts was telling him otherwise.
"Hello, dear Ajax. Welcome to the family."
Little did he know, his guts were right.
"Your mother took my money in exchange for you. So, you should do what I told you to do."
Brandon was no longer the nice guy he met and he should have known life was too cruel for him.
Every day, he was constantly abused with no way out. He was a timid young man and he could not voice out his pain. All he could do was to endure the pain till that particular night.
Ariel witnessed the life story of Ajax unfold before her eyes till she felt presence behind her. As she turned around, she was surprised to meet Ajax himself standing before her.
There was silence between the two before Ajax decided to speak up.
"I saw what you did… Even if she was my mom… If only I was as strong as you… I would've changed my own fate…" he muttered quietly as his eyes glinted with envy.
Ariel knew the feeling of loneliness, helplessness and tiredness that Ajax had been through. They were both one of the same. When all is said and done, the only thing different between them was their life circumstances.
Ariel thought for a moment before replying sincerely, "You're strong enough, Ajax. Strong enough to overcome this till the very end. You shouldn't wish to be like me. If you were me, you wouldn't have survived what I've gone through back then."
Ajax did not say a word and Ariel continued, "… Besides, she's your mother… I get why you couldn't do what I did… If she was mine, I would've done the same as well — letting her vent her anger on me, in hopes for her to feel better, and having hopes that someday she'll look at me and love me the way she did back then… It's not wrong to feel this way… You're a good son, Ajax. I'm sure your mother still loved you deep down."
Tears were beginning to form in his eyes and before he could blink it away, it slowly trickled down his cheeks.
"She was a good mother… I can't stop loving her… I couldn't hurt nor harm her… She was the only person I had left in this world…"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ariel heard a faint beeping sound and she looked around to find the source of where that noise was coming from. When she could not find it, she turned back to Ajax, just to see his body was slowly dematerialising before her.
"Ajax—"
"This is your life now, Ariel. Thank you for giving her a better way out. Other people would've given her a violent death upon knowing my past, but you didn't," Ajax ended his sentence with a sniffle and a smile on his face.
"It's the least I can do for you. You've always wanted your mother to have a peaceful death," said Ariel.
Ajax placed a hand on her shoulder and gripped it firmly. His smile never wavered, even after his whole being was dematerialised completely.
"You're a good person too even though you can't see it. Don't let the past hunt you and drag you down, Ariel. It's time to move on. You're free now. I hope you found the happiness you've been longing for. Till we meet again."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The constant sound of beeping had brought him back to reality. Pain immediately engulfed him and if he was a normal person, he would cry out in pain by then. He had endured all sorts of pain in his past life before and this kind of overwhelming pain he was enduring then was nothing he could not handle.
He slowly opened his eyes, just to be blinded by the bright light directly above him. He grunted softly as he adjusted his blurry eyes to get used to the light.
After he got used to the lighting, he looked around, just to realise he was admitted into the hospital ward. There were six beds, including his, and three other beds were being occupied by patients in green garments. He looked down on himself, just to see him wearing a similar green garment as well.
He slowly manoeuvred his hand upwards and brought it under his shirt, just to feel bandages all over the place. He then brought his hand upwards and felt the rough surface of the bandage wrapped around his head. Other than that, he could feel his dark hair was lighter than before. It seemed that his hair was trimmed short as well.
Seeing how thin and malnourished this body was, he was able to conclude that it would take him two to three weeks of recovery, in comparison to his previous female body. It seemed he was stuck here for the meantime.
The door of the room was gently opened and a nurse walked in. She saw Ajax was wide awake in surprise. She heard the man had suffered multiple stab wounds and was closer to death by the second. It had only been three hours since the surgery and he was expected to be awake on the next day or so. It was a miracle he had survived throughout the operation and awakened earlier than expected.
"Hi, Mr Lawyer. How are you feeling? You had just recently undergone critical surgery. You might feel discomfort and pain, due to the stitches being in place. There were multiple stab wounds across your chest and stomach. It was a miracle that you survived," said the nurse as she checked the heart rate monitor.
Ajax quirk an eyebrow at the unfamiliar last name he was being called by, "Lawyer?"
The young nurse nodded her head absentmindedly as she took his arm and wrapped the bandage over before clipping a clip on his index finger, taking measurements of his blood pressure.
"Yes, Mr. Lawyer. Your husband had brought you in. He was concerned for your well being. He had reported the incident to the police. Though, the case was solved and you were found to be the victim," explained the nurse and Ajax nearly scoffed at that.
Brandon Lawyer, Ajax remembered his fiancé's name. Ajax knew Brandon was merely acting to be the kind and worried fiancé in the eyes of others. He was not surprised the household matter was being hushed just like that. According to Ajax's old memories, this was not his first attempt in doing so. Other than that, they were not married. He was just his fiancé in name, nothing more. Anyhow, sooner or later, Ajax would change their marital status. He wanted to cut the man out of his life as there was no place for toxicity in his life.
"We are not married. He is just my fiancé at this moment of time," Ajax simply stated and the nurse felt awkward upon realising her mistake.
"I'm sorry. Should I call you, Mr. Rodney then?" The nurse fumbled at her words and Ajax gave her one of his rare sincere smiles.
"My name is Ajax, so call me Ajax. Calling me by my surname with the word 'mister' in front, made me sound old," he chuckled lightly.
His name is Ajax now and this was his brand new start in life. He was really looking forward to what his new life had brought for him.