𝑌𝑒𝑜-𝐽𝑜𝑜𝑛
I walked out of the shower and dried myself up, walking into my bedroom. I dressed in black shorts and black polo with Nike's logo on the left of my breast. I emerged out of my room and made my way downstairs but was suddenly barraged by that woman. That psychopathic mom of his. She lurched toward me and grabbed my polo. Started yanking me.
"Where is my son?" Her voice roared around the hallway, even the walls echoed her deep shrill. "Bring me back my son! You son of a bitch!"
"Watch your language, 𝑚𝑎𝑑 woman," I retorted at her. Looking at how old and haggard she looked. Truly she had gone insane, her ash curly hair reached her back. A couple of strands shielded her face. Making her look like a ghost from some of these horror movies aired on tv. Her long cracked fingernails dug into my chest.
Her face was smeared with her tears and mainly looking at her face and figure. She looked like a lunatic. I cursed the day she and her child sent foot into this house and look at them reaping the works of their hands. They almost succeeded in tearing our peaceful family apart but who is the one bearing the consequences. She turned into a lunatic and her son is nowhere to be found in the universe.
"Bring my son back to me!" She screamed out her lungs which irritated my ears. "Wherever he is. Get him back, I can't stay without...ℎ𝑖𝑚," she broke down in tears as she lowered her head. Her grip on my polo lessened. Baek Hana, the maid rushed to us and bowed her head, apologizing.
"I'm sorry Sir, I shouldn't have let her out of my sight." She bowed her head. "I prolly left the door open when I went to the kitchen to bring her dish."
"𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘....𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛. 𝐼-𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡-𝑚𝑦-𝑠𝑜𝑛-𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘."
I stared at the bowed maid before returning my eyes to the crazy woman who was shedding tears of pain and sorrow. "Your son would've thought of his mother before deciding to go on an exile," I leaned in and whispered in her right ear.
"Take her away, and never let her out of your sight, understand! Or kiss your job, farewell."
"Noted sir," she grabbed her and tries to take her away but the older woman won't budge. She tried to grab my polo again but Hana stopped and forcibly drag her back to her room.
"𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡! 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠. 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒."
She kept yelling.
"Administer her drugs to her!" I yelled after them. Watched the two figures disappear into a room. I heaved a breath and continued my way downstairs. I trailed my mind back, the day she and her son barged into our house. I was six years old when they walked in with their luggage. Claiming my father was married to her. He married her when he was on a business trip in US. She's from there. Blah blah, I don't give a damn anymore.
The truth remained me that my mom was shattered, watching my mom cry day and night left me wanting to kill them both.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑜
"Stay away from me! You son of a bitch!" I gawked in awe at the look in her eyes. I felt despair and agony in her voice and the way her body trembled. I was forced to reach out to her. "Any step from you, I swear to God, I will whack you with this!"
"Mom, what's going on?" I looked at her, transfixed at her behaviour. Why would she sound this way? I knew I haven't done anything to warrant this attitude from my mother. "Why are you giving that look like I'm some monster?"
"That's what you are, a MONSTER!" She drew back and her back collided with the fridge. She raised the frying pan and clutched it tightly against her chest. "I didn't nurture you to turn this way. Who the heck are you?"
"I'm your son, Toro."
"No, you are not."
𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧....𝑏𝑢𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧.
I found myself in a dark secluded room with two figures in police uniforms. I was placed on a chair and they sat across me, wearing a cold and resentful look in their eyes. I wonder why I was being judged by them. And what I'm doing here. They shove a knife toward me.
"Does this belong to you?"
"Nope."
"We found it in her room the night the incident took place," they peered at me accusingly. Like they know I did something and I was denying it.
"What incident?" I tilt my head to the side, failing to understand what was happening.
"The rape incident.....you tried to rape your step-mother and you have this," one of the policemen pointed at the knife. "We ran a test and we found your fingerprints on it. And you tried to murder your father as well."
I chuckled at their outburst, have they gone insane or what? Why would they accuse me wrongly? "I'm afraid, you have the wrong guy. I didn't do any of these you mentioned."
"Why would I do that? It even sounds off in my ears. Why would I rape my stepmom or better still kill my father? I admit I hated him but attempting to kill him?"
I looked away from them and let out a dry laugh.
"𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑡." I heard one murmured to the other.
I turn my head to the other side and stared into the thin air. These memories kept haunting me. I've never tried to do those abominable things. Why would I be accused of them? Something doesn't feel okay for here? Something doesn't add up.
Why was I in her room and how come I was holding the knife? My thoughts were impeded when I heard a door opening. She must be back and I hope she had gotten rid of that boy. I lifted my head from the desk and looked up to the wall clock.
8:30pm.
"What are you doing? And what is he still doing here?" I caught her tiptoeing with the boy up the stairs. I guess she was trying to sneak the child into her room.
"Jesus!" She jerked and lifted her gaze to me. "Stop creeping out on me like that." She chewed on her lower lip. The little boy stared at me.
"The last time I checked, you are the one creeping around."
"God! Must you have an answer to every word thrown to you?" She withdrew her hand from her chest and placed it on her hip.
"What is the boy still doing here?" I narrowed my eyes at the child who said nothing but gaped at me. "Didn't I tell you to take him back to where he came from? Having you around here is already a nightmare, I don't want another or you start paying rent....."
"Nino won't be paying any rent in her house," the little kid took me by surprise with his utterance. "This is her house and why would she be paying rent? You should be the one paying rent. You live in her house."
"And didn't your sweet aunty Nino tell you, I'm now the owner?"
"You stole the house from her, you didn't buy it from her and that's against the law." I watched the little boy fold his arms against his chest. Copying my pose. She nudged his arm and urged him to stop talking, even though she was signalling him with her eyes.
A little smile crept on my face at how bold he was, he acted like her when we met each other in this house. "Really?" I unfurled my arms and tucked them into my pants pockets.
"Stole?"
"Yup, that's theft in law."
I marched slowly to them and she immediately pulls him close to her, protecting him with her hands. Her eyes were filled with fear and I wonder what she was afraid of. Her action reminded me of an event where my dad tried to lash out at me like he normally does but my mom held me away from him. I looked at them for a minute.
"You know, there's something called 9/10 in the law of ownership, the little boy resumed his speech. "When you physically possess something you have a stronger legal claim than someone who just claims ownership of it and Nino has legal rights over this house than you. She lived here all her life."
"I take you that you spent your time studying what the law says?" That was a rhetorical question for me. Never expected him to answer.
"Daniel?"
"Yes, because I want to be a lawyer." He prompted confidently. "I thought you were cool when you saved my mom and Nino, I wanted to be like you...," he shook his head in disappointment, I guess.
"You are not cool anymore when you asked Nino to pay rent if I don't leave." He added.
I kept mute and stared at his busy lips. He keep mentioning I saved his mother whoever she was and Nino. But I wasn't, that guy did. That guy that appeared from nowhere did and after that, vanished like a vapour.
"Don't you care about my mother or don't you remember me?" He gestured down to himself. "I'm the child of the woman you saved. My mom is in the hospital and all you care about is rent?"
The way he kept talking, I find it hard to send him away. I don't know why but he reminded me of myself.
She clasped a hand over his mouth to shut him up but I was actually getting entertained by him. I found myself smiling inwardly. She stared at me with a plea in her eyes.
"Can you please let him stay here until his mother is fully recovered?"
"Fine, he will stay here- but on one condition?" They raise their brows at me. He must keen on my rules of no noise, and no littering over any objects. Or dirt. I turn to leave but ended up turning again. And no singing."