2001, that's when I was born in a small town called Delvia. The town was the outskirts of the main city of Daroul. I was told that it was Friday when I was born, and the weather was really rough from couple of days. Storms, heavy rain, landslides...It was a wreck in my town, I was due a couple of days for delivery. I do not remember what I saw or felt when I got out in the world, no one remembers that obviously. But my father used to say when I got out in the world, the rain and storms cleared out after a while, many townsfolk believed I was brought upon in the world for greater cause and for greater reason. Of course, I and my parents did not believe such dumb beliefs of people.
I was born a healthy and normal child. Father was happy to have me as his son, why wouldn't he be? He is a father. But my mother didn't, she wanted a girl from the start, she even hated father for being her husband, that didn't get to make my father's love for her to go down.
I didn't get why she hated me that much, she refused to name me, so my father named me Albert on the memory of my late grandfather's name. As the years passed on my mother started despising me more and more. On my 4th birthday my father told mother to cook an extravagant meal that day and that we would celebrate that day. She started cooking with a sour expression on her face.
It was winter, almost last of December. Mother finished cooking and brought the meal; father sang me a happy birthday song and we enjoyed the tasty meal except for mother, she didn't eat anything or said anything. After eating father was lying on the couch for some rest and mother was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen. Water was boiling in the kettle for some tea. I got up from the table and went in the kitchen to take some frozen candies from the fridge. The kettle was whistling, a lot.
As I take out some candies my mother looks at me with a face of disgust and disapproval about something and then she proceeds to pick up the kettle and she threw the water at my face. I closed my eyes immediately and as the boiling hot water get on my face, I started screaming like I was dying.
Father immediately heard me and came running in the kitchen and he held me up in his arms. I couldn't open my eyes for a while, but I could hear my father scolding my mother...
"Hertha what have you done!? Look what you did to your son, are you out of your mind!?" He shouted at mother; I haven't heard father being that angry on someone before.
It was silent for a while until I heard her voice.
"I told you many times that I do not see him as my son. Infact, I did not even wanted a son!" She countered father.
"Get out. Get out of my house right now. Pack your belongings and don't ever show up again ever. I don't know you anymore, you're not the same anymore, you have gone insane." Father calmly advised--or more like he threatened mother to get out.
I didn't have that much thinking capability, but I shouted in between.
"Ma Ma...pleaze don't, go..."
Everything went silent for a while then I started hearing mother packing stuffs. My face was feeling burning up and I was crying, father consoled me and said it will be okay after applying some lotions and cream on my face. Then I heard mother getting out of the door, father said nothing.
I started opening my eyes the next day and the pain and burning sensation went away in couple of weeks, doctor said it was a fast recovery. Mother still didn't come.
One day I asked father about mother.
"Pa, Mother when she...come?" I was still learning how to speak.
"Mama had to go somewhere and she's busy so she won't be coming for a while, be a good baby, okay? Pa loves you." My father made me relaxed about her.
After two months, father got me admission in an elementary school.
It went downhill from there in my life.
On the first day of my school, I dressed up in my first school uniform and packed my bag. I was really excited to make new friends in school. My father dropped me off in my class and I entered and sat down in the back seat.
As students were coming in the room, they all were glaring at me, looking at me with a very uncomfortable gaze. I couldn't understand as I was a kid still. Everyone seated in and I was in the middle row back seat. I got confused as everyone stared at me, I thought they all wanted to be friends with me. Rollcall happened and after that teacher taught us couple of things then came the lunch break. There was this girl that was sitting right next to me, so I got up from my seat and asked...
"Hello, I am Albert, what is your name?" I asked her politely.
"Yuck, I don't, go away." She replied with disgust and with an expression that I am some monster.
I didn't eat my lunch; my goal today was to make friends. I went to almost all kids asking for them to be my friends, but all they had was this look of disgust on their faces. All they said was I don't want to be friends with a monster. I went back to my seat, said nothing to no one, putting my head down and kept my calm, I tried so hard not to cry till I get home, because would have made me look like more of a fool.
I got back home, and I confronted my dad.
"What is wrong with me!? No one, want to be my friend!? Why Pa why!?" I cried my heart out in his arms.
He gently started patting my head and that felt good. I stopped crying, then he explained to me.
"Listen son, nothing is wrong with you, did they make fun of you at school? don't let it stop you from trying, one day surely someone will come up to you and say (*in a childish deep voice*) 'Hey, you are so awesome, can I be your friend please please?' and they will get desperate to be your friend."
"Really Pa?" I asked while taking hiccups.
"Yes son, you don't have to worry about anything, don't mind anything that anyone says to you, just live your life freely." My dad replied.
I then got out of his arm and ran towards the mirror in the living room and stood in front of it. I saw my reflection on it, wrinkled red and blistered skin, a lot of bruises from the burn, I totally looked like a monster, now I get it why everyone was calling me a monster.
"Why do I look like this, Pa? Everybody, they call me I am a monster, it's because of the burn, mother gave." I sobbed up started complaining my father.
"You're totally normal, son. You are not a monster, instead they are the one for calling you the monster. And it was an accident from your mother side honey, don't blame mama, she didn't do it on purpose." He humbly explained to me.
I calmed down. He cooked me my favorite meal, which was chicken rice. I got happy in an instant.