The beast awoke, and the first thing he saw was a face that belonged to his mother. At that moment, the beast did not recognize her visage, as he had not yet learned to utilize his eyes fully. However, instinctively, he sensed that she likely wore a look of disgust towards him—a look that reflected his misshapen body.

Beside him, he could hear the cries of his siblings. Yet he did not cry. His gaze remained fixed on his mother, his vision still only able to discern shapes and colors. The reason for this deficiency eluded him; his young mind lacked the knowledge to understand much of anything. Yet, despite his innocence, he was painfully aware of his own mother's rejection.

The beast was painfully aware when his mother picked him up and placed him away from his siblings, separating him due to his repulsive appearance. He understood all too well that she did not return to him while he sat alone in his cage. Despite the underdevelopment of his young brain, it could still recognize rejection.

It did not take long for him to realize something—perhaps only a few months had passed. He was the runt among his siblings. He was undeniably different from them; one of his arms was missing, and so was a leg. Even his face was grotesque, though he would only fully grasp this years later when he first glimpsed himself in a mirror. His mother, however, was not so fortunate; she realized it immediately.

At least the beast developed faster than his siblings. He needed little food, surviving only on the scraps he could scavenge. That meager sustenance was enough, even if hunger gnawed at him relentlessly. He was perpetually excluded, and as he aged, the chasm between himself and the others became increasingly apparent. While his siblings were barely able to crawl and could not yet speak, he had begun to walk, albeit awkwardly without one of his legs—but he managed.

It became evident that he was much more intelligent than his siblings as well. His brain absorbed the limited vocabulary his mother used with them, allowing him to form a basic understanding of the language she spoke. He recalled things with surprising ease, even those insignificant tidbits that went unspoken or were left unheard.

By the time he reached six months since his birth, the beast was capable of walking and talking, yet his mother refused to acknowledge him. She likely presumed he would not survive long, deeming it pointless to invest any time in him. However, the beast had no intention of dying. Even at that tender age, he understood his resolve. He refused to surrender, refusing to succumb to death, despite the hand life had dealt him. Gradually, he was beginning to learn how to use his eyes. What was once a blur of confusion started to coalesce into clarity.

His eyes functioned differently; one possessed the ability to glimpse slightly into the future, allowing him to adjust the distance, while the other could sense the signature of any living creature nearby—even through walls.

As the weeks wore on, the meager food he received seemed to dwindle even further. Perhaps it was his growing frame, or perhaps it was merely that the available scraps were indeed diminishing as his siblings consumed more. One thing became increasingly clear: the hunger was intensifying. Each morning, his appetite seemed to worsen, becoming sickening.

Then one day, when his mother ventured out to hunt, she did not return.

The beast soon discovered the water she had stored in barrels. He could endure long stretches without food; after all, he was indifferent to his siblings. He had previously withstood longer periods of starvation, so he convinced himself she would soon come back, and he could reclaim his scraps.

His siblings cried incessantly now. It had been roughly three weeks, or so he estimated; time was ambiguous in the darkness of the cave, where he could not see the sun rise or set. Yet hunger gnawed at him, growing even more insistent. He felt wretched. Observing his siblings—much smaller and weaker than himself, even with his misshapen form—he realized the depths of his starvation.

So hungry.

Starving.