"Have you heard about that kid? He's a loner. He doesn't have a family. Hahaha, poor and ugly... Why is he even alive? Just look at his face—he's got a smile but is crying at the same time. What a loser. His mother abandoned him because he's so stupid. Hahaha…"
The cruel words echoed through Kaki's mind as he sat in the classroom. His fists clenched, his chest tightened. The laughter stung, each word cutting deeper than the last.
He couldn't take it anymore. With a surge of anger and humiliation, he stormed out of the classroom. He ran, faster and faster, until he reached the old tree outside, climbing it like a desperate animal trying to escape.
"I thought school might be different. Maybe here I could fit in. But it's just the same. No friends. Bullied. Beaten up… Where do I belong?"
The thought echoed over and over in his head as he sat on the branch, hidden from the world below. His world, every day, had been filled with loneliness and torment—at home, his mother's cruel words and harsh hands; at school, the mocking laughter and rejection.
He didn't know where to turn, who to be, or if it was even worth it anymore. He was stuck in a world that didn't want him.