1 Death Seems Good

"Allen, if you don't get up from the bed, I'll splash you a bucket of cold water!" A woman yelled as she angrily stared at the boy who was sleeping. She continuously checked her wristwatch and as she could no longer wait for the boy to wake up, she rushed out of the room and returned with a bucket of water.

~splash~

She emptied the bucket of water on the boy who of course jumped up in fright. Seeing the woman, he got up and lowered his head.

"Mam, please forgive me, I overslept," the boy pleaded with his head still lowered.

"Aren't you a good-for-nothing child who knows only to eat and sleep? Look at the time, it's half past six already, do you want my baby to be late for school?" The lady yelled angrily at the boy.

"No, Mam. I'll go prepare him for school," the boy replied and ran out of the room.

"Hmph! Useless!" The woman spat and also left the room after dropping the bucket there.

Meanwhile, the boy hurried to a bedroom and went inside. Seeing the little boy who was still sleeping, he sighed and rushed over to the bed.

"David, get up, it's time for school," he said to the little boy who reluctantly got up from the bed with sleepy eyes.

Seeing how soaked the boy was, the little boy stood up with a frown on his face. "Big brother, why are your clothes and hair wet?" He asked.

The boy smiled and replied. "I was caught up in the rain while I was doing something."

The little pouted and began to count his fingers, when he was done, he pouted even more. "Big brother is lying! It is not yet the season for rain, you are lying again!"

The boy patted the little boy's head and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't lie again after this one," he said to him.

"Big brother, you keep saying that all the time but every time you lie!" The little boy complained.

"This is the last time, I promise you," the boy replied and stood up. "We are going to be late for school if we don't hurry up so come, let me wash you up," he said and took the boy into the bathroom.

After he was done bathing him, he dressed him and fed him breakfast. While the little boy had his breakfast, he would occasionally glance at the boy who was standing and waiting for him.

"Big brother, little brother is sorry," he muttered only to himself and rushed his food. After he was done eating, the boy changed his clothes as well and carried him to school.

After he returned, he met the woman and her husband waiting for him at the entrance of the house. Seeing them that way, his heart skipped and fear filled his heart.

"Fa—Sir, Mam, what is the matter?" He asked them in fear.

"Come inside here you little brat!" The woman ordered and stormed into the house with her husband.

'Am dead ' Was all the boy thought as he went inside the house with the couple.

Finally, inside the house, the woman forcefully dragged him by the ear and pushed him down to the floor.

"You little brat, so you've decided to be stealing from us, huh?" She asked him with pure hatred and malice in her eyes.

"S-stealing? But how?" The boy asked with a look of confusion in his eyes only to be flogged by a thorny whip.

"Shut up, brat! Are you saying that your mother now lies?" The man asked him as he raised his whip to flog him again.

"But I don't know what you guys are talking about, I've never stolen from anyone," the boy replied still confused as to what they mean by him stealing from them.

"Are you still lying to us?" The man yelled and began to flog him nonstop. Because the whip was made with thorns, the boy's body was filled with holes as his father flogged him mindlessly. He could only cry silently as his skin was destroyed by his father.

"Now, are you going to tell us what you did with the money? Surely, you won't think of lying to us, right?" The woman asked him.

"Mother, please, I didn't steal any money. I have never stolen before!" The boy replied, more of a yell because he was getting frustrated with their endless accusations. What is so hard in believing him? He had never stolen for once in his life and would never do it, so why can't they just believe him even if it's for once? "Mom, Dad, please believe me. I beg you, I didn't take your money," he pleaded as tears began to drop from his eyes.

"Don't ever call us your parent!" His father said with obvious hate and despise while the mother was glaring at him with disgust in her eyes. "We can never parent a cursed child like you. Do you know why? Ever since you were born, we have been passing through so many misfortunes! I lost my big job, your mother lost her business! Our big house was destroyed and most of our properties as well. We had to feed from hand to mouth and take care of you too, as if that was not enough, because of you, she lost all her pregnancies causing her to end up adopting David. Aren't you cursed? You were not meant to be alive because your existence is nothing but a threat to everyone around you and a curse to the people around you. Your birth was a mistake, get that into your head!"

"Father!" The boy yelled in agony as more tears flowed from her eyes. These words spoken by his father were the most hurtful words he had ever heard in his entire life. He remembered while he was still a baby, he was loved by them and also cared for. Until when all of a sudden, everything changed and the once lovely parents became his enemies. They would throw curses at him, drive him out in the night, won't feed him for days, and deny him an education. Yet, he still loved them until one day, he overheard a strange conversation between them about him — that marked the beginning of his hatred for them, not only them but for humanity.

"Honey, let's go. He doesn't deserve our time," his mother said to her husband and then they left after glaring hatefully at him.

The boy watched as his parents walked away like nothing had happened. He sobbed for a while and then stood up from the floor where he had been squatting, he checked his body, and seeing how he was covered in fresh bruises with blood everywhere, he began to cry again.

"Can't we go back to how we were living before?" He sobbed. "Even if the love back then was all a pretense, it was better than now. I just want to be loved, is it all that difficult? Perhaps, my existence is truly a threat and I'm a curse to everyone around me. I shouldn't be alive." The boy gazed at the room his parents went into and wiped his face. With only one thought in his mind, he left the house and headed for the roads.

Upon getting to the busy road, he walked to the center and lay down flat on the ground. Everyone was busy with their own businesses so no one had the time to pay him attention. As he lay down there waiting for his death, he had only one wish in mind.

' If I'm given a second chance, God, don't make me a human ever again! ' "Because being a human is the worst decision I made in this life."