35 TRAUMA II

"Auntie Meli, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Neon apologized profusely with his hands clasped together. He accidentally broke the plate while washing it after a meal. Emilia was angry and hit him with the broomstick. "Auntie Meli, sorry. I'm really sorry," he cried as he begged for forgiveness on his knees. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! Sorry?! Will your sorry help us fix that plate?!" She shouted angrily and hit him on his arm with the broomstick once again. "It's expensive!"

"I will glue them back. The teacher said we can stick things with glue."

"Glue?! Do you think glue can fix it?! Try it, then! Try it!"

Neon, with trembling hands, picked the shards piece by piece and he even accidentally cut himself. Despite the pain he felt, he continued to pick them but his slow movement angered Emilia even more.

"Get out! Stay away from me! Don't appear in front of me until I tell you so! Go!"

Neon stood up immediately and ran back to his room. He locked himself there and sat on the floor with tears falling down his face.

"Don't do you dare tell your sister that I hit you or I will break your arms next!" Emilia yelled and Neon flinched in fear. He could only endure the pain he felt and wash the blood away before changing his clothes. He can't allow his sister to find out that something happened to him.

This always happened when Belle was on duty.

Neon got bruises everywhere on his body and he started wearing jackets and pants more often than ever. Emilia's maltreatment against him worsened day by day to the point that Neon stopped smiling anymore – even with Belle around him.

Belle was also suspicious about it, thinking that her brother was bullied at school but his teacher said that Neon was very behaved. He rarely even played with the other students. It never occurred to her that the problem was caused by someone she trusted the most.

"Belle, can I go to my friend's house?"

Emilia's ears perked up and faking a look of concern, she asked "Why? Aren't you going to study at home?"

This question alone shook Neon already. He could tell the underlying threat in her words and he feared what she would do the most.

Neon didn't say anything and just nodded his head but Belle said he could go which contradicted Emilia's words.

"I'll drop you off at your friend's house before going to the supermarket."

Neon shifted his gaze between his sister and Emilia Berkins. The creepy fake smile on Emilia's face scared him. Even though Belle agreed, he already changed his mind. "I'll just study in my room. I remember that we have an assignment."

"Oh. That is sad."

Still blinded to the woman's fake kindness, Belle continued with her job not knowing the horror that her brother faced every single day when she wasn't there beside him.

From a cheerful child who often laugh and smile, Neon turned timid and introverted. He stopped playing with his friends and soon he started avoiding them. It wasn't because he didn't like them but because he would always be in pain when playing with them.

There were times that they would play tag and when someone pulled him by his arm, the bruises that he got from Emilia would throb. Sometimes, the recent wounds he got would reopen and his friends would worry that they hurt him. He felt guilty because their parents would scold them for hurting Neon even though it wasn't his friends' fault.

One night, Neon knocked on Belle's room and hugged his sister really tight. He didn't say a word but Belle felt that something was really wrong with his brother. She could tell that he was going through something that he couldn't voice out.

She hugged her brother back and kissed the top of his head several times. She wanted to make him feel that she was there for him, that he could tell her everything. However, Neon continued to behave timidly.

Three years have passed and Neon has grown thinner instead of growing big like the other kids of his age. He appeared malnourished even though Belle has done her best to provide for his basic needs. She even bought him vitamins and expensive milk powder for kids. She wanted the best for him. She just couldn't understand what went wrong.

Then, the worst thing happened that almost killed Neon. To escape the clutches of Emilia Berkins, Neon decided to go to his sister's workplace when there was no class. He promised to behave and with Belle's persuasion, he was finally allowed to come with her.

Sometimes, he would play with the sick kids so that they won't get bored. Other times, the nurses would talk to him to keep him entertained and they like him so much. Because of them, Neon started going back to how he usually was. He started smiling again but he hasn't laughed yet. At least, to Belle, it was already an improvement to see him like that.

However, Emilia got angry with Neon out of the house when he was supposedly home with her. She bottled up her anger every single day. Neon wasn't aware of it and he didn't care at this moment. He just wanted to stay with his sister whenever he could.

"Belle, I'd like to bring Neon to my friend's home, can I do that tomorrow?"

"Yes, ma. I'd be happy if he could take a break from going to the hospital with me. It's not always good for children to stay there."

Neon's hands were trembling under the table but he didn't show anything on his face. He didn't want his sister to worry about him. The next day, the unimaginable happened.

Neon was mixing his milk powder with hot water since Emili wouldn't make it for him. He wasn't sure if he was putting in the right amount of milk and water but he could taste it to know. The water was boiling already and he wasn't supposed to do this on his own without adult supervision.

Emilia walked to the kitchen and decided to make a cup of coffee for herself. As if a devil has taken over her body, the anger that she bottled up until this point made her act on impulse. She picked the whistling kettle off the stove and splashed the water on Neon who had his back facing her.

The child who was innocently making his glass of milk screamed at the top of his lungs in pain.