He had been born into a world of shifting shadows, his retina imperfect and his irises pink. The boy had never known the blue of the sky or the green of the grass. Doomed to life in a world defined by hues of grey with danced like devils in his vision.
Albino they said as they pulled him screaming from his mother, hair white as snow and skin deathly pale. The other children had other names for it, bleached, flour kid and the worst of all 'the invisible boy'. He had spent days wishing he really was, if only to avoid their endless torment.
They were sitting at the kitchen table one day, the boy and his father. The room was a sallow blue, grime building up on the unwashed dishes left in the sink and an umplesent smell of mildew eminating from the walls. The father looked at his son, purple bruises flowering under his pale skin, a shocking contrast put there by the cruelty of children. The boy sat in a hunched, protective position groping for his fork and half-heartedly playing with his cold sausages. The father had been worried about him since his wife had died, he hardly spoke, had few friends and seemed to retreat further into his own mind every day. His boy wasn't how a ten year old should be.
"I'm going to take you to the city tommorow" stated the father
The boy made no inclination that he was listening, chewing half-heartedly with his empty eyes trained on the floor.
"We could go and watch the parade, would you like that ol' chap?" he continued "I hear they have a marching band"
Putting his fork back neatly on his plate the boy nodded vaguely.
"Good" grunted the father, satisfied with his reaction. He stood up, the chair screeching against the tiles as he pushed it back. "Thats decided then. Now, finished?" he asked looking at the boys dinner which was nearly untouched. The child nodded again. Sighing, the father took his plate and added it to the collection on the worktop, not bothering to enforce good eating habits apon the boy. Too many a time had he failed.
"Go get ready for bed" he said softly
Silently, the child padded out of the room, his feet bare against the cold floor. His father listened to him climb the rotting stairs, wondering what was to become of his small son.
YOU ARE READING
The Black Parade
FanfictionThe boy is ten when his father takes him to see the marching band. On that fateful day his life changes forever. Ten years later, suffering from chronic mental illness and heart disease, the boy is given just 2 weeks to live. Along with...
