Silent and lonely world (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 1)

Chapter 8

Note: Child abuse in general and neglect are mentioned in this chapter, no explicit description though, please be warned and proceed at your own discretion

Also, let me make a disclaimer here. From here on out, the story starts to be a kind a fiction since in reality, child abuse is not being dealt with like I describe (at least to my knowledge), it is simply for the purpose of the storyline. Usually a team of qualified and professional expects from all fields is involved to treat the abused victim. While one can offer moral support and help, he/she should not attempt to deal with the abuse and the abusers by themselves. Abuse of any kind should be duly reported to relevant authority so the victim can get all the help, support and protection he/she needs. Abuse is a serious matter and always leaves lasting damage on the victim.

I have never found myself in a similar situation, nor anyone I know, so the details may not quite fit. I am sorry and I hope no one feels offended by my lack of knowledge. If you or anyone you know is being abused in any way, please do not be afraid to seek help.

Mo Xuanyu was still not sure if his teacher had seen his bruised arms or not. He had put his jacket on as soon as he realized that he was not wearing it but it was clear that his bruises had been in a plain sight for who knew how long. So logically, his teacher should have seen them and should have started asking questions already.

But nothing like that happened. His teacher only asked him what he wanted to do now. Mo Xuanyu was confused and scared out of his mind. He should have never come here; he should have never had fun watching the other children play happily. By all means, he should have already been home, sitting all alone in his shack in the garden and not even dared to think about any birthday parties or about making friends. Bad boys did not get to have these kind of thoughts.

So he asked his teacher to let him go home. Perhaps if he was to denounce himself, the punishment would be less severe than if his teacher was the one informing his aunt and uncle about his disobedience. So he shamelessly begged, not worrying about what the teacher would think about his behaviour.

He did not want this particular teacher punishing him for lying about having a permission to come, he had come to like him quite a bit. But there was no going around this. He was worried that his teacher would start to hate him now and would not be kind to him anymore, but it was still better than facing his uncle's and aunt's wrath should they learn about his behaviour from others. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope that they would never learn he had disobeyed them in the first place?

Mo Xuanyu's swirling thoughts were interrupted by his teacher's next question: "For how long you will be home alone?"

For some reason, he seemed worried about him and it was such a strange concept that Mo Xuanyu did not even know how to react to it aside for answering truthfully: "A week."

He could see his teacher frowning even though he was still smiling, now Mo Xuanyu really did not know what to make of this situation anymore. It seemed however that his teacher did not like his answer.

"You cannot stay home alone for such a long time; you are still too young to take care of yourself without having a guardian around." There was a short pause and then his teacher suggested something utterly shocking and unheard of: "You should stay here with us until your aunt and uncle come back. What do you say?"

Mo Xuanyu got more terrified than ever. He knew he was supposed to listen to teachers at his school and to do everything they asked him to. But his aunt and uncle had also explicitly said that he should stay home and not go out, unless it was for school. Those two orders were now going against each other and Mo Xuanyu was having a hard time deciding which he should break and which consequences would be less painful.

In the end, it seemed like his teacher had decided for him when he cheerfully prompted him: "It is decided then! You will stay with us for the week, Mo Xuanyu. Let us go, we need to fetch your things so you would feel more comfortable here. I promise, we will make you feel at home."

Mo Xuanyu wanted to start protesting, but no words left his mouth. He should not impose on his teacher's family like this. On the other hand, it was the teacher himself who told him to stay and he was supposed to listen to teachers. He really did not know how to react anymore. He had never stayed with anyone aside for his current family, this birthday party was actually the first visit to another's house as far as he could remember. So he did not even know how he was supposed to behave in order not to offend or burden his nice teacher.

It would be fine however, he should just do the same as he would have in his own house. He would stay out of his teacher's family's way and he would try his best to behave like a good boy although he knew already that for him, it was impossible. Somehow, the last sentence his teacher had said sounded like a threat to him if he was to behave badly.

It could have been just a pleasant phrase that was used often in welcoming someone in their home but to Mo Xuanyu, it sounded like a death sentence. He could take a beating out of his teacher's hands, that was fine with him. But he was afraid he would not be able to look at the other in the same way if he was to suffer the same punishment as his cousin used to inflict on him from his favourite teacher's hands.

No, he should not start questioning the directions he had been given, not when his teacher had already stood up and was waiting for him in front of the door, apparently prepared to leave right at that moment. Mo Xuanyu got up slowly, he did not want to irritate the injuries in his backside, not when they had finally stopped bleeding, and joined his teacher, his head hidden low between his shoulders. He felt bad for the troubles he had caused just because he had been curious and wanted to see a true birthday party with his own eyes for once in his life.

The teacher smiled at him again and asked: "Are you ready?"

There was nothing else Mo Xuanyu could do but nod. The teacher smiled ever more brightly and for a few minutes, he felt like everything was alright, like was safe. He barely noticed that he had been put into a car and that they were already on their way. Mo Xuanyu had driven in a car only a handful of times in his live and he was in awe. It was a little confusing at first to guide his teacher to his house but he had managed in the end.

His teacher had said that he should take all necessities for the week so Mo Xuanyu headed to his shack in the garden instead of going to the main house. None of his things were inside so there was no point in going there. Once he was in his room as his aunt, uncle and cousin like to call the small garden house big enough for a worn out mattress to be put down on one side and two meters of free space for his everyday life on the other.

It was small and run down, but it was the only place where he actually felt save. No one came to bother him here, danger only lurked where his family was staying. The only inconvenience was when he needed to use the bathroom and had to either go into the main house or use the garden hose. But that was a small price to pay for a bit of privacy and his own space.

"This is your room?" his teacher asked with a curious undertone to his voice which Mo Xuanyu could not really tell what it was.

He only nodded in response absentmindedly as he was now gathering his things as quickly as he possibly could. He did not want to inconvenience his teacher any more than he already had. He had only a vague idea about what to take with him, he had never stayed in another house for such a long period of time. But he supposed it would be fine to just take everything he usually used during a week, it was not much anyway.

He quickly packed everything into his school bag which he luckily did not forget to take with him and he was ready to go. He turned towards his teacher and waited for him to tell him what to do next. This was a completely new situation and he needed to be told what was expected of him, he did not want to disappoint his teacher even before actually making it back to his house.

Then again, perhaps it would not be such a bad thing either way. His teacher would only tell him he should stay home after all and that would be fine. He would be able to obey both his uncle's and aunt's commands and he would not be so torn between them that he could barely breathe and his heart was trying to get out of his chest with how frantically it was beating.