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

Chapter 9

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

To say that Wei Wuxian was horrified beyond belief would be a great understatement of the situation. He could not believe what his eyes were seeing and had to blink a few times to make sure he was just not having some kind of a nightmare. Unfortunately, when he opened them again, he was still looking at Mo Xuanyu gathering his necessities in a hurry and turning around frantically in the small, filthy, run down garden shack.

It was not bigger than 2x2 meters and not high enough for him to stand, he could also not see any lights or a lamp in there, it was quite dark inside with no windows and only a little bit of light coming through the open door. The wooden construction would make it extremely cold in the winter and too hot in summers. There was only a filthy mattress on one side of the "room" and on the other side, there were nicely tidied up stacks of clothes, too little for the boy to be able to go through a week without washing them, and school books.

It was horrible, inhuman even and Wei Wuxian wanted to storm the main house and find the boy's guardian to give them a piece of his mind and take Mo Xuanyu away immediately. It was clear now that it was his relatives who abused him. He could not imagine spending a single day in a place like this, it was like a prison cell really, not a child's room at all. The boy however seemed not to mind too much. It really looked like it was here where he was forced to live, and for a long time at that, from the looks of it. He was completely used to it and he had not showed even the slightest bit of hesitation when avoiding the house and coming here.

How could it be that no one had noticed anything amiss until now? Looking back, it was so clear, all the signs were there, Wei Wuxian had just not paid enough attention to them. And he had been already teaching his son's class for over two weeks now! How many hardships and pain could have been avoided if he had noticed the warning signs earlier?

Wei Wuxian staggered a bit, completely overwhelmed and he had to steady himself on the door frame of the shack to stay upright. His knees were threatening to buckle under him and he could not let that happen, he would scare the child even more. Mo Xuanyu had already been on a brink of what seemed like a panic attack ever since he had woken up. And after seeing this, Wei Wuxian could hardly blame him. It was actually a miracle the boy was even as composed as he was under the circumstances.

He knew that he himself had had a much more violent reaction to his adoptive parents' abusive behaviour being discovered, he had though it was his fault and that he would be punished despite all the reassurance of the social worker dispatched to help him. It had been terrifying to be told to leave his family, he had never known anything else but that and the life on the streets and he had not had the slightest idea about what would happen to him.

He could imagine that Mo Xuanyu was probably feeling something similar. If the boy had never known anything else, he could be very well believing that his situation was normal and did not even know that it was not at all. He must be actually scared out of his mind about Wei Wuxian's offer – or perhaps an order to him for all Wei Wuxian knew – to come to his house for the week his relatives were gone.

He was actually relieved that they were not here, at least he would have more time to prepare the boy for what would inevitably happen. He would be taken away from his family which he could even love since he did not know they were treating him badly and he would have to accept help which he probably would find rather odd at best. Wei Wuxian knew from personal experience that he could even refuse to cooperate and demand, beg even, to be left with his family and with the life he knew so he would not have to live in an unknown environment and face new challenges. Although in his case it was mainly because he did not want to lose his adoptive siblings.

It was mortifying to be somewhere one did not know how he should behave there and with someone who one watched out for their every move, afraid of their reaction to basically everything. He knew and yet he had long understood that it was necessary. Even if the victim of abuse insisted they were not hurt or that they wanted to stay with their abusers, they could not be permitted to do so. Often, their minds would be clouded by emotions, be it guilt, love or anything else, and by fear. But in the long run, they always came to accept that it had been necessary.

Suddenly, the boy stopped gathering his things, there was now not much left in the shack aside for the mattress and a ragged thin blanket carefully folded on it. He wanted to cry realizing that all the boy's belongings were easy to fit in his school backpack, including all his study materials and school books.

He wanted to hug Mo Xuanyu so badly right now. Toi let him know that he knew about his situation and that he did not blame him for anything, that he only wanted to help him. But he had a feeling it would not be welcomed at the moment, he remembered how badly the boy flinched each time anyone tried to approach him. He was still just a small child and he already came to know so much misfortunes. Hell, he was the same age as his older son!

Even though he felt his heart was breaking for the boy, he steeled himself and smiled when Mo Xuanyu looked at him, most probably not knowing what he should do next. He looked so small, even in the tiny, dark shack, and so fragile with only his backpack in his hands. He seemed completely lost and it hurt to see him like that.

Wei Wuxian willed his smile to widen and he said with a fake cheer to his voice: "Is that all you need? If yes, we should go back. We can probably still make it for the cake."

He had to wonder if Mo Xuanyu ever had a cake in his life, or any good healthy food a growing child needed for that matter. When he had not had his jacket on, Wei Wuxian could tell that his hands were way too skinny for a ten years old.

The boy now seemed more surprised than anything and Wei Wuxian was glad for that. He could not tell if he was not imagining things but he believed there was the tinniest hint of excitement in his eyes as well; although there was still fear hidden deep inside. It was the best reaction he had seen the boy make all day. He turned around and led the way back to the car, determined to never let Mo Xuanyu return to this shack, to this kind of life.