Grown to hate

Chapter 1

Light seeped through the curtains and hit a young boys eyelids. The boy turned to his side attempting to get more sleep. To his misfortune, a feminine voice had shouted "Breakfast is ready!" from outside the room. The boy opened his eyes and was welcomed by small rays of sunlight brightening up the dim walls. The boy groaned knowing he had to get up. The day before he had learned how to swim, the exhaustion of yesterday still lingered and he couldn't be as energetic like he normally was. The sound of the door opening alerted the child and he looked to see his mother staring at him. "I said I was coming mommy." Asta said hiding himself in the sheets. "I didn't hear you say anything." Said Licita. "I said it. Maybe you're deaf." The woman furrowed her eyebrows and walked towards the window. She aggressively pushed the curtains letting in all the light that penetrated. "That is no way to talk to your mother." Licita said firmly. Licita could hear Astas whines, she looked over to the boy and saw him hiding in the sheets. The woman walked towards her son and pulled the sheets off of him. "Can't I sleep for just a little longer?" The boy asked. "What's gotten into you? Normally you wake up before I do." "I'm soo tired." Asta complained. Licita grew concerned and put her hand on top of Astas forehead. "Well. You're not sick. Maybe swimming took a lot out of you. Don't worry, breakfast will give you all that energy back." She said. "But I don't feel like getting up." Asta said. "Come on. Don't be so lazy. How else are you gonna become big and strong just like your mother." "By eating and exercise?" Asta said, although it sounded more like a question. "Exactly." The mother answered. Asta sighed and forced himself to get on his feet. Although he felt lazy, going to the kitchen seemed easy enough.

In the kitchen was some old pots and skillets, two glasses, and several chipped plates. The woman couldn't purchase anything, so she had to find everything and clean them before use. Asta sat on his chair which was made out of wood. Licita had to get rid of the splinters just so Asta wouldn't hurt himself. Although Licita loved having her son explore, she was always overprotective towards him. She hated the thought of her son even getting a scratch, her son practically never left her sight. "Breakfast is served" Licita placed a plate of food in front of Asta and sat beside him. The two ate as much as they wanted. No money was being wasted anyway, although the woman still had to hunt for the food. Asta finished his breakfast and drank a glass of water. The boy felt the water go through his missing tooth and it felt a little weird. The boy took one more sip and started to push the water back and forth in his mouth causing him to accidentally spit some of it on the table. "Ew." Licita said. "Oops." Said Asta. The mother looked at her son who was giggling at his mistake. The woman sighed and only shook her head, she couldn't be mad at the boy. After all, today was a special day for Asta. "Never mind that, but do you know what day it is?" Licita asked. Asta cupped his chin and hummed. "Is it Tuesday?" Licita laughed hearing her sons response. "No silly, it's Friday. More importantly, it's also your sixth birthday!" She exclaimed. The boy jumped up from his chair and cheered. "Am I gonna get bigger?" He asked. Licita smiled and answered "Of course you will. It'll just take some time, but soon you'll be as big as me. Who knows, maybe you'll get even bigger than me." The boy jumped up and down due to excitement. Licita smiled seeing her son get excited over small things that didn't even matter. "For today, we can do whatever you want. I'll even make your favorite food." "YESS!" The boy shouted. The woman winced hearing the high pitch voice. She loved her son, she truly did, but sometimes his habits did get on her nerves. "Calm down now. Good boys don't get so loud." Said the mother. "Sorry." Asta apologized. "Don't be sorry my little baby. Just make sure to not always be so loud or else you might lose your voice." "I can lose my voice?" "If you yell loud enough then yes." Asta shut his mouth and stayed quiet. If anything, talking was one of his favorite activities. The boy couldn't afford to lose his ability to speak, even if was only a temporary problem. "You can still talk, but just don't be loud." Licita had noticed that her son was hesitant to speak. "I should probably educate him so he can get smarter." Licita thought. "Oh okay." Asta said thoughtfully. The boy was lost in thought, he stared at his empty plate and had noticed the cracks in it. The cracks had given him an idea of a certain place he had once seen before. "Mommy?" Licita hummed and looked over to her son. "Can we go to that big skull thingy today?" The boy asked. Licita thought for a moment and came up with an answer. "Only if you hold my hand the whole time. That place is dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt." The boy smiled and laughed. "Okay, I like holding your hand." "I can say the same." Said Licita getting up from her seat. "When do you want to go?" She asked. "Can we go right now?" He asked. "Of course we can. I'll have more time to make your favorite meal as well." Asta giggled and glued himself to his mother. "Where did all that exhaustion go?" Licita asked. "What's 'ekshoshton'?" The boy asked. "I mean, where did that tiredness go?" Licita rephrased. "Oh. I'm not tired anymore." The boy said. "I told you that breakfast would give the energy you needed." "You were right. Now I can do anything!" The boy exclaimed. Licita laughed hearing her son. She put her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. "Let's get going. We have the whole day to celebrate, so let's do as much as we can." "Yes! We're going to explore, play, and eat all day!" Asta said. "We'll do everything you like." Licita said. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Asta shouted. "Wear your shoes first, and then we can go." Said the woman. Asta looked at his feet to see he was still barefoot. He wiggled his toes and ran towards his shoes.

A nice breeze kissed the face of a gray haired boy. The boy was currently snacking on berries his mother had given him. Licita ran her hands through Astas hair while walking towards the large demon skull. "What are you going to do once we get there?" Asked the mother. "We're going to play hide and seek." The boy replied. Licita hesitated, so she said "Fine, but you can't go too far." The boy nodded, but was a bit disappointed by having to stay close. He wanted to explore the skull, but he knew he could do that later. "Can we explore the place together after?" He asked. "Of course we can. Just remember to hold my hand okay?" "I'll remember." Asta had finished all the berries he carried and offered his hand to his mother. Licita reluctantly accepted her childs hand, and the two strolled to their destination. Once they had arrived, Licita began to tell Asta the rules of what to do. "Remember not to go too far. If you get lost, stay in the same place and don't roam around; remember that mommy will always find you. Don't run, if you do then you could trip and get hurt. Make sure to not touch anything that's new to you, it could be poisonous. Finally, please stay safe okay? You know how mommy gets really sad when you get hurt." "I promise mommy." "Who's going to count first?" Licita asked. Asta raised his hand and started to shout "Me! Me!" Licita chuckled and had to agree. "Alright. Make sure to impress me with your counting skills." She said. Asta found a tree and placed himself against it. He closed his eyes and began to count. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five..." as the boy counted, Licita looked to find some spots where her son could easily find her. To her luck, she found a large boulder to hide behind. "Eleventeen. Twelve. Ummm. Twenty! Ready or not here I come!" Announced the boy. Asta looked around the area and saw that his mother was out of sight. He walked around in the general vicinity and heard some humming coming from behind a rock. The boy creeped to where the humming was coming from and saw his mother moving her head to the tune of her humming. "I found you!" Exclaimed the boy jumping on his mothers lap. Licita caught her son and laughed at his actions. "Why are you laughing?" The boy asked. "Because you're funny." "Can you make me laugh?" Licita grew a mischievous smile on her face and said "I can't, but the tickle monster can!" The woman began to tickle her childs belly eliciting laughter from him, Asta was a loud mess. Laughing at silly things was one thing, but getting tickled was the easiest way to make him laugh and Licita knew that. Ever since Asta was a newborn, she had figured out what the boy loved. After the tickling session, Licita picked up her son and kissed his face too many times to count. Astas giggles kept on motivating the woman to continue, but time prevented her to spend the whole time giving kisses only a mother could. "Alright, I think it's my turn to count." The woman said. "Yes. Count to twenty." The boy said. "Mmhm." Licita turned around and hid her face on the boulder. "One. Two. Three." As Astas mother was counting, the boy looked around and found a large tree to hide behind. He quietly ran towards the tree. The boy wasn't paying too much attention to where he was going, he only looked the see if his mother was still counting. As he was running, he had tripped on something or someone. "Ow!" Asta rubbed his head to relieve the pain and was surprised seeing a black and white being about his size lying on the ground. Curiosity had gotten ahold of the boy. He picked up a stick and began to poke the being. "Hello? Wake up please." The boy said.

Licita had just finished counting and looked around the area to find her son. She knew that he was told to stay nearby, so she looked behind everything she could find. The woman kept on looking, but couldn't find her son. Licita had slightly began to panic, but she soon heard him from a distance. "That's a weird place to sleep. Why aren't you waking up?" She managed to hear. Licita cautiously approached the voice knowing it was her son, but who was he talking to? Hoping not the harm the person who was asleep, she looked from a distance to see her son poking a injured being with a stick. Seeing someone so odd shocked the woman. "Asta! Stay away from that!" Shouted Licita running to her son. Asta looked up to find his mother glaring at him, he stopped poking the small being with the stick and asked "Why?" "Because that could be dangerous." Licita said firmly. She picked up her son and looked at the unconscious being one more time. "It's just a child. And he's hurt." The woman thought. "Mommy, won't he wake up?" Asta asked. "He needs help. I'm sorry Asta, but we need to help him. I promise we can explore tomorrow." Licita said. The boy frowned but then he looked at the dark being who remained unconscious. "Fine, but can we also go the lake again?" "Of course we can." Said Licita. The woman had noticed that the being didn't have any mana just like her son. She waved her finger and stored the being inside of a small bottle. The boy watched in amazement seeing his mother use her magic. No matter how many times he had seen the same spell, it never got old. "Let's go back home and patch him up. And then I'll make your favorite food. Does that sound okay?" Asta nodded and held onto his mother tighter. "Then let's get going." She sighed.