The legend of friendship: Never losing faith again

Chapter 19: Memories

Arvid laid back onto his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what he almost did to himself. Is it just me or am I going insane...? He thought, severely depressed. I............can't live without my family...........

...............................................................................Many years ago.................................................................

"Yaaahhh!!" The slave owner shouted, whipping the pour young adult. "Keep it up! I wanna see the field completely clean. Keep at it, Arvid, ya useless scum sucker!"

33-year old Arvid Williams Sr., alongside his wife and kids, have been cleaning a large cornfield all day and all night. Everyday and every night.

"Let's go, ya filth!" The slave owner ordered aggressively. "If the field is not done by tonight, all of ya will die!!" Arvid's eyes were filled with tears as his back was filled with bloody whip marks.

"Momma...." Arvid cried. "Help me, Momma!! AAAGH!!!" The slave owner whipped Arvid even harder.

"Your Momma is busy, Williams!" The slave owner said ruthlessly. "Now, hurry the fuck up with those damned fields ya bastards!! Let's go, let's go!" Arvid started to burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably and violently. "Aw, are you okay, little baby?!" The slave owner said remorselessly. "Are ya gonna cry?!" He whipped Arvid in the back repeatedly causing him to cry even louder.

Later...

After cleaning the cornfields, Arvid's Mother, Lila Williams, stitched up large cuts on Arvid's bruised back from the whipping. "AAGH!!" Arvid yelped in pain.

"Shh, shh, you will be okay." Lila said comfortingly. "You will be okay, son. It's over. We're done for the day."

"Mom... I'm 33 years old..." Arvid said, tears flowing from his eyes. "I don't have the need for childish comfort."

"You're still my son, Arvid." Lila said softly. "No matter what age you are." Arvid faintly smiled.

"Thanks, Mom..." Arvid stuttered, tears still filling his eyes. "I really hate this situation we're in..."

"I do too, son." Lila said, trying to stay strong for Arvid. "But, we have to do this as we are poor. Buy, no matter what happens, I will always be with you."

"............" Arvid didn't say a word as Lila continued stitching his back.

After Lila finished up Arvid's back, his slave master allowed him and his family to go home for the night. Arvid sat on a wooden chair, his clothes tattered and torn from work. He tried to hold in tears as his children were near. He had to raise his children on his own as his wife, Mary Williams, was killed by her slave owners. Arvid's children suddenly walked in with several bruises on their faces. They burst into tears as they came running towards Arvid and hugged him. He hugged them back, unable to hold in tears as well.

"Father.... Please help us!" His son, Jacob, cried. "We don't wanna be slaves anymore!"

"I'm sorry, my children." Arvid cried. "I cannot do anything about it... I'm sorry...!" Arvid cried as his children cried as well, knowing that they will be slaves their whole lives.

Midnight...

Arvid didn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling motionlessly into space. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. All he could think about was the torture he and his family would endure their whole lives.

Aroooooooooooo!

Something interrupted Arvid's thoughts. He got up from bed and looked out the window to see a white wolf howling at the moon from the woods. Anxiously, he closed the window and went back to sleep. Damn wolves... He thought. I have one thing to be afraid of. I don't need to be afraid of whatever else comes into my mind...

Crash!!!

"What the hell was that?!" Arvid cried, jumping up from his bed.

"Heelllpp!!!!!" He heard his Mother cry. He also happened to have heard his children and Father shout for help too.

"I'm coming!" Arvid shouted, bursting out the door and running downstairs to see his slave owners attempting to pull his family out of the house.

"Father, help us!!" Jacob shrieked. "Please help us!!"

"Let them go, you heartless bastards!!" Arvid shouted, as he dashed towards the slave owners only to be bashed in the head by one of the slave owners. He went dizzy and fell to the ground.

"ARVID!!!" His Mother cried. Arvid couldn't get up. Everything was spinning and spinning. Then, everything went black.

An hour later...

Arvid suddenly came to. He slowly got up and tried to remember what happened.

"Ugh... My head.... What happened?" He muttered, staring down at his tattered clothes. "Mom? Dad? Jacob? Joseph?" Joseph is his other son. He slowly walked around struggling to remember what happened. I need to remember why I was on the floor... He thought. I was upstairs sleeping and.................

"MY FAMILY!!!" He screamed, as he dashed out the door and ran like crazy fast remembering everything. "I'm coming!!" He remembered the only place he knew his family would be at: the cornfields where they always worked.

As he continued running, he found himself in the cornfields. The only things at the fields were several scarecrows recently put there. Arvid suspiciously walked up to the scarecrows noticing blood dripping from their necks. He stood in front of the middle one and pulled off its face. It was his Mother, Lila, now dead. Arvid stood back in horror and nausea. He pulled the scarecrow masks off the other scarecrows and revealed his family.

"NOOOOOOOO!!" He screamed in horror and distress, as he collapsed to the ground. "NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOO!!!" He pounded the ground violently ignoring all the cuts and bruises he's getting from that. He stood up and pulled the dead bodies of his children off their stands and cradled them in his lap. "My children... My Mother and Father.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

End of flashback...

It feels like it was yesterday... Arvid said, laying on the bed without moving a muscle. Why, God? Why did it have to be their time? Why now? Why ever? I hate everything....