Varni

t w o

I hate Mondays.

If it weren't the start of a new week, maybe I wouldn't hate Mondays.

A new week brings new challenges.

New challenges bring pain.

And pain sucks.

Letting out a sigh, I slowly attempt to get up, but every movement brings out a wince.

It's hard.

Pfft. Who am I kidding? It's always been like this.

Taking two painkillers and swallowing them dry, I prepare myself and slowly head downstairs. It's five in the morning, and I have an hour to make breakfast for my uncle.

After an hour, I finally finish making scrambled eggs, toasted bread, and pouring a cup of coffee for him.

I wish I poisoned it.

"Why the grin, brat?" His voice startles me.

I lower my head, afraid of what may come next.

When did he come downstairs? Am I getting deaf?

"You disrespectful brat, answer me!" he shouts, grabbing my hair and throwing me to the floor.

"You're a waste of space, a disappointment. No one wants you, you worthless piece of trash." He yells, his voice filled with hatred.

As I lay on the ground, he kicks me in the stomach where I was already injured.

Fucker.

As he walks away, the front door closes behind him. I get up after full 30 minutes of not moving my body an inch.

And with that, I slowly go to eat his breakfast.

Jake is probably out drowning his hatred in alcohol.

VARNI

I should be at school today but with my injured stomach and my headache I wouldn't do any good at school right now. So I decided to stay at home and clean up instead. Unpopular opinion but I think cleaning brings peace. I mean it's such a vibe to clean up while listening to your favorite songs.

I'm a music addict.

I am surprised that no neighbor has complained about the noise of my uncles tv. I would have listened on my phone, if I had one. So tv it is, though I'm scared Jake might come any moment and throw a tantrum or something.

It's been two hours since I'm done cleaning, and 9 hours since he made a run for the alcohol. I've been sitting on the couch, after taking another two painkillers, and thinking about life.

My thoughts got interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

Huh?

Jake would never knock, he just comes storming in, not bothering to knock.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I slowly got up and headed towards the door.

Standing in front of it, I hesitated.

What if it's some of Jakes' friends?

I could-

"Police open the door!"

My furrow deepened, why would the police stand in front of the door?

What did Jake do?

Having no other choice, I opened the door. Two tall men in their uniformes were looking at me, pity evident in their eyes.

"Hey sweetheart, are you Yawa Varni?" I heard the blond man, on the right, say.

Being the mute teen I am, I simply nodded my head.

"Can we come in?" The other man with brownish hair asked.

I nodded again.

"Why aren't you in school?" Blondie asked, looking around the house, waiting for an answer.

But it never came, I just looked at him, not sure what to do.

"Can you speak?" Brown guy asked.

Happy one guy was smart enough to kinda figure it out, I smiled and shook my head.

"So you're mute?"

Nod.

The pity on their faces was back and I hated it.

Blondie cleared his throat before speaking, "Jake was found dead in a bar. We assume he hit the back of his head while he was drunk, causing a serious brain injury that lead to his own death. We are sorry for your loss kid."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

He's dead?

Is that it?

"We'll have to take you to the police station and run a DNA test to check if you have any relatives, who are willing to take you in. If that's not the case then we'll have to send you to an orphanage since you're only 15. Again we are sincerely sorry for your loss."

I slowly nodded my head, understanding half of it.

"If you're ready then pack your things and head to the car, so we can leave."

———

•FuFu