Happiness Campaign

The Nightmare of Banoy

"I have been talking to you since yesterday, but I haven't known your name. I think, we must promptly start our quest for happiness by introducing ourselves first."

"My name is Banoy, 11 years old."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's all I can say."

"How about a family? How about introducing your family?"

"You will meet them once we reach our place."

He stopped by a house that is bigger than a regular house in Planet Gioia.

"Wow! You have a beautiful house, a good home for a family," I exclaimed.

"Yes, but that's not a home," he bluntly answered.

"What?"

A loud noise was heard from the house, a sound of plates being broken along with endless shouting. I turned to look at the face of Banoy, but he didn't seem a bit scared.

"Don't be afraid because almost everyday they are like that. I can't even think why my family turned out to be like that," he explained.

He opened the door and we were greeted by pieces of broken plates on the floor. A middle-aged woman looked at our direction and walked towards us then suddenly, she grabbed Banoy by his left ear.

"You bastard! Why are you always coming home late? You are just like your father, a useless piece of shit!"

I saw a middle-aged man carrying a luggage; whom I believed was his father. He went straight towards to the door and left without even saying a word.

"Look at your useless father! One day, you will just end up being like him!"

Banoy didn't utter a single word, but I saw how devastated he was.

"I want to cry but there are no more tears to shed. If only my mother were here, maybe, we have a complete and happy family," he said wearily.

"Is that woman not your mother?" I inquired.

"She is the second wife of my father. My mother died as soon as I was born. She had a delicate pregnancy and on the day that she delivered me, she lost a great amount of blood which made her condition even more critical. The Doctor told my father that he had to choose between me and my mother. He chose me; that is why, my mother had to die in my place."

As the days passed, I learned many surprising things about Banoy. He said that his name meant "eagle", which is ironic because an eagle can fly and has the freedom to go to places it wants unlike him whose life only revolved around their house, the school and his father's bakeshop. His father was rich and he owned a lot of business firms. He never paid any attention to him since the day his Mother died in his stead. His stepmother made him work in the bakeshop early mornings before his class but she never gave him money. Banoy pays for his expenses in school using the tips that some customers gave him. For a while, I forgot all about my real purpose in visiting this planet.

After school, we usually went to Lincoln Park and played as if there's no tomorrow. People stared at us and laughed, and I thought I knew why. They couldn't see me, and they thought, Banoy was insane, talking by himself. I looked at him when he took noticed of them and he would say, "I don't mind them at all. You know, people are judgmental. They judge people based on how they see them without them really knowing who that person truly is. I'm used to it."