Edicuis

Edicius

Edicius

At the age of fifty-five one can only take care of so much. Edicius became a disturbed kid after the death of his father. His mother worked day and night to provide him a better life. Nonetheless, he grew up to become an introvert who stayed in his room the whole time. He failed in his academics but was obsessed in creative writing. He started off by writing down the many bedtime stories his father told him. It did not take him long to start writing some of his own. He delved himself into music and painting. He was eloquent in his works.

Every night he worked on his novel, his first one. He called himself a writer even though he studied IT in college. He took this major to get a better job and let his mother retire early, so that he could take care of her. Edicius' mother loved him. She cleaned his room and did his laundry. He was her only son, and she raised him after her husband died of alcohol abuse. She was, in fact, growing more frail.

Edicius' became aggressive these days. He started ignoring his mother, or he was yelling at her every time she tried to talk to him. His mother distressed about her son's drug use and quarrelsome relationship with a girl.

Edicius fell in love with Hethna, who was a couple of years older than him. They were together for almost a year. He met her at a writing workshop. He later discovered Hethna's fondness for writing. She was a published author with decent popularity. Hethna was dealing with her own problems, and later Edicius hauled into them. She was in and out of rehab for heroin addiction. Hethna lived a troublesome childhood followed by many counts of incarceration for petty crimes. Edicius and Hethna were on and off in their relationship. He hated every bit of tension between them. They loved each other in the good times, but weakened each other during the worst.

Edicius and Hethna dreamt of a life together. He tried his best to get Hethna away from heroin but in the end, he took the fall. He dreamt of becoming a published writer. He longed for taking care of his mother her whole life. Now his dreams have dwindled. Edicius sometimes looked back at the day he saw Hethna. He pondered how things would be better if he hadn't sealed his eyes on a drug addict.

Edicius just stepped in from the front door. His mother threw an empty flask at him. "Son give me one good reason to drink eight, not one, not two, but eight flasks of whiskey" she yelled.

Edicius stood silent. He neglected her and walked straight towards his room. His mother was frightened about this. She did not want to lose her son the same way her husband died. Since Edicius' birth, she tried to give him the best of everything just to prevent this day. Today she felt her each effort went in vain. Seeing her son ignore her, she cried, and she shrieked at him until her voice desiccated.

That night she didn't sleep, she recalled the days of his childhood. How he crawled behind her whenever he was being mischievous. His apple red cheeks that caught the eyes of everyone nearby. His chubby hands were as soft as a fluffy bear, and his smile mirrored his father's. Her pillow soaked in tears, she crouched up on her bed and regretted this life of hers. This life where she lost her husband; her high school sweetheart. Now on the verge of losing her son, she wept all night and almost every night after that day.

Edicius heard his mother wail every night. The cries echoed in the rooms while he numbed himself over a dose of heroin and stayed silent.

For another week, his mother tried to talk to him. He didn't voice a word. He failed to show any remorse and pretended like there was no one else in the house except him.

The other evening Edicius came into the house high as routine. He didn't see his mother pleading him to talk like the previous days. Eerie silence took up the house; the dinner wasn't cooking, and none of the lights were on. He hesitated but still called out to his mother, "Mama, Mama!" even so, there was no answer. With every passing second, his high wore off a bit and fear crept up in his heart. He staggered down to the garden; she wasn't there. He called her phone. It rang in the kitchen. He checked each room before he opened the door to his.