Exploring Horizons

This is my life... and this is how I live with it...

The soothing sound of piano plays throughout my room, a subtle and gentle sound caressing my ears. A personal heaven, a sweet escape, an enjoyable vacation... At moments like these, it's so good to be ali-

BAM!!!

I jolt to the hard, harsh sound interrupting the peaceful atmosphere, a sharp sword cutting through the clouds. As soon as I even get to look, I shut my eyes, knowing all too well what's about to happen. I put my forearms in an 'x' formation above my head, the glass bottle smashing against them. The shards cut my skin, showering my hair with fresh beer and glistening brown glass.

A big pair of hands wrap around my neck, tightly and harshly bruising my skin. Trying to conserve my air supply, I exhale as slow as my body will let me, given the situation. I slowly open one eye, making sure not to let any beer fall in, looking at who the culprit is, although I already knew who it was.

My dad.

A big man, no more than 40 years old. He has a bit of a beard... scratch that, his beard is raven black, you can't even see his skin. His skin is a creme color, with little black marks for hair on his arms as well as his chest.

A drunk man, he drowns his passion with beer, if that wasn't already obvious. His wife, my mom, had passed away a few years ago, 5 years ago to be exact. She died because of a cliff fall.

We were on vacation, dad just got a raise, and we went on a trip to the Grand Canyon. I had my red ball, I used to bounce it as many times as I could with my foot before it touched the ground, I could also dribble the ball, but I was in the mood for a challenge. I played a bit too close to the railing, but I wasn't paying attention.

My mom noticed and started walking towards me. Before she could guide me back towards a more secure area, I hit the ball up and I leaned back too far, my back against the railing. Since it was already old and rusted, the poles holding the chain up broke, the force of my fall proving too much to bear for it.

Time seemed to slow down, all I could remember was falling backwards, and being pulled. Next thing I knew, my face met the hard ground, and I scurried up, trying to see what happened. When I saw who took my place at death's trap, I immediately regretted looking.

The last I saw of her was her...

Falling...

My mother had her arms outstretched, wanting someone to save her. Her acorn brown hair flowing upwards, also wanting to grasp something for dear life. Her blue button up dress billowing against the wind, trying to slow her fall. Her eyes were slightly teared up, and all went silent, before she smiled at me, and I heard her as clear as day. She whispered these words to me from a place only a mother and son could hear.

"....... I love you... My son... My sweet baby... My baby Victor....."

I watched her... She fell... For what seemed like an eternity... I could hear her die, her bones crunching, echoing through the canyon, only making the moment even worse. The only thing I failed to notice was the way my dad was feeling.

Ever since then, he's changed. He used to always smile, always play with me when I was a kid. He was the optimist in the family, the one who you could look to for guidance, advice, or just someone to talk to.

Now... he's just a shell of his former self. He doesn't talk anymore, not to me at least. He goes out drinking every night. Some nights with his friends, other nights it's just him. The nights he drinks with his friends, he has a party, him being the host, they end up here.

And every time, without fail... I get ganged up on. I get beat down by three, sometimes four drunk men. They spout nonsense, calling me an animal, a dog, anything they can think of, really. But, in my defense, I don't want to have a dirty mouth, so I won't mention the rest. They usually go for my body, two of them holding my arms, while my dad beats the crap out of me, aiming for my stomach, occasionally getting my arms and legs with a knife, (you know, like the one Jeff the killer uses) he likes alternating between shallow cuts and deep gashes.