All Men Are Not The Same

Words Hurt

"Good morning, mum!" said an all-smiling Maddox as he entered the kitchen the next morning and pulled a chair to sit down.

"Good morning, honey!" greeted Miranda in an awkward voice as the expression on her face changed and she quickly placed a handkerchief over her nose to let out a sneeze.

"Are you sick, mum?" asked Maddox in a soft and highly-concerned voice, giving a tender look to his mother.

"Just caught a flu, and feeling a bit feverish," Miranda answered while grabbing a cup to prepare hot milk for Maddox - her early morning routine.

"Mum! Sit down, I will make the milk myself today," said little Maddox, standing up to take the cup from Miranda. "I'm a grown-up boy, you know?" he grinned.

"My baby, you are getting needlessly worried," replied Miranda, "It's just a mere cold. Sit down, honey."

Maddox sat back, watching his mum prepare his breakfast - buttered french baguette with some grated cheese. Her sullen face made it apparent that she must have had another argument with Mr. Howard. I wish they would stop fighting. I wish that dad would treat mum right. Like everyone else's dad. Maddox's eyes rested on Miranda's face for some seconds, not blinking, wide open with hope - a hopeless hope.

"Three small spoons of milk powder, one spoon of cocoa powder, pour in the hot water, stir and your milk is ready my little prince!" said Miranda, stirring the milk which turned light brown - the only hot chocolate she could afford for her son when his school friends would go to fancy restaurants to have the best ones. As she lifted the cup of milk from the kitchen counter to give it to Maddox, it slipped from her hands and crashed on the floor.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed looking down regretfully. "I will make you another one. But let me just clear this mess before your dad comes. He might get angry."

Maddox felt grieved looking at his ill mother doing so much work while his ungrateful father never appreciated any of her effort. Her blank face was not looking its best without her smile. I need to think of one of my silly jokes to make her laugh.

"Mum," Maddox cleared his throat as the elders usually do when they start a serious conversation. "I have a solution to your problem."

A startled Miranda looked at Maddox blankly for a few seconds then asked, "which problem, honey?"

"I will bring someone to help you with your household chores," said the little boy as his lips curved into a smile making the dimple on his left cheek more apparent.

"You mean, a maid?" muttered Miranda. "We cannot even afford one. Your dad is already working so hard to feed us and educate you. We cannot burden him more."

"Why are you sounding so serious my sweet mum?" asked Maddox, "I was talking about a girlfriend. I will find myself a girlfriend and bring her here to stay with us and she will help you!" Maddox laughed, looking at his mum, eagerly waiting for her reaction.

Miranda raised her eyebrows in a mixture of shock and amusement. She started laughing at the thought of how funny her six-year son was. His words always sounded like those of a sixty-year old man.

"What are you people talking about?" asked someone in a loud and highly vexed voice.

As mother and son turned back, they saw Mr. Howard standing right behind them. He just came back home from his morning walk.

Both Maddox and Miranda felt intimidated by his tone of voice and could not utter any word.

"Girlfriend?" he questioned, looking towards little Maddox who was literally shivering.

"N--no dad, we...we were joking," explained Maddox in a low broken voice, silently praying for his dad not to blow things out of proportion.

"Joke? Stop joking!" yelled Mr. Howard. "Stop thinking about having a girlfriend. You cannot repeat the same mistake as me! Love ruined me. Today I'm broke because of this stupid thing called love. If only I obeyed my parents back then. If only."

Miranda listened to the hurtful words of her husband in silence, tears rolling down to her chin. She knew that those words were meant for her. For her to hear. For her to hurt. A six-year old would not even understand what they mean. Or maybe he could. Because her six-year baby was forced out of his childhood. At a time when his friends of the same age were being showered with love, he is being warned against love. Miranda clasped the pieces of the broken cup as Evan's words resonated in her ears "Love ruined me..."

Maddox saw her mother's hand bleeding and rushed towards her, but Mr. Howard did not seem to have noticed the blood. He plainly turned his back and disappeared, probably for several hours as he always did.

"Is it hurting mum?" cried Maddox.

"Not more than your father's words."