All Men Are Not The Same

The Stepmom

Maddox set his feet on a well-tarred path leading the way to a gigantic mansion standing majestically on a french-style yard. The two-storey building had huge arched windows and a front door which was large enough for a parade of elephants to barge in at once.

This house, in the center of the town, was the complete opposite of his shabby little house on its outskirts. This was probably the house which everyone would dream of. Yet, it did not seem the least appealing to the little motherless guy.

"Welcome home Maddox! Welcome to our new home!" Evan exclaimed, his gleaming eyes reflecting his excitement as he and Lydia were getting the bags out of the car.

"Home?" the frustrated little boy asked in bewilderment. "This is not home! Home is where my mother used to live." Maddox stood still for a few seconds, staring blankly at the building as he slowly began to understand what all this was about. They have moved to a new house. To Lydia's house. Lydia, that wealthy lady who robbed Miranda of her happiness. Maddox glanced at her with hatred in his eyes. Each of her smiles reminded him of his mother's tears. Each display of affection between his father and Lydia made Maddox's hatred for her grow deeper.

"Maddox, I know you will not feel at home here. But I promise I will do my best to make you feel at ease until the day you accept this place as your house, if not your home," Lydia ran her hand through Maddox's hair, giving him a tender smile and ushering him to walk to the house.

With an abrupt movement, Maddox shoved Lydia's hand off him and headed towards the house following his father who was opening the front door. This door did not creak. For years, Maddox was used to a creaking door, and it all felt awkward.

Maddox hated that he had to move to that house which belonged to the woman he hated the most, that woman who was his mother's culprit. But life gave him no other choice, he had no other option than to live in that same house which would keep scratching his wounds and on top of that he would have to accept everything as his destiny - his ill fate.

Why has life been so unfair to me? Why have I lost the two most precious persons in my life? And today, I have even been pulled away from that house which held my mother's memories. Her footsteps, her laughs, her cries, that house witnessed them all. Today, I'm here in a house which will only make me remember my father's betrayal. Why God? Why?

As they entered the mansion, Maddox walked to the nearest couch and sat down. He did not even notice the splendour of that huge house which was as beautiful inside as it was outside. From the expensive furniture to the refined architectural designs, all were promising Maddox a luxurious life. Yet, the little boy was sinking into an ocean of memories as rivers of tears overflew his eyes.

"Maddox, why... why are you crying?" Lydia asked hesitantly as, from the few times she has met Maddox, she has noticed that the ten year old lad barely appreciated her presence and hated her concern for him. She wish Evan was around to coax his son but the former just disappeared into one of the rooms of the house as soon as he got in.

Maddox did not answer but simply threw an annoyed look towards Lydia. The latter knelt down in front of the couch, looked at the little boy in the most compassionate way and said, "I know you are missing your mum. Maddox, you know, some pains are inevitable in life. But still we refuse to accept them. And trust me, it hurts more. All we have to do is to try to accept them as our fate. And try to let our faith be the cure to our grief."

Lydia paused as she felt like she was addressing a lifeless object who did not seem to grasp any of her words. But then she went on as she knew that Maddox must be hearing her, but he is only pretending not to. She just hoped her words could bring him some relief.

"Son, you see, death is an inevitable part of life. We will all go through that phase. We will all leave someday. I know that it is hard, I know you must be feeling so lonely after Miranda's demise, but I am here for you. You can consider me as your mother my dear."

She thought that these were the perfect words to comfort the crying child. But she was wrong and when she least expected a reaction, the little boy answered her back in such a way that left her grieved for days.

"Mother? You are not my mother! You are a stepmother! And a stepmother can never be a mother. The word mother is not even fit for you! I'd rather call you a step-monster. A monster who deprived my mother of her happiness, her rights and all! I hate you! You don't even deserve to be anyone's mother!"

Upon hearing the loud voices in the living room, Evan appeared out of nowhere asking what the matter was.

"Nothing Evan, Maddox is tired. Show him his room," Lydia said faking a smile to hide her sorrow.

Maddox was perplexed as to why the stepmother did not complain to his father about his behaviour. He expected her to tell Evan about his rudeness. He expected his dad to scold him to the pleasure of the stepmother. But nothing as such happened and Maddox wondered why.

It must be one of her plans. I'm sure she has something wicked in her mind. This is how stepmothers are. I hate her.

Maddox's hatred knew no bound, yet, he was too young to understand that there is always two sides of any story. He heard his uncle's side, but he ignored that of Lydia. Has he been hating the wrong person so far?