Silent Sal

Silent Sal

Written by Damien LeBlanc

Could you ever imagine the perfect life for a perfect boy? A perfect boy who was never satisfied or happy. A boy who had everything life could give you, but it was never enough. Do you think such a thing could exist? Because I'm pretty sure if I had everything I've ever wanted, a perfect family, a perfect life, everything I've ever dreamed of. I would be happy. But I remember the boys face as he sat in the back of the class, staring out the window. It was almost emotionless. His eyes were bloodshot red, as if he's been crying for days or hasn't got any sleep. Sometimes there's that rare moment where he'll speak to himself, but no words would come out.

Sal grew up the best way a child could grow up, his father would always take him out for ice cream, and bring him camping when summer would come along. Sal was a happy boy, always cheerful, and polite, he had a wild imagination, and was always scared of the monsters that stayed hidden in the walls. As he grew up, Sal would claim that the people in the walls would talk to him, but his parents would brush it off as if it was just a phase but then Sal became quiet. He never spent time with his family anymore around the age of 8. His parents remember the first time one of his cat's was dying and he took it outside, grabbed a pickaxe and stabbed it until it was completely dead. The bloody mess left them terrorized and they took Sal to see a doctor. They prescribed him medication, and his parents believed he took them every night, but he actually kept them in his hand and flushed them down the toilet. He didn't want his only friends that were in the wall to go away. Years passed and as the animals begin to pass away, Sal's parents begin to realized that it was much more than just a tragedy but Sal had been poisoning their food, allowing them to slowly start dying and then stabbing the animal for the pleasure of it. Sal was cursed with Schizophrenia and Insomnia.

His parents wouldn't do anything anymore because they didn't want him to spend his time in a mental ward, they allowed him to live his life, and tried to give him the best they could, but he was never satisfied. One night, the parents were found dismembered on their bed, with blood splattered across the walls, and 10 year old Sal crying as if he never did any of it. Which no one suspected him. They all believed he took his pills.

Sal was then sent to another home, and for the next 5 years, the parents were completely oblivious to his situation. He was always disappearing, and going to Farran tunnel. That's where he spent most of his evening.

5 years after the accident with his parents, Other boys in the class would harass him, calling him Sally and Silent Sal because of his use of no talking. But every time I would look back to see if Sal was okay, he would already be staring at me with those bloodshot eyes, and his lips tilted up in a smile. It was odd. He would always watch as thie boys taunt and taunt, as if he was planning something inside his head. A revenge.

Half of the school year consisted of this constant bullying, until one time, Sal screamed at the top of his lungs and begin to throw things at the boys and began to threaten them, he yelled over and over again, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you and you are going to regret this, you're going to regret this, die die die die.
It was the first time anyone's ever heard him speak and he was instantly sent to the office.

"Everyone likes you better when your silent, Sal." Said Patrick.

I remember looking over to Sal to see the old familiar smile. A smile that wasn't generous, but a wicked creepy.

Every single day, Sal would come into class and sit in the back, cracking every bone in his body throughout the day. He would constantly stick out his fingers, and wiggle them, and they would crack. He would hum a lullaby with just his lips pressed together in long or short hums. His black hair was never flat, and curved in many directions, his eyes were a natural green, but you could never tell, because you could've sworn his eyes were red. Sal from then on out, had gotten worse, creepier and creepier. He would constantly tap on his desk, or the end of his pen. He would have random lash outs and be sent to the office. His eyes begin to shadow over with dark gloomy eye bags. His lips became paler, as well as his skin.