The Unfortunate Reunion

Chapter 1: The Unwanted Son

"Wahhh!!!! Wahhhh"

"Shut up, you little shit." Dad smacked me.

This scene was a common sight during my childhood. He would come home drunk as a lord, always having one half empty bottle of beer in his hand and the other empty ready to hit people that upset him. You could have merely crossed paths and he would hit you with so much strength it would stun you for a while. He seemed to hate me the most, constantly shouting at me when I did nothing wrong or if I were to simply walk past him without saying good morning or evening he would hit me using whatever was in close proximity. One time it got so bad i had to be sent to the hospital, only making his hatred towards me grow even more. I wasn't the only child though there was always big sis. She is the sort of ideal big sister ever, she is smart, charming and kind. She would always try to protect me from father when possible, help me with my studies when I had problems , play with me when lonely. We even had nicknames, mine was "little knight" because I preserve through tough times, and hers was "healer" because she would always help me through dark times. She was the only one that made living in that house bearable.

But all this about to come to an end. That day was the same as any other day me and big sis going out to play at the playground, me following mother to get groceries and father coming home drunk hitting me yet again. Mother had told me to go to the convenience store to go get the beer as we had forgotten to buy the beer for father. As I rushed off to get the beer mother and father retreated into the bedroom. The convenience store owner knew me and mother very well so when I asked for 3 cans of beer he immediately took it out and gave me some sweets on the side, saying to be safe on the way home. After I reached home, and placed the beer into the fridge. I stalked towards my parents bedroom to wish them good night. But as I overheard my parents in a very heated debate.

"Honey, you need to calm down. You aren't thinking straight."

"Oh shut up, you just do the housework and look after the kids. You don't help bring back the dough!"

"But....Dear.."

"I wouldn't give 2 shits about what you say we need to get 1 of those 2 kids out of the house! we barely even got money to live properly!"

Hearing this I inched back towards my bedroom but suddenly the door squeaked open, revealing father in his drunken state with sunken eyes and stinking alcohol breath.

"And it looks like I found the right child to throw out." he said with a condensing voice "And I sure am proud I made this choice."

A wide grin spread across his face, my brain was telling me to high-tail it out of there back into my room where I can at least lock the door and keep him out, but my body could not move, it was as if that grin had cause all the fibre in my being freeze in place keeping me from moving. I stared back into those empty eyes of his, those empty eyes that see no emotion, the eyes that watched me suffer. Then with the whack of his bottle, the ordeal ended.

The next thing I knew I was out in the streets, I stood up the grogginess still lingering in my head. l looked around, I wasn't anywhere I knew. It wasn't the school where the nice teachers were at. It wasn't the convenience store where i would go with mother to get father's beer. It wasn't the playground where me and sis would play at. It was instead a dimly lit road with barely any buildings. I was in nowhere.

I stared down at myself, i was wearing my PJ's my light blue long sleeve top with matching long pants. I had a little suitcase too. Inside was my favourite teddy bear "Mr sniffles" , some extra clothes, $50 and a small note from sis.

It wrote: little brother, Russel, I should have stopped dad why I saw you bring you out into his car. I should have run down there and block father from taking you. I should have pleaded with father to take me instead. But instead I let him take you away. I can never forgive myself, Please remember this Russel. always know that your big sis always will love and I promise I will find you one day Ok? so hold out until then. Be strong my little knight, love ..... (the rest was smudges )

P.S. I put in the note and "Mr sniffles" when he was going back to put the suitcase in the car.

As I read this my chest tightened, the wave of tears gushing down my eyes. I crushed the note in my hand, staring up at the now starry night sky. The stars looked so full of hope shining so bright in a sea of black, I raised my little hand trying to grasp the stars, trying hard to get the same hope they have. But the harder I tried to grasp the stars, the more and more distant it looked. Until finally I stopped, i stopped trying to grasp for hope. There was no more need for such a word anymore, hope had already disappeared the moment I was born. I stared down at the note sis gave me. "be strong my little knight.." I slowly said, I looked up once again to the night sky. I slowly raised my hand again but instead of grasping for the stars. I shook my fist, shouting as high as my lungs could go " I will become strong big sis just you wait."

As I screamed this I heard a loud thumping of boots against the concrete, as the footsteps got nearer and nearer my heart thumped even louder. By the time the footsteps came to a stop right behind me, my heart was ready to jump out. I slowly turned around, each seconds that ticked by seemed like an eternity. The moment I turned right around, the blood drained from my body, a shout stuck in my throat.

"Hello there, little boy."