Reach (Gt)

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I shouldn't have asked.
My father watched as my mother beats me with a strip of leather again. I don't dare ask her to stop or even make a sound; if I do my father might step in to take her place. I try to be a good kid but I know I'm not. Why else would my parents beat me?
With one last strong swing against my back my mother stops. She's panting from the exertion of hitting me with the leather so my father steps in to speak.

"You are a bad boy and children that are bad do not get to eat."

He said with no emotion. He then guided my mother back into the main part of the house. I wish I was a good kid I really did and I try so hard but I don't know how to be good. My stomach cramps reminding of why I got beat this time. I asked for food I knew better but the pain was becoming unbearable again. I struggle to crawl back under the wood block that suffice as cover from insects and rodents.
I used to stay in the house but after accidentally waking up my parents they sent me out. I finally manage to slip far enough in to call it safe before I slip into a pain filled sleep.

I awake with tears in my eyes and a fog of confusion in my mind as to why. I tried to turn over and alarms of pain chase away the fog. I hold back a whimper and slowly but surely crawl out. I hope today I can be a good boy.
I get to the house and see my parents are very busy it looks like they are packing. I wonder if I'll be going with them this time. A long time ago my father had been seen so we had to pack up and leave. My mother and I stayed camped up for a couple days while my father left to find a new place. When he came back he, mother and I traveled to our new home.
My mother looks up and we make eye contact, I quickly look down. I'm not suppose to look them in the eye unless they say so.

"Boy get in here." My mother says.

I quickly move to the door and limp in. I ignore the pain rushing caused me to feel. My father grips my should causing me to flinch, he steers me to a stool in the corner. I sit and look at my feet. My mother finishes her packing and comes near me. She hands me a whole chunk of bread.

"Eat it sparely, your father has been seen and we are moving. You will be a good boy and stay in the walls."

"Yes mother." I say as I nod my head.

She stands there appraising my answer. I must of said it correctly because she turns around grab her and follow my father out the door. I guess she's going with father to find the new home and then they'll come back and fetch me and the stuff they hadn't back yet. I take a small bite of the bread and chew slowly so as to not irritate my bruised cheeks. I shuffle into the kitchen and put the bread in an empty cabinet. I sit next to it and drift off to sleep a little happy because mother didn't hit me when I answer her this time.

It's been a very long time since they left. I know because my bruises are yellow green now. I've tried to make the bread last but it's gone now and the pain in my tummy is back. I really hope my parents come soon. It's scary being alone and the human has been very loud. I guess father anger the bean as well as been seen too. I slowly walk in the walls trying to if my parents are coming. I packed up everything they left and even found an old pair of boots that kinda fit me. I hope there happy I packed up everything and they don't mind me wearing the boots. I picture my mother smiling and saying I look just like father in them. Then I picture father saying I'm a good boy for finishing the packing! I smile to myself liking that idea but as focus back to the walls I smell something delicious.

It took some time but I finally found what's the smell from. The human has left a plate on the floor, it has this white fluffy stuff and a dark brown liquid spilling over it. It smells salty and wet my lips thinking about how it would tastes. I slowly take a step out of the hole in the wall but halt. Images of my mother before she left telling me to stay in the walls and then the ones I created of my father calling me good boy. I can't go out there or I'll be a bad boy. I think of how I want to be a good boy. My tummy cramps and I realize that my mother is going to be angry when she comes back because I've eaten all the bread. My hopes of being good are dashed away with this realization. I start to cry thinking of how she'll beat me again. I try to think of how I can fix this, I stare at the plate again. There hasn't been any sound since I've stood here and the plate is on the floor so I can get to it. I picture how I bring home so much food that when my parents see they rush to me and give me a hug! They also call me good boy and tell me I can stay in the new house and help father find supplies and food now.

Smiling to my self I run out of the wall and beeline to the plate. I crawl onto it and edge towards the white fluff and brown liquid. I feel the warmth radiating off of it and the smell this close causes me to drool. I tentatively slip my finger through both and put it in my mouth. I hum in delight. I quickly repeat the process several time before I feel full. I decide now I'll take some back but realize I don't have any way to get any back to the house. The worries of failing here start to fall back into my head. As soon as they come the stop as a human door opens and shuts. Reminding me of the danger of being out of the walls.

The human's shadow creeps into the room right before the human does. He's massive as my eyes travel all the way up to his face only to realize once again too late that I've been spotted. I jump off the plate signaling the beginning of the race. I run straight towards the hole. I'm getting close but the human's shoe crashes in front of it. I veer away and see the book shelf. Make a mad dash I stumbled onto the bottom shelf, I look up and make eye contact again but I stumbled into the corner and thankfully out of sight of the human. Now that he can't see me I hope he'll go away. I grasp the thought that human is in fact a he and curl up into myself. My father always beat me harder than my mother and a human male? I wouldn't survive the beating. I watch as he turns and picks up the plate, I can't see what happens but I hear "tsk" sound. He sets the plate now on the very long chair thing. He then makes his way over to the book shelf. I watch in a trance like state as he kneels down. His eyes look across the shelf until they land on me. His hand reach out to me. I see every finger spread out as if reaching seeing which will get to me first. I can't think and can't bear the idea of a human punishing me. I shut my eyes right as the fingers curl around me. I try to struggle out of them but they quickly trap me in a fist. Panicked I twist and turn only to gasp in fright as the hand tightens more so around me.

I look up into his eyes. I feel them dig into my soul and squeeze it just like his fingers. I can't breath, I try very hard to take deeper breaths but I'm getting no air. I see black spots as I reach with all my might towards the hole in the wall wishing I never left. A picture of my parents smiling at me pop into my head before everything goes dark.