I Deserve Love

MY LITTLE NEPHEW SHOGO

I was patching myself up in our bathroom. Our butler, NiTeru, was helping me. All of the maids and butlers pittied me. Anytime my father would beat me, one of them would tend to me faithfully. I used my hands to hold up my midnight black, bowl cut hair the best I could as NiTeru wrapped bandages around my neck were my father had strangled me. My skinny and weak pale arms had terrible, dark blue and purple bruises covering them. My chest hurt where I was punched, the force throwing me into a wall. "Young master," NiTeru started, cautiously.
"Hai*, NiTeru-San*." I could feel him moving behind me so I dropped my hair and turned around to look at him. He had a video camera in his hands. "We all hate to see you go through this day after day. So, today, when your father became violent, I recorded it. If we show this to the police in any of the neighboring districts, we can get you into a safer home. A home where you can be happy and live the rest of your years as a teenager should." He seemed to mean it, like he was very convicted. "What will happen after we go to the police?" I asked, my voice shaking a little. "You will be put in a temporary home until the government decides to send you, we hope, to your aunt and uncle in America." He answered, wrinkles forming on his forehead in tense questioning. "Will you and the others be okay?" I asked. After all of the things they have done for me, I can't just throw them to my parents. If father cannot abuse me, he might turn to them. "We will, we all have jobs waiting for us outside this district of Japan. I will drive you personally. We planned to leave when you did. We planned to pack our things and leave while they are gone." He seemed frantic at this point. I nodded shakily before he jumped up and said," Pack your things, I will tell the others," and ran out of the room. I emptied my school bag and stuffed the few clothes I had that were not suits and school uniforms in. I also had a stash of five books under the floorboards under my bed mat. I grabbed them and set them in nicely. After rolling up my bed and tucking it under my arm, I darted out of the room. I met Miwa-san, our head maid. She had long black hair that she put in two braids that dangled down to her mid-thighs. Her hair was greying, but her face was still very youthful. "Did you grab your things, young master?" She asked. I nodded and smiled softly," Shogo-kun*." Reminding her once again to talk to me as an equal. She smiled and lightly sighed in return like always. I hated that they referred to me on such formal terms like I have more worth than them.
She waved me to follow her and I did, swiftly moving down the hall past my parent's room. We reached our front door. It was a traditional, paper sliding door. After Miwa-san opened the door, we stepped out onto our, I guess now, my parent's traditional Japanese front porch. I followed her off of the steps and to the right side where a small, slightly rusty, light blue car sat. "Surely with how much my parents paid them, NiTeru-san could afford a more capable car?" I thought. The small trunk was open and I placed my bag and mat in the trunk, joining them with two small boxes. NiTeru came out with a small, black bag and placed it neatly on top. He pulled the trunk lid down and ran to the driver's side of the car. Before he sat in he looked at me, "It is time to leave, young master." For a second I didn't move, not really comprehending his words. I jumped realizing what he was saying and opened the passenger door, sitting myself in the seat. I stared out of the left side of the windshield, watching the others leaving in a frenzy with bags in their hands. Niteru-san backed the car out of the driveway and onto the small road that branched onto the highway. My stomach was twisting and in knots as we drove down the left lane. I looked out the window, trying to focus on something other than my fears. "What if this does not work? What if NiTeru-san, Miwa-san, Ayame-san, Asaki-san, and the others get hurt? What if nobody wants me and this was all for nothing? What if my aunt and uncle are worse? What if the children are worse in America and I receive worse bullying?" All of these  worries circled menacingly in my mind. I felt a soft, warm hand on my shoulder. I looked to my right, NiTeru-san's face full of kindness. "Everything will be okay. If you speak something into the universe, it will become so. So do not say this will end badly. Be faithful that you will recieve the happiness you deserve." This made me smile genuinely for the first time in a long time.

*Hai-When translated inti English means yes. When you are answering someone.
San- Is called a honorific. These are used when addressing people. San is used for strangers, adults, or senior citizens. It basically means Mr. or Mrs. without the gender differentiation.
Kun- is another honorific used for friends that are of the male gender. When someone is on familiar terms with a young male, they would say their nane-kun. Chan is the equivalent for females.