Halo And Horns

Prologue: Envy

It was a day, same as any other day, for the 9-year-old Nick. The sun wasn't shining, the clouds gray up above, drizzling down onto the world, much like the young boy's life; gray and drizzling. He rather liked that weather though. He wasn't allowed to go outside so it gives him satisfaction knowing that others would also have a hard time going out in that rainy weather. Why can't he go out and have fun when everyone else can? He knew the answer to that question. Coming from a rich family, people thought he had everything. But that's not the case at all. Money doesn't make you rich. Money makes you lonely.

You have it all. You have all the money in the world so why don't you smile? It's more complicated than that. For a child to know so much about these things, it wasn't pleasant. No one really asked him how he was, because they all simply assumed he's doing great. You won't have to work a day in your life. You'll simply live off of your daddy's money, won't you? But what they didn't know, is that waking up each morning was a job in its own right. He didn't want to be alive. He was just 9 years old and he had already lost all meaning in life. His only reason for being alive? His mother. His sweet, caring, loving, crying, weeping mother.

The brakes screeched as the bus came to a halt in front of his school. Ah, the school! The front stairs, crowded with students and staff alike. The bright, different colors of umbrellas flashing past each other. He absolutely hated that place. He got bullied. A lot. He only had that one friend. But they rarely ever saw each other outside of class.

He got out of the bus and it didn't take long for someone to push him aside. Before he even realized it, he was lying beside the pavement, in a pothole, already soaked and covered in mud. Muddy water splashed onto his face as the rest of the students got off the bus and ran past him. He squinted towards the school and saw two older boys walking in, pointing and laughing at him. He knew those two boys. They had even stolen lunch money from him a number of times and he couldn't do anything about it since he was small and weak.

"Nick!" He heard someone call out to him from behind. He turned and saw a boy, dark black hair; blotted with tiny drops of water, some of it sliding down to his face. His eyelashes were dark and quite long as well, his eyes a dark green. "Get up!" he said, lending his hand down to Nick. Nick took it and the boy pulled him up onto his feet. This was Sam. His best friend. His only friend.

Then, a big, pink umbrella appeared over their heads, casting a great shadow down on them. Nick tilted his head up and saw a tall man, black haired with green eyes just like Sam's, holding the umbrella over them, smiling.

"Are you good?" Sam's father asked them. Yes, that's right! This kind looking man was Sam's old man. "Sam rushed right over when he saw you fall!" he told Nick. "You shouldn't let those boys push you around, Nick!"

Nick simply nodded then looked down, ashamed of himself, like he always was. Sam gave his father a tight hug around the man's waist and the man patted his tiny head then did the same with Nick before he walked away.

"Let's go!" Sam said, smiling broadly at Nick, holding the umbrella in one hand and the other hand hooked on the strap of his backpack. Nick nodded then followed him into the building which he so despised.

The teacher was furious when she saw him, dirty and soaked. She embarrassed him in front of the class, scolding him and calling him all sorts of rude names a teacher shouldn't have to call a student. He simply looked down and nodded as he listened to her harsh words and the laughter of his class. He saw the pitiful face of Sam as he made his way back to his seat and laid his face down on the desk.

The school day went slowly; his clothes dried on their own and he was shivering by the end of it all. The rain was now pouring heavily as he waited for his bus, which was once again late. Most of the students had left with their parents. In their lovely family cars. Sam had left as well with his dad. The old man had offered him a ride but he refused it. He knew what would happen if his own dad had found out he rode with someone else, so he just waited and waited. It took a whole hour for the bus to arrive. The rain had mostly stopped by then too. If he could walk the distance to his home, he would have.

"Oh, my poor child!" his mother had cried when she saw him, all dirty. "What happened?" she asked, with a look of worry on her face. He saw her eyes; they were red and swollen. She had been crying again. He couldn't make her worry more.

"I slipped while getting off the bus, mom! I'm alright." He said and gave her a forced smile. She gave him a look which was hard to read. Worried? Maybe, then she gently stroked her hand across his cheek and told him to get changed and to come down for dinner.

He walked up the stairs and into his bedroom. The walls were painted blue, his favorite color and unlike what most boys' rooms must have looked like, he thought, his room had no posters on the walls. It was just... really blue.

He looked at the mirror. He really was dirty. He had tried wiping water off his face and that must've been why he had dirt smudged all over it. He looked at his hands then; clean as a whistle. He must've rubbed all the dirt elsewhere. He turned away then took off his shirt and laid it on the floor beside his feet before opening the closet and rummaging through his clothes, thinking of what he should wear. He had a lot of clothes. Just what you'd expect from a rich kid, huh?

He pulled out a bright red shirt and saw the backwall of the closet and stood staring at it for a moment. It wasn't anything special, just a plain wooden wall. But Nick was a dreamer. He had always wanted a fake door inside a closet, to hide things and maybe even himself. Like how the protagonists from movies would hide their stash of weapons there. He hadn't seen a lot of movies though, but he loved action. He would always imagine himself in their place. Usually that's what he would do in class; day dream about being the star in action movies.

He heard the front door close and then, footsteps. He knew what he would hear next.

A scream.

It was his mom and it was just what he had expected. His dad was now home. He was probably drunk and is torturing his mother again like he always did when he was drunk. Unless, he had another woman with him.

"Please!" his mother was screaming. "Please stop it!" and she screamed again. Then Nick heard a loud slap. He shut his eyes tightly and bit his lower lip. He knew his father had hit her. He dropped to his knees and sat there, sobbing and listening to his mother weep and moan and the sounds of his father grunting.

He knew what was happening. He had seen it happen right in front of him. He had seen it happen countless times and he was still too weak to do anything. And even when he had tried to yell at his father, his mother had stopped him. Even after everything, his mother still loved the man. The disgusting, abusive old man. Nick was so young and yet had experienced so much tragedy already.

A lot of people are born into the world, live in it, and die after living long, without ever experiencing what he had to. He didn't remember being genuinely happy in his life. He didn't remember a time his mother had smiled from the bottom of her heart. All he remembered was that same thing happening over and over again.

He envied Sam. He envied Sam's kind father. He envied the kids who bullied him, for they had the luxury of enjoying something like that. They must not have felt what he felt, that they could enjoy someone else's suffering. Nick couldn't bear the thought of making someone else suffer. He only wished for one thing and that was peace. Maybe he would never get that. He wanted what they had. But not everyone had the luxury of being happy, it seems. Some people have to suffer for the others to be happy, it seemed like that was how the world balanced itself. So be it. Nick was always patient. He will wait through this tragedy and hope for something better.