Madeline's Boardinghouse

I

A tall, slender, man peered through the raggedy curtains that divided him from the normalities of society. He witnessed the sea of college students pour into the crammed corridors of The Paris College of Arts. The sight of human interaction was a blessing that monster who 'haunted' Madeline's boardinghouse could never have but so often found himself wondering 'What if?'

He wanted to be normal. To take courses as if he was indeed normal but normal? He was far from it. He touched the mask that covered the right side of his face. He flinched at his own touch as he remembered he was burdensome to all who looked upon his hideousness.

He owned no mirrors for fear he would take his own life if he saw his disfigured face once more. He hated to feel so unwanted even by his mother who owned the boardinghouse in which caged him.

'Mother' he hated that term. She was neither his mother nor his caretaker. She expected him to pay rent for scarring the other residents out of the boardinghouse. She was a very narrow-minded woman who taught at the college as a Voice instructor. She used to be a Opera Singer but fell pregnant. Blaming her son for her sudden career change.

He found it difficult to follow her demands of rent until he realized he had a knack for inventing and composing. He sold many inventions causing him to be quite a wealthy man but he dared not to tell his mother. She would as the Americans say 'not leave him with a penny.'

He looked around at what was branded home but never felt like home. The boardinghouse was a old brick mansion built with many different and secret passageways. Dumbwaiters, hidden doors, and underground passageways. He remembered as a kid his mother would lock him away and he would escape. He thought it was a game, he should've of kept such a naïve mind.