It was a scene you would expect on a beautiful summer day. The sky had a peachy pink color, which gave the clouds a vibrant, warm, yellowish hue. The setting sun had a more reddish tint, making it quite enamoring to stare at in contrast to the typical yellow ball of death.
The scene below was just as serene as the sky above, with birds perched up in the trees, letting their songs resonate in the air. Everywhere you looked, you saw people having fun. Some old people were sitting in their backyards having a sip of tea. Teenagers are enjoying a picnic under the rustling of the trees. What caught my attention the most, however, were the children playing in the park, all of them running around playing some sort of game, faces radiating contagious smiles.
I want to smile like that, too.
I was in the middle of walking home from school with my Mom and Dad. Maybe I was influenced by the smiles of the other kids, but I tugged on my Dad's sleeve, asking:
"Dad, can I go play with the other kids?"
He lets go of my hand and looks at me with a face I know too well, hands twitching. Before I could even prepare myself for what was about to come next, he reached for my ear and twisted it while raising his arm, forcing me up on my tippy toes to avoid being hung in the air.
My head started spinning, fear and pain consumed my mind. I knew if I didn't do anything soon, my ear would rip straight off my head. In an act of desperation, I grabbed his arm with both of my tiny hands and pleaded with him.
"DAD STOP IT HURTS!!!!"
I could feel the tears streaming from my eyes. My mind was spiralling.
It hurts, it huRTS it HURTS IT HURTS, ITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS ITHURSTSITHURSTSITHURSTS.
I don't wanna lose my ear, don't wanna lose my ear my eaR my eAR my EAR MY EAR MY EAR MY EARMY EARMY EARMY EAR MY EARMY EAR MY EARMY EAR MY EAR.
PLEASE DON'T RIP OFF MY EAR!
I look up at my father. It was hard to make out his face through the tears, but even then,I could still clearly see the rage. After all, I had seen it countless times before. His eyebrows creased in a way that shouldn't be possible, his veins popping out one after another, looking like they were at the brink of exploding. His very skin is in clear strain with the tension he's putting on it.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS, HOSHINO, JUST BE QUIET AND GO HOME!!!"
He let go of my ear and started walking towards the direction of our house again. I felt a little lonely because he didn't even bother to grab hold of my hand again. A sudden emptiness began creeping towards me, but was quickly washed away by a searing throbbing sensation in my ear.
I looked in the direction of my mother, in hopes of seeking some sort of comfort. The thought of having my mother by my side through all this filled me with a faint sense of hope. I looked at her expectantly, but what I received was a glare colder than the devil could give.
"Tsk."
Did she just… click her tongue at me?
She started walking in the same direction as my father, without a care in the world. I didn't know what hurt more. The pain my father inflicted on me, or the sheer indifference of my mother. I was left standing there alone, stunned. The distance between parents and I, although a few steps away, seemed insurmountable to me. I felt the feeling of emptiness slowly creeping its way towards me again.
All of a sudden, I felt pricks all over my body, almost as if an innumerable pair of eyes were watching me. That was when I suddenly remembered where I was and looked around. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. The adults stopped drinking, the teenagers stopped being obnoxiously flirty, and the children stopped playing. My heart dropped.
They all… looked at me. They had seen the whole thing. At that moment, it was as if the warmth of summer never existed, replaced by sheer cold. And that cold permeated my entire being. They all looked at me with the same gaze. Looks of concern, looks of fear, and worst of all, looks of pity.
The shame, the humiliation, it made me want to drop dead right there. But I didn't. Instead, I looked at every single one of them and put a smile on my face.