Chapter 8 – 1: Mother

  “CHI-CHI!!”

  Me and Laura sprang out of our seats after witnessing Chi-Chi's accident. We came rushing to him as fast as possible. But the moment I caught sight of his body; I was surrounded with the feeling of death. Not the death of my baby boy, but the death and colpse of my future. Chi-Chi was my whole life ever since the beginning. I could never foresee my life without him. And... Watching all of this py out... Made me remember the times when my baby boy was still... just my baby boy. Now, simply surrounded by the constant hospital beeping, only able to overlook my son, memories came flooding back even harder...

  “Mommy, mommy! Look, I drew you!” Chi-Chi came running from the dinner table to show me his masterpiece of a drawing. When I looked at it, I couldn’t help but smile, “That’s amazing, Chi-Chi!” I said enthusiastically, “You did such a good job!”

  My son started to giggle from my simple praise and went back to the table to continue drawing.

  Only 20 more minutes... Not enough time...

  “Chi-Chi, can you go to your room for a bit. Mommy’s cleaning...”

  “Okay!”

  He, without question, sat up from his seat and walked into the hallway, fading into the darkness around the corner. Once I was out of his view, I got the cleaning supplies out from under the cabinet.

  I started by bending on my knees and taking a disinfectant wipe out of its container to scrub the sticky termite infested baseboards back and forth, cleaning out the areas that were stained with food and liquid. After finishing with the baseboards, I took out the appliance cleaner and started to scrub the fridge, microwave, and pantry with a fibreless rag. I also used the rag to collect dust mites and the wipes to clean the dried milk and orange juice from off the chipped and stained granite counter tops and our beaten-up wooden dinner table.

  Before I knew it, the sound of the garage opening and our cheap Honda Civic pulling into the driveway entered my ears. I remember panic spreading all throughout my body and my nerves running cold, as well as my palms beginning to sweat. Thoughts rushing into my mind.

  Chi-Chi... It’ll be okay… I’m with you…

  Hearing the garage door slowly lifting, I rushed frantically, darting around in a blur, quickly reviewing everything one st time. Before I knew it, my breathing got heavier. The stomps of neglect filled the emptiness of every corner of the house. Each of them creating more gut-wrenching suspense, my heart pounded faster. Fear was binding me to the ground, and an unbreakable chain held me in pce as the door creaked open. Then he walked in.

  “H-hey h-honey how was t-the meeting...” I tried to keep a bright tone, smiling through the facade.

  “Oh, it went well, my darling... Quite well...” he closed the door behind him with a weathered suit thrown over his shoulder.

  Please don’t be like st time...

  “T-that’s good to h-hear” I sighed a shred of relief, waiting for his next words.

  He looked around, “Looks like you straightened up the pce. Thank you so much, darling...” he said in a thoughtful manner before pausing, “Now... where’s my son?”

  “O-oh, Chi-Chi? He’s p-pying... in his room.” I tried to conceal my uneasiness.

  “Hmm... Okay, I see...”

  He continued to walk around the house, doing his routine inspection. Then, he found his way to the kitchen. I kept up my happy facade until he gred at me with a death hungry expression, “What’s this?”

  “W-what’s what? Let me see.” I walked over to my husband, confused, and looked down inside the sink. My anxiety came right back as if I had been shot by a speeding bullet. Fear immediately consumed me once more. My dear husband’s face shifted from a smile into nothingness. Just a stare into the sink, analyzing his own reflection.

  “What is this?” he started off quietly.

  My bones tensed and I wasn’t able to think of an answer.

  “I SAID WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” I flinched as he screamed in an uproar, grabbing the attention of our son.

  “I’m so sorry, I must have forgotten it! Please let me clean it...” I bent over to take a closer look at what seemed to be a fork, and I picked it up.

  Wait... What’s the problem? It’s not dirty...

  “W-wait... What’s the matter?” I asked desperately.

  “WHY THE HELL ISN’T THIS PUT AWAY!!” he yelled, “I TOLD YOU TO CLEAN THE DAMN HOUSE!!”

  Fredrik, my husband, pushed me down, giving me a gre of disappointment and anger. I barely caught myself, almost nding straight on my head. My fear was immediately repced with despair. Memories of our past. Our normal past.

  “MOMMY!” Chi-Chi heard the commotion and ran out of his room, “Go back in your room, Chi-Chi... This is adult talk, me and daddy are talking, okay...”

  He stood still, indecisive about of what actions he should take next.

  “AWH GOD!” my husband yelled, “I TOLD YOU ALREADY, STOP ADDRESSING MY SON WITH THAT SNOT NOSE NAME!!”

  I turned motionless and became petrified. I gave my husband another smile while tears were actively streaming down my face, “He’s just a child...”

  “HE’S MY CHILD!!”

  “Fredrik, please... Not in front of the baby...”

  An unmerciful punch struck my face out of nowhere.

  “YOU’RE HURTING MOMMY!!” Chi-Chi came running to me, trying to diffuse the situation, “DADDY STOP!!”

  “Aww Chi-Chi it’s okay, I’m fine…” I smiled through the pain.

  “SHUT IT, BITCH!” Fredrik kept punching me. Then he started kicking.

  I couldn’t keep lying about the pain anymore. It was too much, “ARGH” blood started falling on the floor. Blood that came from my own body.

  “STOPPP!!” Chi-Chi pounced on his father and started biting him profusely.

  “YOU DAMN RUNT!!” My husband threw him to the floor and focused his attention on him instead of me, “that should teach you...”

  “FREDRIK PLEASE!!” I painfully dragged myself over to Chi-Chi. Even though my husband only threw a few kicks, it felt like my lungs had been ruptured and my bones had been broken. He spped my son a few times before directing himself toward me once again. Halfway to Chi-Chi, Fredrik kicked me again and again, “YOU PRINCELESS BITCH!!”

  “NO ONE’S HERE TO SEE YOU CRY SO THERE’S NO...” he charged up a kick, “POINT...” he bashed my stomach in with his foot, “IN…” again, he did it, “YELLING.”

  One final time, he stomped my breasts and pressed down forcefully, “GHH!”

  Blood came spilling out of my mouth.

  “MOMMY!!” I could sense his fear. His mother… Being brutally beaten right in front of his eyes by his evil father.

  Chi-Chi jumped on Fredrik one st time and punched him with his weak fists and kept biting him like he did a few seconds ago. Fredrik aggressively punched his face, almost as if he were trying to cave it in. He dropped Chi-Chi and then kicked him the same way he did with me.

  I remember wanting to die in that moment…

  All me and my son needed… was for my husband to get tired of beating the both of us day after day. I prayed that he would leave soon enough. But… my wish wouldn’t come true for another six years…

  “Mom, mom!” Chi-Chi jumped up and down joyfully, “Look! We’re finally here!” we turned the corner after a lot of walking. Seeing the sign of the brand-new stuffed animal store we’ve been waiting for must’ve made him get a surge of excitement.

  “You wanna go inside?”

  “Yes please!” he said with an innocent smile.

  I can’t believe he stopped calling me mommy... My baby boy’s growing up so fast... 7 years old already and just now calling me mom. It makes my heart ache...

  “Okay, but you have to promise you’ll behave.”

  “I’ll be good, I promise!”

  “Alright then.”

  We started walking inside. Stuffed animals on every shelf as far as the eyes could see, “Woahh...” Chi-Chi let out a breathless sigh of astonishment. Too cute for my heart to handle.

  Aww...

  “We can walk around until you find one that catches your eye.” he nodded, and I started holding his hand so he wouldn’t wander off and get lost, “Stay close to mommy okay...”

  “Ew mom, that’s for little kids...” he stated in an annoyed tone, “What’s for little kids?” I questioned.

  “Calling you mommy.”

  “What?” I excimed, “Who told you that?”

  “That’s what the big kids told me...”

  I told him “Well, the big kids are wrong...” as we stumbled upon a section of stuffed animals with different cute little doggies, cats, and other animals. Even I was mesmerized. A husky stuffed animal, a Doxen stuffed animal, a pug, a Shiba Inu, etc. If you could name it, it was there. Chi-Chi went from trying to be mature to being absorbed in his surroundings in an instant. He ran down the aisle back and forth, scouring to find something that grabbed his attention.

  Not so tough now after all... Looks like you are my son...

  “Well...” I waited for a response, “You want this?” he held up two stuffed animals and told me they were the most amazing and beautiful things he’d ever seen. I turned around looking at Chi-Chi's options and my face dropped. It was a decision between a seal or an ugly and cheap looking used naked mole rat stuffed animal. Even though he was smiling from ear to ear and clearly eying the mole rat, I wasn’t about to buy him such a horrendous gift, “They look... soo cutee...”

  “But... I don’t think you want this one...” I pointed at the one on the right, the mole rat, “It looks really used and dirty...” I made up a reasonable excuse.

  “What? Really?” he looked at the toy.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, alright...”

  Yes! I was not about to take that ugly creature home, I thought as Chi-Chi leaned over to grab another naked mole rat stuffed animal from the shelf. This time it looked clean and brand new. A big contrast to the other one he just asked me to buy, “Well... I do like the other one more, but what about this one?” he asked.

  “Mommy says no... I’m sorry...” I really didn’t want to have to burst his bubble, but that thing’s far too ugly.

  “What? Please!” he kept insisting.

  “I said no. The seal is just fine.”

  “Aww... fine...” he sighed, his words barely above a whisper.

  He glumly and reluctantly sat the mole rat back on the rack and started bowing to it like a Chinese temple god, “Chi-Chi what are you doing, silly boy...” I lightly giggled, rubbing his hair.

  “Just doing a goodbye ritual...” he started humming like he was doing Zen meditation, “Come on, stop it...”

  Who’s he learning this stuff from?

  “Okay, just hold on...”

  “Fine...” I sighed and gave him a few more seconds.

  Wait, how much is this thing anyway? I thought as I flipped the stuff animal over to see the price tag.

  I sighed and regained my composure, Anything for my baby boy...

  Once he got up, he waved the mole rat goodbye, and we walked over to the counter with the seal in his arms, “That all, ma’am?”

  “Yes, thank you.” I swiped my card as I responded to the cashier, “Thank you, mom!” Chi-Chi said with excitement.

  “Of course!”

  Chi-Chi’s hand still showed no sign of movement back in the hospital.

  Why’d I gotta go and this about that at a time like this…

  “Chi-Chi, please… Wake up already… You’re scaring me…” I cried under my breath.

  “It’s not fair… Why’d it have to be you…” Laura mumbled, her voice breaking.

  Eren, standing aside, asked if it was alright for him to stay, “Don’t worry about us. Of course you can stay, you don’t even have to ask.” I replied.

  “Alright…”

  “You know, Hai-Chi boasted about you a little, Laura.” Eren commented, Laura wiped her tears to clear her vision, “Really?” she sniffled.

  “Yeah… He was happy when you texted him back in the locker rooms. You must be an amazing girlfriend…”

  Laura’s eyes widened as she stared bnkly at the hospital bed. Almost as if she got startled, “sorry if...” Eren paused.

  “I’ll give you guys some time...”

  “N-no, it’s oka-” Eren cut me off, “No, no, don’t worry. I won’t leave leave, I’m just going to wait in the hallway for a little.”

  I mean of course I want to be alone right now, but I don’t want Chi-Chi's friends to be blocked out by my selfishness. But even so, it’s not like I can really protest for someone to stay if they don’t want to.

  My silence lingered in the room for a few seconds before Eren silently acknowledged my emotions and left, closing the door behind him.

  Right before he closed the door he said, “Oh, by the way, the game was held as a no contest...”

  “T-thanks for letting me know... I’ll let Chi-Chi when he wakes up...”

  I looked back at Laura, “Laura... it’ll be okay... My baby boy’s been through much worse, I promise.” I assured her, “I won’t let anything happen to him...” I said with tears in my eyes.

  “Y-yeah... you’re right... The only thing we can do now is hope and pray...” Laura told me, wiping her tears, attempting to smile.

  It soon began to get dark outside. Before we knew it, we had already spent over four hours watching over Chi-Chi. Laura had left about fifteen minutes ago for personal reasons. Eren stayed for two hours, and the three of us reminisced about our pasts together. I actually learned a lot about both of them during our chat.

  Eren was the top pick from his school and earned an athletic schorship. It almost felt like a cheat code, but I can’t exactly criticize. Still, even though he got that schorship, his grades were surprisingly subpar. It’s pretty crazy that someone could have below-average grades and still get a full ride to college. Eren also shared that his parents didn’t support his dream of becoming a professional soccer pyer. They were more focused on his academic performance. I can understand their perspective. Betting on your child’s future based on a slim chance of going pro is a big risk.

  As for Laura, her parents divorced when she was young, and her father left completely. She has big dreams for her future, just like Chi-Chi. There’s more to her story, but I can’t go into it all right now. I'm too busy holding back tears. No. I have to push through...

  They have far more in common than I ever imagined. Both had rough childhoods. Laura graduated high school almost at the top of her css. Not that Chi-Chi’s grades are exactly the same, but I’ve always thought of him as my little valedictorian.

  But now, sitting here alone next to my baby, I feel helpless. If this is his end, then my life will lose its purpose. The st 18 years would have meant nothing. I know he’s more than likely going to be okay, but... what if he’s not?

  I made up my mind the moment we got here. I’m staying right by Chi-Chi’s side tonight. I’m tired, but I’ll try my best to stay awake. I won’t leave him alone, not after everything he’s been through.

  The room was silent. No sounds from the hallway. The only sound was my light breathing as I slowly drifted off, almost at peace.

  What’s… that noise..?

  Laying in the hospital bed with my mom by my side was oddly comforting. I drifted off not long after the nurse came in, and now I’ve woken to the sound of her steady breathing. What happened after we met the other team? I... forgot.

  I wonder... what happened with the game?

  I turned my eyes around the dimly lit room, searching for something interesting to focus my eyes on. The faint outline of my mom asleep was all I could make out.

  This is all my fault, isn’t it… I tend to get worked up over the smallest things... I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again... Mom.

  My gaze shifted to something strange. It almost seemed like something out of a video game. I looked past Mom, through the small gap under the door, and saw a dark, yet glowing purple light from the other side of the room.

  What’s that...

  It was strange... as if it appeared out of nowhere. After a few moments, it faded. Then, I faintly heard a raspy voice. Someone in their forties, perhaps, “Hhuhhh… I can’t believe I’m back here again..."

  He sounds... kind of...

  He creaked open the door, peering in. He walked in slowly shutting the door behind not to alert anyone. He was a tall and muscur man but I couldn’t see him through the shadows formed by the dark. He looked at me and smiled. Then his boots thudded against the ground, as he walked to the corner of the room.

  He then stopped arriving at the back of my mother's chair. Then the tall, shadowy silhouette behind my mom spoke. “Hmm... I wonder...” he muttered, “Actually... never mind…”

  He raised his arms… I knew exactly what was about to happen.

  “HHRMM!” I tried to scream, but my voice was wrecked from the impact on my neck earlier in the field.

  GET UP! GET UP! DAMN YOU, HAI-CHI SAKKA GET THE FUCK UP!

  I struggled, trying to move my legs. It was no luck. I tried to move my arms. Also no luck. I couldn’t speak… This was it. This was going to be the end... of my mother’s life…

  “MMFH!”

  “NGHH!”

  “HNGH!”

  “MOM NO!” I tried to shout, but the words barely escaped.

  It was too te. The man brought his hand down and pointed at her heart. Then a little purple light illuminated at the tip of his finger. With a swift, calcuted hiss, the ser shot from his finger, racing to meet its target. A hole though her chest. Then she woke from her sleep due to the pain.

  Eyes wide, with fear and shock. She reached out her hand toward me. She tried to speak but just before she fell to the ground causing an end to her life.

  “HGHMMFH!!!”

  “Hmm... It seems we have... a witness...” he said, his voice cold, “No matter...”

  His boots thudding once again on the ground.

  “You’ve grown a lot since st i saw you kid.” he said calmly while still walking.

  Wha- what is he talking about.

  He walked toward the wall, and then behind my bed. The unmistakable sound of a plug being pulled echoed throughout the room.

  No... please... this can’t be happening...

  The beeping of the heart monitor started to slowly stop.

  Beep

  Beep

  ...

  Beep

  ...

  Moments ter... The heart monitor ftlined and the lights went out... instantly...