It was a scene you would expect on a beautiful summer day. The sky had a peachy pink colour, which gave the clouds a vibrant, warm, yellowish hue. The setting sun had a 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. Some teenagers were 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 stopped and let go of my hand, looking down at me with a face I knew too well. His finger twitched. Before I could even prepare myself for what was about to come next, his hand shot toward my ear and twisted it. Gripping me by the ear, he raised 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, the world becoming a blur of pain and misery.
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 popped out one after another, as if they were on the brink of exploding. And his very skin is strained under the sheer tension of his wrath.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" he screamed. "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, since he didn't even bother to grab hold of my hand again. But those thoughts were quickly washed away as the searing throbbing sensation in my ear flooded my senses.
I looked in the direction of my Mother, hoping to seek some sort of comfort. The thought of having my Mother by my side through all this filled me with a faint hope. I stared at her expectantly, but what I received was a glare far colder than the one even my Father gave me.
"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 me, although a few steps away, seemed insurmountable—forever out of reach.
All of a sudden, I felt pricks all over my body, almost as if countless pairs of eyes were watching me. That was when I 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 were all… looking at me. They had seen the whole thing. At that moment, it was as if the warmth of the summer afternoon had been drained away, and the cold that followed 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 give up right there. But... I didn't. Instead, I looked at every single one of them and put a smile on my face.