It was a scene you would expect from a beautiful summer day like this. The sky had this peachy pink color that gave the clouds a vibrant warm yellowish hue. The setting sun had a more reddish tint to it that made it quite enamoring to look at in contrast to the yellow ball of death it usually was for your eyes.
The scene below was just as serene as the sky above. The birds were perched up on the trees, letting their songs resonate in the air. Everywhere you looked was filled with people having fun. Some old people were sitting in their backyards having a sip of tea. There were teenagers enjoying a picnic under the rustle 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, their faces contained these radiant 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 Dads sleeve and asked:
"Dad, can I go play with the other kids?"
He let go of my hand and looked at me with a face that I know too well. His hand twitched. 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 to stand on my tippytoes to not be hung in the air by my ear.
My head started spinning, fear and pain consumed my mind. It felt like if I didn't do anything soon, my ear would rip straight off of 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 felt tears streaming from my eyes at this point. My mind was in a spiral.
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 looked up at my father. It was hard to make out his face with the tears in my eyes. But even with that setback, I could still clearly see his face contorted with rage. Afterall, I had seen it countless times before. His brows creased in a way that shouldn't be possible. His veins appeared one after another, looking like they were almost on the brink of exploding. The very skin of his face was in clear strain with the amount of tension he was putting it in.
"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 started creeping towards me, but was quickly washed away by the searing throbbing sensation of 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 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.