"It's a boy!" someone said.

I wake up and open my eyes to see a face I don't quite recognise.

I hear the sound of a door opening and look in that direction to see a dark silhouette of a man. I burst out crying after eight years since my mom died.

I had never cried since, then why now?

After all every single day that man who I called my father came through that door, beat me up and took my money to spend on alcohol, I didn't utter a single word.

I couldn't bring myself to, I had always been weak, I tried speaking up, once when he was beating up my mom whe she refused to give him money for alcohol.

--Eight years before--

"You won't give me you say?" said father. "It's yours? you live in my house and you think you can fucking live here for free?"

He punches my mother in the face and her nose get crooked with blood leaking out of nose.

"Have you lost your mind? it's for our son he's already seven he needs to start school now!" said mother with bloodshot eyes. "If you can't make money atleast let me save it for my son!"

He tightens his grip around her neck and is about to punch again.

I try to stop him by grabbing that arm of his with both my hands and cry with all my might.

"Father please stop!" I said. "Please! I'm begging you, don't hurt mom!"

He shakes me with his hands so hard I can't keep my grip and I get slammed into the wall, knocking all air from my lungs.

I try to breath but I can't, still in shock, everything's blurry and getting dark.

"Kevin! noooo!" screams mother. "I will give you your fucking money just let me go!"

Mom quickly takes out her purse hidden between the lumbar for cooking and throws his way.

"If you only listened when I asked none of this would have happened." He says and leaves house.

While mom comes close to me and quickly takes me in her lap and calls to me and asks me to breath slowly.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I listen to her and while my eyes are still blurry and slowly regain my breathing.

"Mom are you okay?" I ask "Why is he like that?"

"Don't worry about me," she replied. "Just rest here, I will be back."

She rests me down on the makeshift bed, and leaves out of home after taking some more hidden money from under the same bed and leaves out.

She comes back with some bread and one of those milk packed in paper like packaging that you are supposed to drink from a straw that comes with it.

She pours it down in a glass which only gets half filled. the she helps me sit down with my back on the wall, soaks the bread with milk and brings it to my mouth.

I eat it, it was so delicious like it wasn't supposed to be that delicious for just being some bread and milk.

"Mom you eat too." I ask.

"I ate on the way," she replied unconvincingly. "don't worry about me."

I believed her. I shouldn't have.

I wake up next day and my mom had died.

I cried and cried begging god to take me instead of her but to no avail.

then he comes In the house and looks at us.

"Oh, she died." he says.

I could not believe it, I wanted to kill him there and then but I couldn't bring myself to, I was scared.

He picked up my mom's body like a baggage and left.

I followed him to the cemetery.

"Go take that shovel and start digging there." he said.

I listened and with first shove in the ground, realisation struck me again at the thought of burying my mom, that my mom had died.

My eyes get wet and starts forming tears and with each strike in the ground my heart kept getting heavier and heavier.

This isn't real this can't be real, I will wake up any moment now!

He came and checked my progress, took the shovel and started digging himself.

I watched him dig, while crying near my mom who refused to wake up.

he buried my mom but didn't even bother to find a stone like every other grave had.

he folded his hands and prayed and I did the same while wondering is there some good really left in him?

Short story, it was a show to other people present nearby.

He then asks me to follow him and we reach a warehouse kind of place and he talks to a man there.

That man looks at me with pity. and ask me to come to them then he asks me to move some things from one place to another, while father leaves.

after I was done in the evening the man gave me some money.

"You can call me uncle Josh, I live near your home if you don't know me." he says while handing me money.

"Uh.. thank you." I reply.

He gives me some more money.

"Keep it hidden and don't tell anyone," he says. "I know what kind of man your father is."

I nod.

"You should leave now before it gets too dark," he replies. "I still have some work to do."

I nod again and leave.

On the way I eat some food with the extra money Josh gave me. uncle Josh?

Knowing very well what could happen with the money he gave me first.

I started calling him uncle Josh from next day.

Also that was the start of day when when father started taking my earned money every day.

--Present--

I was crying again while the big man approached me and his face got clear, A scary face.

But I got relieved know it isn't him and stopped crying.

"Oh it looks like he likes you, honey," the lady close to my face says. "the first baby to not cry seeing your face hahaha."

"Oh stop joking, all babies don't have what it takes," he replies. "after all he is my son, of course he is brave!."

What.