Kael’s mind drifted into the depths of sleep, exhaustion claiming him as his body settled into a dream a memory long buried but never truly forgotten.

The air was warm, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and damp soil. Sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy above, casting flickering shadows over the yard. The sound of rustling leaves and distant cars on the main road blended into the quiet hum of a small town. This was when Kael was ten years old.

The treehouse stood proudly in the backyard, nestled among the sturdy branches of an old oak tree. His father, Richard, had built it for him one of the rare moments when he was a father, when he wasn’t otherwise absent. Kael sat on the tire swing, kicking his legs gently, letting himself sway back and forth. His small hands clutched the thick rope as he stared at the back of their aging house.

Through the kitchen window, he could see them.

His parents were fighting again.

His father’s broad frame loomed over his mother; his face contorted with frustration. His mother, Eleanor, stood with her arms folded, her expression torn between anger and exhaustion. Their voices were muffled, but the tension was clear.

Then, it happened, like so many times.

His mother’s shoulders slumped, her arms dropping to her sides as she broke down in tears. Kael’s swinging stopped. His small hands loosened on the rope as his stomach twisted. It was always like this.

He climbed off the swing and approached the back door cautiously. The kitchen was to the right, the door slightly open, and the argument spilled into the air.

“You always do this when you're back!” Eleanor’s voice cracked as she wiped at her face. “It’s not like I’m asking for much.”

“Much?! Much?!” Richard’s voice was sharp, edged with exhaustion. “How am I supposed to pick up the girl from kindergarten when I’m working three jobs, just so i can feed your damn scratch paper collection in the back of the drawer? Did you think i didn’t know.”

Kael froze in the hallway, just out of sight. He didn’t need to see them to know what would happen next.

His mother sobbed. His father’s voice grew colder. The same cycle, the same pain.

Tuning them out, Kael walked past the kitchen, heading into the living room, where the TV was turned up loud enough to drown out the shouting. His older brother, Devin, sat on the couch, staring blankly at the screen.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Star Trek was playing, same few episods.

Kael hesitated before speaking. “Devin, do you wanna play outside?”

Devin didn’t even look at him. “Go bother someone else.”

Kael clenched his fists. “Come on, you never do anything with me.”

His brother exhaled sharply, irritated. “Just shut up Kael and go away.”

The back-and-forth grew louder, his brother’s annoyance fueling Kael’s frustration. It wasn’t fair. No one ever listened. No one ever cared.

Heavy footsteps approached.

Their father stormed into the room, his face set in a thunderous glare that if it could, would set you a flame.

“Turn the damn TV off!” he snapped at Devin.

Devin’s jaw clenched. He gripped the remote. “I don’t want too! you guys are just gona keep fighting, so why dose what I want to watch matter to you!?”

Richard’s hand clenched into a fist. “You wanna talk like that to me, boy? You wanna be like your filthy-mouth mother?!”

Devin’s expression hardened. The challenge was silent, but clear. To Keal his brother never learned.

Their father unbuckled his belt.

The scene shifted. Suddenly, Kael found himself somewhere else, a different time, a different moment.

It was a school office.

He sat in a stiff chair beside his mother, her arms crossed, fingers drumming against her arm. Across from them, his teacher a tired woman in her forties sighed, her hands folded on her desk.

Kael recognized the day immediately.

It was the day of the fight, and the meeting that changed his future.

“Mrs. Aranthis,” the teacher started, her tone careful. “This is not the first time Kael has been involved in an incident. Today, he broke another student’s nose and gave him a black eye.”

Kael tuned her out, lost in his own thoughts, replaying what had happened.

It had started like what was to him every other bad day.

Kael had been sitting alone at lunch when Deren, one of the school bullies, approached. Mocking. Laughing. Pushing.

“Nice clothes, Kael. Did your mom spend her casino winnings on them? Oh wait you guys don’t win anything, do you?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. Don’t say anything. Ignore him.

Deren leaned in closer. “I heard your dad left ‘cause you’re too stupid to get good grades. I’d leave too if I had a kid as dumb as you.”

The next thing Kael knew. His fist had slammed into Deren’s face.

The boy had stumbled back, nose gushing blood.

The second punch had given him the black eye.

Kael had kept hitting until the teachers had dragged him off.

The teacher’s voice pulled him back to the present.

“…This behavior cannot continue.”

His mother, Eleanor, sighed, rubbing her forehead. “He doesn’t act like this at home.”

Kael almost laughed. That was a lie.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do with him. His sister is much better behaved.”

Kael’s stomach twisted.

The teacher continued. “His grades are slipping; his discipline is non-existent. If something doesn’t change soon, Kael, there is no future for you. And Mrs. Aranthis frankly I don’t see an academic future ever happening with these grades. It will be a miracle if he even finishes high school”

Kael stayed silent.

Then, the teacher turned to his mother. “Mrs. Aranthis, maybe you should consider preparing him for the military, so he can join when he comes of age. It might instill some discipline before it’s too late. I know a family that did that, and they swore up and down how that was a life changer for their son. They say that he went as an uncontrolled child and came back as a respectable man.”

Eleanor hesitated.

Then, slowly, she nodded.

Kael’s chest tightened.

The dream began to fade.