The Orphan's Way

- Fine ... I'll talk, but it's not a nice thing to hear ... so stop looking at me ugly like that. - said Renato who was being stared at by everyone else.

Being in seats in front of him, a young man looked sideways at the beginning of this story told by the threatened young man.

"What ... him too?!" thought Renato as Aren slyly turned his gaze to the conversation they were having.

- Already? What are you waiting for? - Glen said arrogantly as he ate some snacks.

" ... These bastards ..."

Near the border of Spain with France lived a young couple in an old apartment. They in the light of people's eyes were a role model, because they always behaved with integrity. Among them there was a child, the fruit of the love of that young couple and, although they had some financial problems, they seemed to love the child giving him everything he needed.

The child was now of school age and, when he went to school, it seemed to be one of the happiest and most entertaining times of his life, as he was able to see and play with the friends he had made there.

When evening came, the routine was the same. Being at home everything was a mess; dirt and disorder was the only thing that showed on the way; on the other hand, when arriving at the small kitchen there was an already deteriorated paper that said:

For dinner.

And a few euros were next to them, soon after, the boy was discreetly leaving his house and going to a convenience store where he already seemed to be expected by a young woman who was attending the store.

The two greeted each other as if they were old acquaintances, then the boy went to pick up some pre-processed food, paid and left the place. However, the look of sadness and resignation could be seen on the employee's face as she watched the child leave innocently.

Upon arriving home, that child would heat up the food, eat dinner, do some homework and go to sleep. Around midnight, the sound of people shouting softly to each other could be heard.

The parents of that child had arrived at their home.

The fight was because the mother was incriminating her partner of being unfaithful with a friend of hers. The man only commented that she was paranoid and that she did not fulfill her duty to keep the house clean. On the other hand, the boy silently tried not to pay attention to the screams that had awakened him. And between the sound of some things hitting the floor and apparently some banging, the child went back to sleep.

As had already been said, this was already routine in his life and he seemed to be used to it and so his days passed until one day, the boy returned home from school and upon entering his house he noticed the same mess; however, that day no money had been left for him to buy his dinner.

This, as opposed to expressing sadness at not being able to eat dinner, filled the boy's face with joy, for he knew that days like these meant that his mother would be home earlier and they would eat together.

The boy quickly went to the living room, but found no one; then he thought his mother might be in her room and, passing first through his own room leaving his backpack, the boy's happiness grew more and more.

When he reached his parents' room, the boy could notice the silhouette of a woman, but after a few seconds, the boy was speechless and stunned.

The woman was hanging from the ceiling with a rope tied around her neck. The expression on the woman's face looked like that of a dead man and her clothes were soiled with urine.

For the age of the boy, he could recognize what was happening, but his heart did not want to believe it. Slowly he approached where his former mother was, hoping that it was all a joke. However, the sound of the front door was heard to be banged.

The voices of unknown men calling the woman's name and making fun of her could be heard behind the door.

The boy was afraid, but the desire for company was stronger, so he opened the door. When this happened, a few men forced their way in, who, on seeing their appearance, were certainly of bad character. Those men saw the child and began to give him certain blows, for they were angry that he did not open quickly.

One of them asked where the woman who was his mother was; the boy, with a wild expression, only pointed with his finger to his parents' room.

Then, on his way to the place, another man told the boy to leave the house for a few hours unless he wanted to see how they were having fun with his mother.

Each time, the boy became even more bewildered; it was all happening too fast for him to process. The boy paid no attention and remained standing in the same place near the door.

Suddenly, an exclamation was heard from one of those terrible men who complained about seeing the state of that woman, but another one of them said that they could still use her, since it seemed that not much had happened since she died.

The comments and laughter of those men made the boy face what was happening. Immediately, the boy ran away.

That boy went where he usually went at that time, to the convenience store. There was that young employee who, upon seeing him arrive so hurriedly, became a little worried. When she got to the door, she saw the boy fall to the floor and begin to vomit.

This alerted the employee who took him to the staff room and tried to calm him down. A few minutes passed, just long enough for the woman to understand what had happened to the boy. Without hesitation, the woman called the officers and medical help who, after arriving at the premises for about an hour, spoke to the employee.

The child remained in the utility room being checked by medical personnel; shortly thereafter, the employee came in with an officer and tried to tell him that he was being taken to a child protective facility where he would be living as of today.

The boy wanted to ask what was going on; he wanted to be told that it was all just a bad joke, a bad dream. However, the shy boy fell down and nodded.

From that day on, he never saw who his mother was and did not know what had happened to his father. Some years later, a man with white hair and red eyes appeared in that orphanage looking for him; he was not an acquaintance or relative; just an interested party.

- And well ... that happened about six or five years ago, I think ... I will omit some details, but in general that happened ... - commented Renato indifferently.

The rest of the young people were shocked into silence when they heard that tragic story.

Even the passengers who could hear about it were disturbed to hear something like that.

However, Liam seemed to doubt that story, as it could be a pre-planned one, but, hearing the comment of one of the passengers who was talking discreetly with the one sitting next to him, he could hear him say - So ... that's the boy that the news told years ago ... ?

- Supposedly they found that the mother was a prostitute and a swindler. - commented the one next to him.

- Yes ... also the husband was an employee of a casino, they say he became a gambler after a month of working in that place. 

- Yeah ... and looking at him, that young man looks like he did in the video from years ago ... black hair, green eyes ... I heard from a good source that the kid went into the army or something ... but he's not dressed like a military man ... maybe he's lying.

While those guys were still mumbling, Liam recognized that Renato was dressed in officer's garb, which lent credibility to his story.

On the other hand, without requiring proof of the veracity of their story, Glen and Daniel were starting to sort of cry over those events that had happened to Renato.

Liam sighed.

- H-man ... what a story ... I'm sorry about what happened to you ... you know, I apologize for earlier ... - commented Glen sobbing.

- ¿?

- It's just... what Daniel and I did to you in the apartment... I apologize for that..." commented Glen.

- Y-Yeah ... don't worry about it ... just stop saying it like that.

- Sorry for what you had to feel ... it sure hurt, didn't it? - Daniel said saddened.

- Yeah, people ... don't say it that way. - kept Renato with a manly tone.

While they both kept saying comments that could be misinterpreted, in the front seat, that young man with long hair had been able to hear everything.

"So ... history repeats itself." thought Aren.

- So, did they teach you to fight in the navy? - Liam asked.

- No, it was in the army. Gajel wanted me to train for a couple of years there. - answered Renato unconsciously.

- ... I see.

At that moment, Renato realized what he had answered; then Daniel and Glen understood as well. The three young men turned their gaze to the boy who was reading a small book.

- By the mouth, the fish dies. - was the only thing that Liam commented without taking his eyes off his book.

A minute of silence followed.

- Well, who is next... ? - asked Renato