learn your lesson

Oscar always liked to walk around at night, especially after having a nightmare. At a certain point, he stoped going to his aunts room a started to just wander around the barn but on nights like this, when his uncle was staying, he has to be careful not to get caught.

But he wasn't careful enough.

"There you are you little devel!"

He made for his aunts room but he wasn't quick enough. His uncle Aron caught him just as he reached out for the door nob. "Em!" He tried to call before his uncle placed a piece of fabric around his mouth.

Dragging him back to his room, he held him down on his bed. Oscar tried to wriggle away but already the bonds were being tied around him.

Every time Aron caught him out at night, this is what he would do. Drag him to his room and tie him on his bed to make sure he stayed there. "Do you ever learn your lesson." He would say, while tightening the knots. He would come back in the morning to untie him. "Have you learned your lesson yet?" He would say. but Oscar was stubborn. He would always try to break free of the bonds. Try to call through the fabric for aunt Em. The first few times were desperate efforts that always turned out futile but after a while he began to get used to it. He was a smart boy. He figured that there must be some other way to free himself than just pulling against them. Perhaps A slip here, a twist there, and the bonds would slowly start to loosen.

He mustn't let his uncle know though, otherwise he would make it even worse. No, it just aloud to find a more comfortable position and fall back to sleep.

in a way, his uncle had been right. He did never learn his lesson but he had done better. He learned how to deal with it when it went wrong.