Chapter 29

"Esecleus! It's already 9 o'clock in the morning! Wake up. This kid slept late again."

It is Mom's voice! I'm sure of it, but... how? Aren't I at the University of the New Philippines? Weren't we having a special exam, so why am I here back at my parent's house?

What a surprise! I woke up back in my crappy room again, staring blankly at the ceiling while thinking about how I would avoid my bullies and how I will be able to live a peaceful school life.

Every day is torture to my existence. The only place I feel safe is inside this house where I am away from all the abusive hands and mouths of people. I did not wish to disappear. What I wanted was for everyone who had trampled my life so far and even got my parents into it to vanish from this world. Hell, I would wish for me to die!

"Esecleus!"

"I'm already up!"

Just a casual day for me and my parents. Another day in our lives where we peacefully spent our time together, happily sharing our thoughts while we became absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time.

Our house might not be grandeur or something out of a fictional story, a mansion, but I am grateful for what my parents could provide me. They don't lack when it comes to me. In fact, Mom and Dad always exceed my needs.

As I grew up, I slowly learned to appreciate even the tiniest bit of good deed done to me or a simple compliment. Hearing something good from someone can even become a core memory. Things like this will dawn on you as you age and learn more through experience.

"What time did you sleep yesterday?" Mom asked, nagging at me so early in the morning.

Well, seeing Mom's face does put a smile on my face. It felt like I haven't seen her for forever, even dad.

I pulled a chair and sat down with them, the pleasant aroma of garlic rice seeping through my nose. Mom's cooking is better than any restaurant out there. Even the food in the cafeteria has nothing to say about my Mom's skills. Although the food in the cafeteria is good, nothing beats her when it comes to cooking.

"Ahm, I didn't check," I said, scratching the back of my head, pretending I lost track of time. "Anyways, Mom, what date is it?"

"Huh? Why are you asking? Do you have an important thing to do? A date, maybe?"

Ugh! No way I'd get to the date, anyone! Mom is the only person that says I'm good-looking. Every child is handsome and pretty in their parent's eyes.

"No, no, no. It's just that I forgot to check, and I was so busy."

I left my phone in my room, and there is no calendar hanging on the dining room's wall. It's tiny enough for three people to fit a table and three chairs. Only a few decorations on the wall, a handmade straw hat, and some knitted tiny clothes for the baby. You can expect that those are mine.

Dad told me what the date was, and I was surprised to hear it.

Supposedly, today is the day after the special exam, and I am here back in our house, casually eating breakfast with my parents while I have no idea what happened back on the man-made island.

Confusion put me in a circle of thought, making assumptions in my head, which I actually have no idea if true or not.

I really don't know what is real or not anymore. It is like I've been living in reality, yet I feel like everything is just a dream. Is my mind actually deceiving me?

Slowly, while Mom and Dad were standing at the volcano's mouth, taking pictures and videos to serve as a remembrance, my body suddenly moved on its own, approaching my parents as I evilly laughed.

"No, no! Stop it!"

Even if it is not reality, seeing and feeling my body move on its own accord somehow made things realistic. It was like having a wet dream but what was happening was a nightmare.

[Too much happiness is not good for your health, Esecleus. You will lose people dear to you if you keep that joy inside!]

Yes, it is me. It is my hands that pushed my parents down the boiling magma at the pit of the volcano. I felt Mom's and Dad's bodies when my palm touched their back, and I corruptly laughed as they screamed my name on their fall.

"Esecleus! You are a demon child!"

"I should never have delivered you to this world!"

Nothing hurts you more than hearing those harsh words from your parents. I know this is not reality, but it still hurts when you hear it come from the image of your parents. Even thinking like it is them saying those mean things to you hurts, right?

It breaks my heart, sending a shiver to my body...

"Oh, I don't wanna see this anymore! Please, stop this immediately!"

I've watched it all. The voice was the one controlling my body, had my eyes opened the whole time, and did not even let me help them, even though all of this was a nightmare. I took back what I said. This is not a dream I created to escape reality but a nightmare constructed by the voice inside me that makes me suffer immense mental stress.

Tearfully, my restrained consciousness screamed through the eyes serving as a window to see what was happening to my parents. They were drowning and burning in the magma, crying in agony as they called my name and continued saying abrasive things to me.

Since it was not me who is controlling my body, I was just crying inside my head, agonizingly breaking apart as my parents reached out to me with their burning hands and flesh tearing off the bones.

[Are you liking the view, Esecleus? Kekeke! I specially made this scenario just for you. I've always known that you wish to climb Mount Apo, so I came up with this! Isn't this the best? Are you feeling sad now? You should be because I don't like it when you are happy!]

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