Living in a Troubled Life

mikmws

Chapter 5

I haven’t even answered yet when he grabbed my hand and pulled me

from my seat as he ran towards his room. We went directly to his
art room within the room and as soon as he opened the lights, a
large canvass covered with a white satin cloth greeted me.

“Are you ready?” he asked me. I nodded in response.

It was when he removed the cloth that I almost dropped my jaw in

awe. Believe me, my shocked face wouldn’t even be enough to say
that I am beyond amazed by what he just showed me.

“This…” I said. I wanted to say something but I couldn’t even

make a sentence.

“Your face is enough, Pree. I know, you’re amazed, right?”

I nodded. He smiled.

“That’s why I love showing my artworks to you. You don’t

disappoint me with your facial reactions. If only I could take
all the photos of the reactions you make whenever I show you one
of my artworks, I could make a gallery out of it,” he said and
laughed after.

I squinted my eyes as I looked at him sideways. He just laughed

more when he saw me making that expression.
But still, I can’t help but admire his painting.

“Did I paint your face right?”

I looked at him, teary-eyed. He suddenly became worried when he

saw my eyes. “Why? What happened? Did I do something wrong?”

I shook my head. “Thank you,” I responded.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“You know you don’t have to be like that to show you sincerely
appreciated my work,” he joked which made me laughed. I wiped the
tear that was attempting to escape my eyes.

“But seriously, thank you so much. You don’t know how grateful I
am today upon seeing that you painted me.”

“Are you now getting dramatic, Pree?”

I laughed. This boy really hates being in a gloomy atmosphere. As

much as I wanted to be sincere and be a little dramatic, I just
let it slide, I’ll just write what I wanted to say later on.

Oxus painted my face using bright colors. I remember this style

of painting resembles Fauvism art.

“If you like it, you could have it,” he offered.

I looked at him immediately. “Really?!”

“Of course,” he said and shrugged. “I painted that so you could
have something to put on your wall,” he added.

I hugged him. “Thank you so much, Oxus!”

He hugged me back and patted my head.

“But you know, there’s more to it. My choice of colors is based

on how I see you as a person.”

I let go of the hug and looked at him, confused.

“What do you mean?”

He then explained how those bright colors reminded him of me- how
I could brighten one’s day, especially his day when he’s being
stuck in a gloomy atmosphere. He also used those bright colors as
he remembered how I was a little ball of sunshine when we were
kids, and how I was so jolly and so adventurous whenever we’re
together.

After the talk, we decided to bring the painting to my room so he

helped me to carry the painting and even insisted that he would
be the one who’ll attach the painting to the wall.

“You know what, if you weren’t my cousin, I would’ve thought that

you’re too fond of me that I might as well think you’re doing
this to impress yourself,” I jokingly said.

“Thankfully you’re my cousin, Pree,” Oxus answered as he ruffled

my hair before running towards his room.
He knew I don’t like it when my hair’s being ruffled or even
touched by anyone.

----------

“Hey, bitch. Wake up”

"Stupid. Wake up or I'll pour this cold water to you"

Am I dreaming or not? I was contemplating whether to respond or

not when I suddenly felt the coldness of the water that was
poured onto my body.

My eyes instantly opened and I jumped out of my bed when I saw

Aunt Lyn and Aria on the side of my bed, with Aria holding a
small pail. I could just guess that she’s the one who poured the
water on me. Now my bed is soaking wet from what she did.

“Come here,” Aunt Lyn ordered and I followed. Then she slapped my
left cheek very hard and covered my mouth using a crumpled cloth,
guessing that the cloth used was the cloth we used to wipe the
dirt off the kitchen table.

I almost vomit when I smelled and tasted the cloth, it looks like
it wasn’t washed after use.

Ah, yes, I remember. I wasn’t the one who did the dishes so the
kitchen cloth wasn’t washed.

Aunt Lyn pulled my hair and lead me to the basement. They were
careful enough not to make any abrupt noise so the boys wouldn’t
wake up. as soon as we reached the basement, they tied my hand in
a rope attaching from the ceiling and Aria locked the door to
make sure no sound will escape from here.

“I wouldn’t forgive you for humiliating Aria in front of her

brothers,” Aunt Lyn said. She went past me and I heard some
falling objects. When she gets back, I saw the block of wood
she’s holding, and she started hitting my thighs.

I screamed in agony, but my screams weren’t loud enough since

there’s the kitchen cloth blocking my mouth.

I tried to plead but failed.

I could feel Aunt Lyn’s irritation and satisfaction with every

hit that she makes, and the more she hears my cries and pleas,
the more she’s hitting my thighs and legs with much force.

Suddenly I am blinded by a light coming from Aria’s video

recorder. Aria is recording the way Aunt Lyn beats me and she
looks like she’s some sort of an announcer, reporting what’s
currently happening.

“You let my daughter fail in her English subject, Pree. It’s just
an essay and you can’t even give it to her?!” Aunt Lyn said
before hitting my arms.

I just cried and screamed to lessen the pain I felt but the pain
keeps getting back. After some time, Aunt Lyn stopped, threw the
block of wood, and Aria stopped recording.

“That’s a 2-minute video, mom,” I heard Aria said.

Two minutes? It feels like I’ve been punished for half an hour.
Aunt Lyn sat in a corner for a while before leaving. Aria then
released me from being hanged and allowed me to sit on an unused
chair.

She started massaging my legs and arms.

“You rest for a while before going back to your room. You’re too
heavy for me to carry,” she said.

“And don’t worry, I will send you the copy of the pictures and
the video that I recorded,” she added.

My tears continuously flowed down while my body felt numb from

all the beating I received. After some minutes, I requested to go
back to my room so she assisted me, helped me get up, and carried
half of my weight while going up the stairs.

As she helped me sat on my bed, she blamed me for what happened

to me.

"If you'll just do what you’d promise, mommy will not beat you
anymore. You shouldn’t also give further excuses to make your
mistake less punishable. Okay?" she told me before she left my
room.

I noticed that my bed sheet was changed that’s why it’s not
soaked with water anymore. Thankfully, at least they were kind
enough to change my bed sheets and covers.

Aria was nowhere to find, and I noticed that she forgot to close
the door. Now it's my problem how to close it.
After some minutes of thinking, Aria entered with a pale of water
and many cubes of ice. She slowly placed my feet on the pail of
water and drops 15-20 cube ice on each pail. She also wrapped my
swollen arms with a cold towel before leaving.

“Mom said you’re excused for work tomorrow since it’s weekend.
Just rest in here and don’t go showing yourself to Oxus and Toper
or you’ll face another punishment.” Aria warned me when she was
at the door.

She turned off the light and closed the door.

Oh dearest God, why is this happening to me? Do I deserve this?