NICK’S NIGHTMARE

Nur Hafizah Isnawan

AT MIDNIGHT
Nur Hafizah Isnawan
It’s already midnight.

By this time, most children would have gone to bed to sleep or have
their parents by their side telling them bedtime stories.

 1 
However, the commotion coming from outside my room made me
bury my head under the pillow.

My heart was competing with the ticking sound of the clock beside me.
I was not only worried about my safety, but the safety of Mum.

 2 
I heard her screaming a few times, and these questions raced through
my mind:

Why was Mum screaming?

Was she in pain?
Was everything okay?

 3 
Being curious, I went to look at what was going on in the living room.

I saw Dad. It had been a month since I last saw him.

 4 
I wanted to run and hug him. However, he was not looking cheerful on
that day.

What happened to Dad?

 5 
His hair was unkempt, with his beard covering his chin and mouth. The
shirt that he wore was a bit soaked and stained.

He raised his left hand and was just about to hit Mum, who was lying
helplessly on the floor.

 6 
“Mummm...” I cried.

Dad immediately stopped whatever he was doing the moment I ran

towards Mum and hugged her.

 7 
“Why do you stop?! Go ahead and hit me together with your son!”
threatened Mum.

Hearing that, Dad furrowed his eyebrows in anger and gave us that
warning look before he stormed out of the house.

 8 
“Mum, where’s Dad going? Is he coming back again?” I asked Mum,
feeling confused over what was actually going on in the house.

Mum did not reply. All I heard were her soft cries as she hugged me.

 9 
It was midnight. I was woken up by the commotion outside my room.
Dad came back home again that night, in wild fits of anger.

“Give me the money NOW or I’ll hurt you!” roared Dad in front of
Mum’s face, raising his left hand, with the urge to slap her.

 10 
“Why would I give it to YOU? All this while, I’ve worked hard to
support the family, but you’re just wasting your time drinking and
gambling. You don’t even bother to come home and take care of your
family. You shameless drunkard!” snapped Mum, bravely.

 11 
“Elisa, what did you call me?!” bellowed Dad.

“Yes. Shameless, lazy, greedy, dirty, old drunkard!”

 12 
The moment those words were thrown back at Dad, he could no
longer control his anger that had been mounting.

In a second, he used all his power and strength towards Mum, which
caused her to land on the cold, hard floor.

 13 
Dad’s rough actions scared the wits out of me. My heart started
pounding fast.

That was the first time I saw his true colours. It seemed like his kind
and cheerful demeanour were already gone.

 14 
Later, I witnessed how he dragged Mum by her hair into the master
bedroom.

Being timid, I just stood by the door while Mum was groaning in pain
and pleading Dad to have mercy on her.

 15 
However, Dad ignored Mum’s pleas. “You’re trying to act tough with
me huh?! Now let me teach you the HARD way!”

I was paralysed with fear.

 16 
However, my ears somehow could not bear to listen to Mum’s pleas
any longer. I knew I had to intervene and help her.

After all, she’s my Mum. All this while, she had been a caring Mum
and never had any intention of hurting me. How could I just let her
bleed in front of my eyes?

 17 
“Dad, stop hitting Mum!” I tried to stop Dad from causing further
harm towards Mum.

However, he pushed me hard, and I fell onto the floor. “Get lost! This
is none of your business! UNDERSTAND?”

 18 
I was stunned for a while, and my heart shattered into pieces the
moment Dad raised his voice at me and even had the guts to hit his
own flesh and blood.

Dad had completely changed. He was no longer the Dad I knew

before, but a devil hiding behind the mask of kindness he wore.

 19 
Dad quickly opened the cupboard and managed to steal some money
before fleeing from the house on that cold, bitter night.

Mum broke down profusely after seeing how Dad ran away with her
money.

 20 
  The Author 

Nur Hafizah Isnawan is a writer from Singapore. She has written some
short stories. Besides writing, she also has passion working with children.
Copyright © 2012 by Nur Hafizah Isnawan

All rights reserved. All enquiries should be sent to Nur Hafizah

Isnawan at missh_92@hotmail.com. More information on the cover
artist may be found at http://francescacanditoarte.blogspot.com

Cover Art: “The Moon” by Francesca Candito