It was a beautiful morning, the rain stopped and the sun was slowly climbing but whatever beauty the morning brought was lost to the boy who woke up earlier with a severe case of headache and had trouble breathing. As each hour passed promising to be a great day, the boy's situation worsen. The irony was not lost to the boy who wished he did not eat his father last night. Too late now, he thought, maybe there is an afterlife after all and he will be with his father.
After a couple of hours, the boy's breathing became more difficult and the headache was getting worse. He was not aware that a couple of rats were starting to nibble on his father's remains and some were already sniffing his toes.
Suddenly, the boy's body convulsed and the rats were startled and run back to their nest. His arms and legs flayed and even his neck was twisting at an unnatural angle. Foam came out of the boy's mouth and as sudden as the convulsion began, it stopped.
The boy was not breathing anymore. He was dead. The rats slowly came out of their hole and sniffing the air, went towards the father's corpse and resumed eating.
One rat, out of curiosity went towards the boy who was lying prone on the floor. The rat was startled earlier when the boy convulsed and it did what most rats are good at - running. Now that the boy was still, it went closer and closer until it was sniffing at the boy's face. The rat took a bite out of the boy's cheek and having tasted that it was as good as the father, it went on nibbling.
The boy suddenly opened its eyes and saw the rat eating at his face. With a sudden movement, the boy bit the rat at the neck, its head inside the boy's mouth and squirming. The other rats saw this and run back to their nest. The boy sank his teeth deeper into the rats neck until the head was severed. The rat's fat body wriggled on the floor while the boy chewed on its head.
The boy stood up and walked slowly towards his father's corpse. He bent down and sniffed at the corpse. The boy not recognizing it was his father looked around. He was hungry. He doesn't have a taste for the corpse on the floor, he wanted something that is still alive. The boy stood up and started moving towards the noise outside.
The boy if it can still be called a boy, walked slowly towards the door, its hands at its sides and his face dripping with blood from the rat's bite. The boy bumped into the door but the door won't open as it was supposed to be opened inwards. The boy just stood there and bumped again into the door.
Outside, the sound of the door bumping was getting on the nerves on one of the boy's neighbors. Max's house was right beside the boys and he just got home after a night's work as a security guard on a bank. After his work, he and his friends went out to a bar and get drunk. Max went to the boy's house and stopped outside to survey the house. There it was again, the banging on the door. Frustrated, he went to door and knocked.
"Peter, are you there!", Max called out to the father.
No one answered, except for the banging on the door again. Max smelled like something was rotting and it was coming inside the house. He called again, "I'm coming inside to check if you're alright there".
Max slowly opened the door but someone bumped into the door forcing it shut. The door caught Max's nose and it hurt like hell. Frustated, he kick the door open and walked inside. The rotting smell is definitely coming from here. He started looking and saw the boy lying on the floor behind the door. He must've knocked the boy unconscious when he kicked the door open.
"Hey, John, are you alright?", Max asked while touching the boy's forehead. He jerked back when he saw the bite on the boy's face. "Shit!". he exclaimed. Stepping backwards he tripped on something and fell on the floor. He landed on something hard. Max turned around and saw that he landed on the father's legs.
"Oh, shit. Shit. Shit."
Filled with fear, he started going for the door but as soon as he sat up, the boy's face was near his. Studying him as if he was seeing him for the first time.
"Easy, John. It's ok. We will get help for your father", Max lied. All he wanted to do was get away from this house. The boy looked at him with blank eyes and Max can see that the boy's mouth have some blood on it. He ate his father. As soon as this realization hit him, it was too late. John lunged at Max with mouth wide open and teeth baring and that was the last thing Max,in his alcohol-soaked consciousness saw.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
In the beginning
The house is very small. Typical of the kind of houses people live in the slum areas in Manila. Less than 60 square feet barely enough for a single person, let alone two. It was raining outside so the window and door was closed. Puddles of water were on the floor coming from the holes on the roof but the boy did not care.
The boy just sat in the corner looking at his dead father. For several hours, the boy has been crying but finally stopped when sorrow finally gave way to hunger. They had not eaten anything for several days and the boy can't stand it anymore. He needed to live. His father told him before to do anything in order to survive as long as he did not hurt anyone.
His father is dead, he cannot feel anymore, right? Just a small part, he promised to himself and he will stop. The boy stood up and walked over his father. He bent over and licked his father's arms. Not good, he wanted to vomit. He heaved but nothing came out. The boy breathed deeply and looked at his father's face. He have to do this or he'll be the same as his father. Dead.
Don't think. Just do it and it will be over. The boy grabbed his father's arm and started to bite. The muscles were a bit stiff due to rigor mortis but the boy held on, sinking his teeth into the flesh. He chewed away a chunk of flesh and started gnawing. The boy gagged and threw out the flesh. He started crying again but he have to do this. The boy wiped away the tears and started biting on his father's arm.
The boy did not chew anymore, instead, he just swallowed chunks of flesh. He continued eating until the taste and smell does not bother him. Satisfying his hunger is more important than satisfying his palate and besides, he's beginning to like the taste of his father. He will not die. Satisfied that he has eaten enough, the boy slept.
The boy just sat in the corner looking at his dead father. For several hours, the boy has been crying but finally stopped when sorrow finally gave way to hunger. They had not eaten anything for several days and the boy can't stand it anymore. He needed to live. His father told him before to do anything in order to survive as long as he did not hurt anyone.
His father is dead, he cannot feel anymore, right? Just a small part, he promised to himself and he will stop. The boy stood up and walked over his father. He bent over and licked his father's arms. Not good, he wanted to vomit. He heaved but nothing came out. The boy breathed deeply and looked at his father's face. He have to do this or he'll be the same as his father. Dead.
Don't think. Just do it and it will be over. The boy grabbed his father's arm and started to bite. The muscles were a bit stiff due to rigor mortis but the boy held on, sinking his teeth into the flesh. He chewed away a chunk of flesh and started gnawing. The boy gagged and threw out the flesh. He started crying again but he have to do this. The boy wiped away the tears and started biting on his father's arm.
The boy did not chew anymore, instead, he just swallowed chunks of flesh. He continued eating until the taste and smell does not bother him. Satisfying his hunger is more important than satisfying his palate and besides, he's beginning to like the taste of his father. He will not die. Satisfied that he has eaten enough, the boy slept.
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