Chapter One-Dream Discovery

Elson

I was running around in that forest again. Though I know it was a dreamland, I still can't seem to shake that feeling off. Whispered threats still lingered behind my head.

"Abandoned!" That shrill scream hit my head as I swerved blindly, crashing into trees. I spin around, trying to get away from the voice inside my head.

"Loser!" I clawed at my head, drawing blood, trying to get that horrible itch off my mind.

"Worthless!" I don't know if I can take any more. "No I'm not!" I screamed, falling to the ground, awaiting God-knows-what. I don't believe in a God anymore. If there is God, I won't have to live like this.

"Prove it." I looked up to see a shadow creeping towards me. Come to me… child. Come to your maker.

It seems to be communicating with my mind without speaking. I was more curious that scared. It seems to have untold power. "What do I have to do?" I asked.

You will know…

I woke up, gasping, knowing that now the dream was over, I'd never get back to sleep. As I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, muffled shouting and cursing floated to my ears.

"You bitch!" my father roared at my mother. "Stop nagging me! Looking at your hag face makes me want to puke!"

"Shut up!" my mother screamed. "You barely gave me enough money to make ends meet! You're always drinking and gambling! What about Elson's school fees?"

"School fees?" my father looked up and saw me. "That worthless jinx is eavesdropping on us again." He stood unsteadily to his feet. "What need is there for an education? Your daughter is an idiot. She is a loser. She will never amount to anything. I won't spend my precious money on her!"

The words "worthless" and "loser" seemed to stab into my mind like the whispers in my dream. Is that a coincidence?

I can't take it anymore. Ever since my mother had a miscarriage of my brother five years ago, our family had broken up. My mother began to be depressed and barely talked to me. My father drank a lot and argued with my father. He blamed her for losing my brother. He hated me, as my results were very bad. I threatened to kill myself so many times, I lost count. Not that they will care. They thought me too coward to do the deed.

"Shut up!" I amazed myself with my shouts at my father. "Do not ever call me names. In three years time I will be a legal adult. For now, I'm leaving." I stepped out of the house without even bringing money.

"Scram then, bitch. Is that any way to talk to your father?" my father shouted hoarsely.

"Don't you dare call my daughter a bitch!" my mother screamed.

My father pushed my mother against the wall. "If you ever stepped out of my house, you are never coming back again. You're worthless, just like your mother. Fit for hitting only. You're a loser, Elson."

My eyes seeing red, I ran out of the house. My father followed me to the street. "Even if you come and beg me I will pretend I never had such a worthless

daughter!"

As I screamed at the top of my lungs, a tree suddenly broke and toppled onto my father. I heard the crunching of his bones, as crisp as the marshmallows I used to eat, back when my mother still served me breakfast.