The Tragic Childhood of Caledon Hockley

November 24, 1889

A mini short, seven year old Caledon Hockley came running from out the woods, his black child-sized overalls stained with dirt. He was laughing like an energetic child. He ran into the spacious living room of the wealthy-looking, ten bedroom, four bathroom, white colored, plantation house, mansion that was his mother and father—Nathan and Laura-Beth Hockley's home, and he ran up to his father, Nathan, who was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper at the kitchen table.

"Daddy! Daddy, I built a hole for my bunny, Benny to play in, in the woods!" Cal said with a childish smile, in his child like voice.

Nathan looked at his son with his dirty clothes and frowned. Nathan slapped Cal hard across the face.

"What did I tell you about getting your clothes dirty like that!" Nathan yelled loudly with anger.

Cal looked at his father as big clouds of tears filled his eyes, Cal's chin quivering with sadness. Cal looked at his father with sadness.

"Get to your room and clean up NOW Caledon!" Nathan said angrily.

Cal ran out of the room quickly and ran into his bedroom, his child-sized shoes making somewhat loud pitter patter feet sounds across the shiny, wooden floor. He ran in his room and slammed his bedroom door shut. He fell to the floor and broke into severe tears. Why had his father hit him? He just wanted to play, he just wanted to make a hole for his bunny to play in. Cal wiped his tears away with his small, child sized shaky and trembling hand and got up off the floor and was about to open the door to his room to leave out when he heard shouting—LOUD shouting—the shouting coming from his mother, Laura-Beth and his father, Nathan. Yes, his mother was home. Cal sat down by the door and listened. He knew he was not to go outside of his room, when his parents were arguing or fighting.

"Laura, I told you damn it! I run the affairs of this house and you will NOT go out to see him again! I don't give a damn if he IS your brother!" Cal heard Nathan yell.

"You're such a controlling bastard!" Laura yelled. "If it wasn't for Caledon, I'd have left you years ago!"

Nathan looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a smirk and then he laughed. Immediately Nathan backslapped Laura, hard across the face, making her fall down to the floor and her nose bleed. Her fall to the floor was so loud of a thump that Cal could hear it from within his room. He heard Laura shouting and yelling loudly and he heard his father's loud, booming voice. Cal slowly creaked open his door and peeked out to see what was going on, Cal was always a nosy little bugger. As he looked out, he saw his mother and father fighting on the floor. Nathan was on top of her punching and slapping her in the face repeatedly while Laura tried her best to struggle to get him off her. Laura was crying loudly and severely as Nathan continued to punch and slap her in the face. Nathan was slapping and punching her so hard that tiny streaks of blood was spiting on the floor. Cal gasped and looked with horror as more big clouds of tears filled his eyes. Cal quickly closed the door to his room back shut and sat with his back up against the door and his knees to his chest, and he buried his face into his knees and cried severely while rocking back and forth, as he heard his mother screaming loudly in pain as Nathan beat her. Cal hated when his mother and father fought. He hated seeing his mother being beat up and controlled by his father, mostly because he was extremely close to his mother—more than he was his father and this wasn't the first time he had heard his father beating on his mother—only this time it was worst—worst than the last time. Cal covered his ears and cried more as the cries from his mother got louder.

"Nathan! Stop! Please! No!" Laura cried severely. "No! Nathan! Please!"

Her cries went ignored as Nathan continued slapping her and punching her in the face and mouth, until soon her entire face became black and blue bruised and bloody.

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It was an hour later, when Cal walked out of his room after changing his clothes to another pair of child sized overalls, from the dirty overalls he had on before. He heard the house to be empty, as he walked into the living room. He didn't see his father anywhere in sight, but he saw his mother, sitting at the kitchen table, softly dabbing at the bruises on her face with a cotton cloth, while crying lightly. Her face was COVERED with black and blue bruises, both her eyes were FAT and black with bruises. She was almost unrecognizable. Cal walked up to his mother and stood in front of her and looked at her with his sympathetic, big, round and black child eyes, but adorable as could be.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Cal asked in his light, child voice.

Laura looked at Cal with her tearful eyes and scoffed and looked down at the table and broke into severe tears. Cal's eyes filled with tears too and he walked closer to her and hugged her, but because he was just a short little seven year old child, he only was able to hug her legs. Laura gently wiped her tears from her eyes and picked Cal up in her arms and held him on her lap and he wrapped his arms around her neck as tears streamed from his eyes.

"I'm sorry he hurt you mommy." Cal said in almost a whisper. "Daddy's a bad man, a very bad man."

Laura pushed Cal away lightly and stared at him in his eyes.

"No, sweetheart." Laura said with a shaky voice. "Don't say that, Caledon. He—he's just—frustrated, but its going to be alright, ok? He—he's not bad."

Laura didn't want her son to have such a bad view of his father, no matter what Nathan did to her. That's just how Laura was. Cal looked at Laura and frowned.

"But he hurt you, mommy. He made you cry." Cal said. "I don't want to see you cry. I don't think I like daddy anymore."

Laura hugged him to her tightly and frowned as more tears streamed.

"Shh, Caledon," Laura said with a tearful. "don't talk like that, he's just—upset but he loves you and I both. I assure you, alright? ALRIGHT?"

Cal nodded silently with his head on Laura's chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, as much as he could with his short, child arms. Laura kissed Cal on the forehead. She truly loved her son, because of his devotion and love for her. She knew—she just knew he'd grow up to be something great—or at least he thought.

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