The days passed by and Serenity kept attempting to make friends with Rowen, but he still ignored her and refused to acknowledge her presence if she came near him.

Without fail everyday he would go to his cubby to get his book and there would be a sacked lunch for him and a bottle of water.

Gratefully he would take it because it was better than nothing. He never caught her leaving it so he couldn't tell her no unless he went up to her or when she came to him.

Serenity desperately wanted Rowen to be her friend. She felt that he at least would be willing to accept her as no one of the other children would and it wasn't just their class that treated her as an outcast. It was the entire school.

Rowen would watch her be picked up every day after school and see her face streaked with tears, though he felt bad, he just wanted to be alone.

In the classroom there was a wall that was updated each month and it showed who was having a birthday.

Serenity noticed Rowen's birthday was coming up and each evening she went to work on a present she was making him.

Even if he didn't want to be her friend at least she could be a friend to him.

On the day of his birthday Rowen felt his heart soar.

Perhaps his mother had sent him a birthday gift or a card.

Even better would be a phone call from his mother. Hearing her voice would be the best gift of all.

Today was the last day of school and then the students were off for two weeks. Maybe his Mother had planned on visiting him as a surprise on his birthday.

Putting on his socks and a pair of black jeans he observed the bruises, cuts, and welts over his body.

If his mother had come then he could think of a way of showing her what Genichiro was doing to him and she would take him with her.

He pulled a navy blue sweatshirt over his head and ran a comb through his hair. Grabbing a new book he shoved it in his back pack and quickly made his bed.

After it was done military style, the way Genichiro preferred he went downstairs and hoped he would be allowed breakfast.

On the table was a bowl and a cup. Rowen set his backpack next to his chair and climbed into his seat and looked down.

Dried dog food

With his father sitting right across from him hidden behind the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee, he didn't dare make any sound of disgust and disappointment

He took large mouthfuls of the dog food and chewed as little as possible. After each mouthful he took a sip of water to rid the taste.

Finally he finished and took his bowl and cup and out them in the dishwasher.

Picking up his backpack he headed towards the door, but Genichiro's voice stopped him

"You better have not been pulling any shit boy at school. It seems your teachers find it amusing to have conferences with their students. So I am warning you. If I hear any negative shit, I promise you boy that you will wish you have never been born"

"Yes Father" Rowen said quietly and left.

The walk to school was long and miserable as usual, but it was even more miserable with the prospect of what was in store for him if teacher had nothing good to say about him.

He thought what he could have possibly done wrong since being falsely accused of beating up his fellow classmate and suspended, but his mind came up blank.

Since the arrival of Serenity the children had been attacking her and leaving him in peace.

Now it was the poor girl who was tormented by her peers and teacher.

Serenity was totally ignored now unless she spoke in Japanese and when she did she was mocked for how she spoke the language.

Arriving at school Rowen could see Serenity hugging the man who he assumed was her father goodbye.

"He is so strange looking" Rowen thought to himself as he watched the man leave, He worse the same clothes he had worn when he saw him for the first time only his hair this time was loose.

Going inside Rowen went to his cubby and was surprised to find three packages. One he knew was going to be a lunch, but the other two?

"OH NO" Rowen thought is horror "She's giving me birthday gifts"

He took one package out and hiding it under his sweatshirt he headed outside.

Looking around to be sure no one was paying any attention to him, Rowen took out the package and ripped it open.

Inside was a package of chocolate donuts!

His mother use to buy them for him once in a while as a treat. He loved them and it had been so long since he had one that he ripped open the package and devoured one quickly.

The sweetness of the treat rid all traces of the dog food and he quickly ate another.

Realizing there was something else in the package he reached inside and pulled out a bottle of chocolate milk.

Gleefully he opened the bottle and took a long drink and ate another donut.

When he was done he threw away the trash and went to use the restroom. It was safer at school then it was at home

The bell rang and he lined up as usual in the back of the line.

Serenity he could see was towards the middle and as usual had her head down.

Once the door was opened the children went inside.

Rowen decided maybe it would be best to do his table work and then take a break before moving on to the next table.

Maybe if he did this the teacher would have positive things to tell his father, though nothing he ever did pleased his father.

Anything thing gave Genichiro the excuse to beat his son.

However Genichiro saw it as discipline.

The day went by quickly and it was soon lunch.

Once again Serenity quickly disappeared to parts unknown and Rowen once again had to take the lunch she left him

Every day when he checked her lunch she gave him it was something new and very tasty…..well except for the raw veggies that were in there.

Today's lunch seemed to be by far the best he had eaten

There were Pizza turnovers and fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Once again there were carrot sticks and celery which he ignored.

He saved the best item for last

He had never seen anything like it before and it tasted so wonderfully delicious

It was an Ice Cream cone cake with frosting and candies on top.

He finished his lunch with another bottle of water.

Once lunch was over Rowen began to dread the time.

The time had come for the rest of the parents to come in for conference time.

As some parents had done the conference that morning the class size had gone down by more than half.

Serenity sat alone in read reading area looking through a book she had brought from home. Rowen went to his cubby and collected his things. He left the last package in there. He hoped she was watching pack up his bag.

Once the parents arrived the children remaining took their things and headed outside to play watched by a teachers aid,

Rowen took a ball and went into the field and played soccer by himself.

Sitting on a bench Serenity watched Rowen play and she was alarmed when she saw him suddenly freeze and a look of terror came upon his face.

For a moment she thought maybe he was looking at her, but he was looking past her.

Another child took over the soccer ball and Rowen with his head hung low started heading in her direction, but yet more towards the right,

Turning around Serenity saw what had brought so much fear into Rowen.

A large man dressed in a fancy suit was heading towards them.

His white hair hung to his shoulders and he had a look as if he did weight training in his spare time.

When Rowen got close enough the man grabbed his arm and dragged him away looking pissed

Concerned for Rowen; Serenity got up and followed them where Genichiro had taken Rowen behind the school gym.

She watched in horror ad Genichiro shook Rowen violently and as he punched him on the nose and slapping his face. He spoke in rapid Japanese though some words were mixed with English

"Blood Spawn! Disgrace! Worthless! Freak! You never should have been born! Your own mother left because of you!"

Unable to take any more of this Serenity marched up behind Genichiro and said angrily

"Leave him alone you big bully or I'll scream and the teachers will come and you'll go to jail for hurting my Rowen"

At the sound of her voice Genichiro let go of Rowen

He grew frightened. The last thing he needed was having Serenity as a witness and still even worse her defending him.

Genichiro crept closer to the little girl and looked her up and down.

The little girl only came to the boy's shoulder. Her long lavender hair was in a ponytail and judging by her skin tone and accent she was clearly American

"Stay outta this you little bitch" he raised a hand and slapped her across the face.

The force of the blow caused Serenity to fall to the ground.

Genichiro turned towards Rowen and grabbed his arm "We're going"

Serenity slowly got up and Rowen could see a bruise already forming on her face

"Leave him alone" she again said with anger

Rowen's father just shoved her aside as he dragged his son away and to the car.

Once they were at home Rowen was stripped down again and was whipped this time with an electrical cord on every inch of his body before being locked in the animal crate again in the dark basement.

He was given half and amount of dog food then before, but at least he was given a full bottle of water

"You will be staying down here for at least a week" Genichiro snarled "If you keep quiet then I'll let you out, but you will be confined to the yard. You'll sleep in the shed"

Genichiro left and Rowen was alone in the darkness.

Rowen hugged himself and thought about how this birthday had been so different than last years.

Last year Sarah had managed to take Rowen to a planetarium.

Rowen had loved the night sky and was fascinated by the stars. He liked to lay on the ground and count them one by one as high as he could

His Mother told him that the stars were winking at him and that they were his very own.

Later she had taken him to her favorite fast food restaurant she adored in American and he too had fallen in love with the Golden Arches.

After they had eaten they had gone to an old fashioned ice cream shop and shared a large banana spilt.

Hours passed and Rowen slept on and off.

The next day Genichiro came down the stairs and said gleefully

"Seems your Mother wishes you didn't exist either" he gave Rowen a nasty smile "No phone call, letter or gift on your birthday. Such a pity you really don't exist" he spat on his son then went back up stairs and slammed the door shut.

Rowen's last hope his mother still cared diminished like a birthday candle being blown out.