I'm trapped here again.
I really tried not to come here anymore, but somehow that evil woman still found a way to bring me here.
I told Papa about her.
I tried warning him.
I told him that she was evil and that she wasn't Mama, but Papa never listened to me. Instead, he always told me that I was talking nonsense and that I should start calling her Mother.
But I would never do that.
She isn't my mother.
I only have one Mama.
And she went away to a place called Heaven.
Papa told me that when I'm older, I can visit her.
But I know he's lying.
I'm never going to see Mama again.
That wicked woman and her ugly children are just trying to take Mama's place.
They want to take my place too.
They want everything that belongs to us.
I hate them.
Wanting some fresh air and desperately needing to stop thinking about all these sad things, I climbed down from my hospital bed and headed toward the door.
Unfortunately, I didn't even make it that far.
"Little Young Master, we were given strict orders by Madam to make sure you remain in your room and don't leave unless absolutely necessary."
I stared at the bodyguard standing in front of the door.
Great.
Not only had that woman dragged me to the hospital, but now she wanted to imprison me here where nobody could see me.
But she had underestimated me.
She was still too new to all of this.
She didn't understand who she was dealing with.
"Who do you want to obey?"
The bodyguard blinked.
"Excuse me, Young Master?"
I folded my arms.
"A fake Madam you've known for less than a year…"
I paused.
"…or your Young Master, whom you've watched grow up and who will eventually take over everything?"
The bodyguards exchanged glances.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
I smiled.
"She thought she could control me."
I took another step toward them.
"Hmph. She's still too new to all of this to try something like that."
I tilted my head.
"So?"
They looked at me.
"What is your choice?"
I waited a moment before adding,
"Or do I have to call my father before you can make one?"
That did it.
The bodyguards immediately straightened and bowed.
"We're deeply sorry for the misunderstanding, Young Master."
"No worries."
I waved my hand dismissively.
"But can you get out of my way now?"
"Yes, sir."
They stepped aside.
I walked past them.
Unfortunately, I quickly noticed that they were following me.
I stopped.
"Don't you understand?"
They stopped too.
"Leave me alone."
"But, Young Ma—"
"Leave. Me. Alone."
My voice came out sharper this time.
I turned around and gave them my best glare.
They immediately backed away.
"Yes, sir."
I hissed in annoyance and continued walking.
Finally.
Peace.
I wandered through the hospital corridors for a while until I reached an area with large windows overlooking the hospital playground.
A group of children around my age were playing outside.
They were laughing.
Running around.
Chasing one another.
They looked happy.
They had friends.
I stopped walking.
Friends.
Something I didn't have.
Something I probably never would.
Every time I tried making friends, they either ran away from me or their parents warned them to stay away from me.
I never understood why.
Was it because of the men in black who were always following me?
Was it because they were the ones who picked me up from school?
I used to ask myself that every time someone avoided me.
Then, eventually, I learned the truth.
It was because of my family.
Because of who my father was.
Apparently, that was enough to make people decide they didn't want to be around me.
So I stopped trying.
Who needs friends anyway?
That's what I told myself.
But sometimes…
I still wanted them.
I stared at the children playing together.
They looked so happy.
One of them fell.
His friends immediately helped him up.
Another child laughed so hard that he fell onto the grass.
They all started laughing together.
I felt something twist painfully inside my chest.
I looked away.
"Forget it."
I turned around.
Maybe going back to my room would be better.
I thought getting some fresh air would improve my mood.
Instead, I was somehow even more annoyed.
I had barely taken a few steps when I heard a voice behind me.
"Oiiii!"
I glanced back.
A group of boys from the playground were walking toward me.
I sighed.
What now?
One of them pointed at me.
"Are you a girl or a boy?"
I stared at him.
What sort of dumb question is that?
Before I could answer, another boy walked closer.
"He looks pretty, but he's wearing trousers."
I frowned.
Because I'm a boy, you dumb fuck.
I turned around, intending to leave.
Then a little girl stepped in front of me.
"Mama said girls are supposed to wear skirts. What you're doing is wrong, you know."
Something inside me snapped.
I pushed her away.
"I am a boy, so leave. Me. The. Hell. Alone."
I turned my back on them.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
I looked around.
They had surrounded me.
The boys were laughing.
The one standing in front stepped closer.
"If you're a boy…"
He grinned.
"Prove it."
I stared at him.
"Show us your pee-pee."
The other children started laughing.
I felt my hands tighten into fists.
Then the boy shoved me.
I fell onto the ground.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
My palms stung from hitting the floor.
I slowly lifted my head.
The boys were still laughing.
Something inside me finally snapped.
The idiots caused it by themselves.
I grabbed the boy by his shirt.
Before he could even understand what was happening, I swung my fist.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
I knocked him to the ground and climbed on top of him, hitting him over and over.
"Stop!"
The girl from earlier tried to pull me away.
I grabbed her by the hair and threw her aside.
"Get away from me!"
I turned back to the boy who had pushed me and continued beating him.
The laughter was gone now.
All of them were crying.
Useless children.
They should have left me alone.
The noise finally attracted the attention of the nurses.
"What is going on?!"
"Someone get security!"
Several nurses rushed over with hospital security behind them.
Two security guards grabbed me by the arms and pulled me away.
"Let go of me!"
"Young Master, calm down!"
"Let me go!"
I kicked and struggled, but they held on tightly.
The boy I'd beaten was crying on the ground, his face red and swollen.
The girl was crying too, surrounded by the other children.
I didn't care.
They started it.
They should have known better.
Later
I was sitting alone on the hospital patio.
My father had already scolded me.
He didn't even listen to what I had to say.
He just kept repeating everything that witch had told him.
Harry attacked the children.
Harry needs to learn how to behave.
Harry can't keep doing things like this.
Nobody cared about why I did it.
Nobody ever did.
I sat there with my knees pulled toward my chest.
My eyes burned.
I wiped them quickly.
I wasn't crying.
I wasn't.
I just…
I just didn't want to be alone anymore.
I heard footsteps approaching.
I looked up.
A boy was standing in front of me.
He looked around my age.
Maybe a little younger.
He was holding a small juice box.
He stared at me for a moment before holding it out.
"Do you want something sweet?"
I stared at the juice.
Then at him.
I didn't say anything.
He sat beside me anyway.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
We simply sat there.
It was strangely peaceful.
Eventually, I couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Why aren't you trying to comfort me?"
He looked at me.
"Huh?"
"Everyone else keeps telling me what I did wrong."
I looked down.
"But you're not."
He glanced at the juice box in my hands.
"This is the comfort."
I frowned.
"What?"
"I gave you my juice."
I stared at him.
He nodded seriously.
"One day, you'll have to pay me back for it."
I blinked.
Then…
I laughed.
The boy looked at me.
Then smiled.
"Finally."
I stopped.
"Finally what?"
"A smile from you."
I looked away.
I hadn't even realized I was smiling.
He reached over and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks.
"No child deserves to be sitting all alone in a corner crying."
I stared at him.
I was confused.
"You're crying too?"
He scoffed.
"I'm not the same age as some little baby who sits in a corner crying."
I immediately frowned.
"I wasn't crying!"
He raised an eyebrow.
"There was sand in my eyes!"
"Sure."
"There was!"
He laughed.
I glared at him.
Then, somehow, I started laughing too.
We sat there for a little longer.
We talked about random things.
Nothing important.
He told me about some of the things he liked.
I told him about things I liked.
For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like I had to be careful about what I said.
I didn't feel like he was judging me.
Eventually, he stood up.
"I should go now."
My smile disappeared.
"Oh."
I looked down.
He took a few steps away.
Then stopped.
He turned around.
For some reason, he smiled.
He stretched both hands toward me.
I looked at his hands.
"I'm Ethan."
I stared at him.
"Would you like to be friends?"
My eyes widened.
Friends?
He actually wanted to be my friend?
I slowly reached out my hand.
But I hesitated.
He waited.
And waited.
Then he sighed dramatically.
"I can't just keep my hand out forever, you know."
I quickly grabbed his hand.
His smile widened.
And for the first time in a very long time…
I wasn't alone.