The Beast

He woke up with a start on hearing the scream,

Wishing and praying for it to be just a bad dream.

He was just a little kid, but the fact wasn’t hidden from him, “Dad beats up mom and I can do nothing to stop him.”

The screams continued but he stayed put on his bed. After a while he heard the door shut, knew dad was out, so went to his mom and saw blood oozing out of her head.

“Why does he beat you so much mom, you don’t even protest or say a word?”

But deep down in his heart, he knew mom was nothing more than a caged bird.

He tended her wounds and gave her a glass of water, but her pain was more than he could see,

she held his hand and said,” son, never resort to violence, be it any situation, promise me.”

Weeks turned to months and months to years. His father stopped the violence, suppressing his worst fears.

He had grown up to be a strong man, in no ways timid, but the childhood memories of his mother’s screams still resided in his mind, oh the memories were so vivid.

One day she turned to him and said, “Walk with me to the store, son. I have many bags to bring back, not just one.”

On the way to the store, a thief snatched her purse and ran, her son didn’t wait, he ran and caught up with the man. He beat him up and thrashed until the thief bled. His mom stopped him,” are you going to hit him till he is dead?”

He looked at her and at that moment she remembered her husband’s eyes,

eyes where the beast lay spitting fire,

she saw the same fire in her son’s eyes.

And then she knew all the good things she had taught him were now in vain,     the beast in their family was awake again.