Divorce

1 am and Silence was making its usual rounds at my apartment, making sure it covered every nook and cranny. Suddenly, it cracked at the sound of footsteps echoing through the staircase. It was Danger, approaching my front door. If I was not mistaken, it had brought Wrath along with it. With a single motion, Noise was summoned and Fear crept out of its hiding place. 

That night, my deranged father, with all his might, had bashed our front door, bellowing for us to let him in, with a string of crude profanities. Not only was I bereft of sleep, but also of my sanity. It just had to end. No longer could I endure the torment of my parents' mistakes. 

If there was one thing every family could wish to have, it was unity. Every child, without a doubt, would want a full set of parents. Friends come and go like the four seasons, but our family will be the ones to stay by our sides all the way through. But what if I didn't want that to happen? What if I said that I would be better off with a broken family?

Ever since I was brought into the world, it seemed like I only had my mother. It was as though my father was never a part of my life. As far as I could remember, my father was the violence of the household. The distance between us grew with my age. Though I had learnt more words through the years, we spoke less each time. I used to wonder why every night my mother's eyes would always "rain", until I learnt of this little thing called tears.

On the night my Dad staggered back home past midnight, my mother bled from the impact of an empty rum bottle, hitting her head. It was not the first time that it had occurred. In fact, this would happen year after year, like it was their wedding anniversary, only normal couples would periodically shed tears of joy, and not of pain or regret.

I could not take it anymore. That was the last straw. I didn't want to retreat back home after a long trying day, only to be greeted again by the presence of agony and the sight of chaos. Truly astounded was I that neither of my parents had called for a separation, the key to my freedom. 

Divorce befalling upon any child's parents was supposedly the worst thing that could happen. For me, it was wishful thinking.

fin.