Flashback (11 years ago....)
A family gathered around a worn-out couch, discussing sothing written on a paper. It was a grand move for them to level up from the wretched state they were in—one that wasn’t getting better anyti soon. And their only source was the little boy before them.
Sitting close to his mother’s leg was a little blonde boy of 10. His siblings were also around but were ignored completely as the mother and father focused entirely on him, as if he was the golden child.
"Daniel, with your gift, you can make us the richest family alive. Can you even imagine that?" The shrewd man chid in, and the little naive boy nodded.
Happy that his family would finally be happy. Escape society’s criticism and malicious comnts from cruel humans who saw their condition and snickered—not helping that they lived in the countryside. The part tagged for the poorest of the poor, because that was where they’d built their ho. If Daniel said he detested it there, it wasn’t an exaggeration.
The disgusting and irritating sll alone could kill a person. And those commoners reeking of decay were irritating him to the soul.
"I know, Dad. We can finally move out from this dumpster." Daniel giggled, and all of them laughed. Angelo, who tried speaking that mont, was still ignored.
Their school had ended, and he’d just brought ho the end-of-term results—which he’d done so well in. Not just the teachers were surprised, but every person in the school. He apparently looked malnourished and abandoned, lacked most of the textbooks used for reading, but how he’d managed to scramble up to be at the top was a shocker. Teachers praised him so much, calling him the future of the generation because he was actually part of the few that wanted to study. And he was thinking, with this, they would finally be proud of him. But not even a look was thrown at him.
Alessandro finally snapped at him with an angry face before standing up and dashing him a devastating slap that made the poor little boy hit his head hard on the cupboard feet away from him.
"Can’t you see this is a lifeti project? And you’re disturbing from making your brother our sole winner. Can’t you understand, you useless boy?" His father barked at him. Angelo turned emotional, and without a word, he stood up and walked away. His eyes still on Daniel, who was smiling back to back as Celeste, their mother, kept rubbing his back, hugging him to herself.
Liliana even watched from the shadows without a word, knowing that if Angelo could be hit so hard, what was there for her? Soone gifted like Angelo wasn’t noticed—what would a talentless person like her get? So she slowly walked to her room, a cramped alley which she shared with Angelo.
"So, Daniel my boy, ti to eat, and you can show Daddy the piece you’ve been working on." Alessandro urged, and Daniel nodded as he headed to the dining table.
He saw what happened to Angelo and was about to comnt on it, but his father changed the subject, making it skip his mind. But on reaching the dining table and not seeing his siblings, he rembered the terrible slap dished out to Angelo. Daniel wasn’t feeling comfortable sitting there while his brother and sister were far off.
Head down, he sighed. He was feeling so tired and wanted to rest, but unfortunately, his father saw that as laziness. He was forced to practice till 4am in the morning, sleep for three hours, and return to the studio.
With his little brain, he was forced to write out songs and then sing them. At the beginning, it sounded childish, but his tone grew, and his brain began to mature too much for his age—since he wasn’t surrounded by children his age, if not music and adults.
"I’m so tired..." He mumbled, yawning softly and feeling an ache in his legs. At this point, he was jealous of his siblings—at least they got freedom. And despite him being desperate to lead his parents out of poverty, this routine was killing him ntally.
"Okay my baby, we’re having rice and assorted chips with chicken sauce. I decided to go the extra mile because you’re leaving tomorrow for the final project, so this will make you healthy." Daniel was shocked at the new plans.
Nothing like that was ever discussed with him. So how was he supposed to go on any journey? Not even ntioning that he himself needed a fucking sleep.
Daniel’s eyes almost closed as he dozed, nearly missing what his mother said.
"Hmm, that’s great..." He faked a smile before he reached out to take hold of his mother’s hand, since his father wasn’t around. Daniel knew right so well that his father was so authoritative and domineering. If he caught him doing this, he would be in so much trouble. Because one thing about his father is that he hates any weakness, and Daniel himself was already tagged as one since he was acting so feminine. But with his talent of singing and making cash for them, it was brushed aside. So he wasn’t ready for it to be brought up. With this dium of his absence, he wanted to ask for rest.
Even just for two hours before practice would be appreciated.
"My legs hurt so much, sa with my head. And I can’t compose a piece of writing with all this weight. And don’t forget about my school project and other stuffs." Daniel listed his worries out. At least he could talk to his mother, not his father, who scared the shit out of him all the ti. Despite shining teeth at the conversation back in the sitting room, he knew deep down that anything said out of bounds would land him deep lashes from his father’s terrifying infamous cow whip.
Celeste, who could see the sheer exhaustion in her son’s eyes, couldn’t help but drop her shoulders in agony. Alessandro was pushing the boy past his limit—she could see it.
He was just 10. This was too much for his brain to handle. Look at the others—they were tossed aside. The opportunity she had to show affection was only when her husband was gone, and it pained her heart. But if by any mistake her husband caught her taking care of the useless ones, as he tagged them, instead of their gold cash, then she was beaten black and blue.
Daniel didn’t see the abuse she endured in secret for them and him. But she faked them all with a smile.
"Just eat and run to your room and rest. I’ll cover for you, saying you went to the restroom." Celeste stated, and Daniel’s eyes bulged. That was a terrible idea. It was better if he stayed and did the singing than sneaking out and landing everyone in trouble.
"You can’t stay in the restroom for two hours, Mom. I’d rather stay and practice than make you lie for ." Daniel declared headstrong. Before Celeste could make him change his mind, Alessandro entered, and the house turned to grave silence.
Both sat side by side together, and Celeste silently passed the al. The other two of her children ca out from the room and joined them at the dining table, sitting like mannequins. And without a word, the al began—as silent as usual.
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