Oddity 6: Side Story: Callus' spin off

A harmonious tune flew with the breeze, fingers danced lightly on the piano keys, neither to slow nor too fast. A child gaze on the keyboards with a great focus very reluctant to make an error as sweat formed on top of his forehead.

A woman with sharp features, her hair tied into a strict tight bun, with a natural composure she stands with elegance a bearing of a noble lady, she took pride in. Her shoulders covered with a shawl despise the warm afternoon; she only felt the coldness inside.

Warm laughter rang in the air from outside of the cold dull mansion. It came from a child as old as the woman's son. He was being carried by a man on prime of his youth; he smiled at the little boy warmly, and on the other arm of the man held a beautiful young woman, a beautiful warm picture of a family only if the man wasn't her husband.

The young woman was a friend she hired as a maid when she came to the mansion to marry her husband. She brought her with her, but she was a fool. Never in a million years would she expect such an outcome. Human beings are indeed greedy creatures. As for her husband, she loved him dearly but he loved the woman more, he dare not admit it in front of her face, as he remarked he loved them both equally. He refused to divorce her and leave the other woman, a selfish beast. All the respect and love she had for him had been swept by the wind like dust.

She refused to entangle with such a beast, yet she was already pregnant when she unpeeled his true face. She carried the beast's child in her stomach for 9 months in disgust. The man loves both boys but obviously, he favored that woman's child far better.

Just looking at her own child's face disgust her, she is dissatisfied with his left eye's golden iris, seeing herself reflected in those irises makes her sneer in fury. That man's eyes once looked at her like that. She wanted to dig out the imperfection, only then he would be her perfect child. Her child must be better and smarter than that woman's child; she will both destroy them with her own son.

Leaving her daze she gazes at the child's satisfactory performance, she wasn't a bit pleased with it at all, dissatisfied she narrowed her eyes at the boy. The boy senses his mother's dissatisfaction; he stopped playing and slowly looks down at his lap. His mother always told him he must be perfect only then, would his mother will willingly pay attention to him as for his father. He doesn't like that man who manages to make his mother cry. In the child's eyes his mother will always be right.

"Callus, once again you have disappointed me. We have been through this over and over again. When will you drill it to that thick skull that you can't lose with that woman's son?" She spoke stiffly.

"I practice every day mama because I don't want mama to be sad." A small voice rang.

"Does it look like I'm anywhere near happy? Sad? Do you mean mad? What if anyone hears you play? How outrageous." She looked down at the small child.

The child blinks his big round eyes and looked up to his mother hesitantly.

"Callus only wants to play the piano for mama," he said slowly a bit afraid.

"Callus say "I" don't refer to yourself as "Callus" you are the heir of this house. I won't let you play around for a fool. "She sneers.

Being stared at by these eyes brought wrath to her insides. She shakes in anger, her nostrils flares and she viciously glared at the small child, such a small filial child could raise pity from any woman, but for a woman who has been driven to her edge.

She lifts her hand and smacked the child's cheek with all of her strength with no hesitation. A loud sound pierced the room silence. The child falls from the chair from the impact; he sprawled on the floor and cried out in pain, trying to bite his lip to silence his cries only knowing crying loud will only bring more pain.

"Don't look at me like that!" She shrieked.

The child sobs silently holding his red swollen cheek. His heart ached in agony; he doesn't understand why his mother slapped him for. He only wanted to stare at the beautiful mother. The woman stood stiffly she gazes at the small child coldly with a heavy breath. She took the child's arm and drags him to the darkest part of the mansion, the basement.

She drags the child with all of her strength, her grip strong as steel. The child sobs in pain as he let his mother drag him around. He knew where she was taking him.

How could he forget? Bad boys get punished, that's what his mother always says. She drags him down to the basement, he already felt the familiar coldness that embraced him with open arms, and sometimes his mother will punish him to stay in this dark room without any light and food for days. All he knows is that he had been a very bad boy and therefore he must be punished. His mother pushed him inside and locked the door with hurried footsteps she left the child in the cold dark room, laying on the cold floor with nothing but darkness in his eyes. He tiredly sighs and closed his eyes. How many days to pass by to once again meet his beloved mother?

Hours pass by, the child slept peacefully despite the coldness. It was worth it if he can once again embrace the warm mother, he dreamt of it in the nights and daydreams it in the days. He awoke when he smelled smoke, opening his eyes he was welcomed by the flames around the room with a panic state he quickly thought about his mother, dashing to the door he found it oddly open.

He dash ignoring the heat around, trying to find the figure his heart longs for then finally he reached the middle of the mansion he saw figures that decorated the floor, bodies piled up with red blood freshly flowed out, his heart beats accelerates as horror slowly engulf his system. He stared at the bodies' with wide eyes with reluctance he slowly walks in the bloody red path where he found his father even the woman and the other son. He tried finding his mama around, but he couldn't and just as sadness wash over him he heard a cackle.

On the middle of pile of bodies piling over each other there was a familiar woman who started cackling out loud, she wore a dress that only rich madams wore but now flashes of blood kissed the dress, her small gentle features twisted to a sadistic glee and her eyes carried a maniac gleam.

Of course, he knows her so much. That woman is his beloved mama. He stood still in shock not quite processing that the strict woman was such. The woman cackled and cackled so loud that tears started to fell from her sky blue starry eyes, there was just so much happiness flowing out that it scared but at the same time fascinated Callus.

The woman noticing the boy smiled softly that it distracted Callus from the frightening scene. This was the first time she ever smiled lovingly at him. Slowly Callus enchanted with his mother walks closer to her, standing only a foot away.

"I finally did it dear. We are finally free from this hell, i so much despise." She said as an axe as tall as her, fell from her hands to the ground only then Callus noticed the bloody axe she once held.

He stood stiff but stayed silent merely looking at the mother he thought he knew best.

"I was going to take them lightly but then leaving this place alive and well just hurts my pride and my heart so i burned it down, of course the people will reject the idea so why not burn them down with it?" she shrugged carelessly as her manic eyes intensify of their gore bodies twisted in such away no human can fold into.

"Are you going to kill me too?" Callus asked with no emotions.

The woman stopped cackling as she closed the distance between them, she so lovingly cup both of his cheeks with a soft loving gaze.

"Now why would i do that?" The woman continue staring at Callus face, he remained still and bravely face her off despise the fright for this woman his love for her still won him over.

"You wouldn't."

"I won't." She spoke weakly and slowly she fell to the ground with a smile.

"I won't because no one would live to tell the tale." She laughed so hard that blood slowly decorated her lips. Calluses quickly crouch down next to the fallen lady.

"I hate you Callus i will and forever do but... I also love you darling... I'm sorry that i didn't get to kill you, i promised i do because I love you the most." She muttered her voice becoming smaller and smaller with both eyes staring at Callus with no emotions.

"You're like him but at the same time you don't... what an oddity." She spoke with smile and slowly she closed her eyes in peace, with only the crisp of burning wood entering his ears. Slowly he stood with an empty face he ignored the tears that fell from his eyes, noticing the bloody ruby red ring that decorated the cold fingers of the woman, he took it and left the burning mansion without looking back into the woods of the unknown.

'Where the boy will forever carry her tale, forever chained to her and solely only to her.'