United Once More, Once More

The door opened wide. Inside were the faces he was looking for.

"Mom… dad…"

A woman and a man stood to greet him at the door. Their clothes were runny, their hair was disheveled, their lips were chapped, and their skin was cold. The house was darkened, their blinds were closed, the floors creaked, and the ceiling was cracked.

"Who are you…?" The woman asked.

The question caused pain. He clutched his chest. "Mom… It's me, Abel…"

Her eyes widened. "A-Abel…? Y-You're Abel?" She looked at who stood before her. He wore ripped baggy clothes; brown pants, and a grey hoodie. It was muddy, bloody, stained, and faded. His hair was long, yet messy and dirtied. His face was broken out, and stains scattered its premise.

"You're Abel…?"

He nodded. "It's me mom… and dad… I haven't seen you guys in… three years…?"

His mom stood still in shock. As if delayed, she finally gasped. "A-Abel!? You're finally… home..?" The last images of his disappearance flashed by. Herself held at gunpoint, then turning it to Abel, who fell on his knees begging for his life. Finally, Abel being taken away by the group of men and the thick man that they called their boss. That was the final memory she had. That was to change today.

"Oh my lord Abel, what did they do to you? You look horrible! Have those men finally let you off free? Is that why you're finally back home?" Her eyes began leaking. "Your father and I have been worried sick, and by now, we'd forced ourselves to accept that we'd probably never see you again. But here you are…"

"Abel!!!" The man who'd stood quiet finally broke free. He dashed towards Abel and grabbed him, pulling him in for a heartfelt hug. "You're okay… You're okay! You're home! Your mother and father are here with you now. At long last I can finally see my own son again. I can't believe my eyes. It's you right!?" His father looked desperate. Looking into his eyes, Abel could see the noticeable amount of time his father had been crying. "You're finally gone from those men, right?"

Abel nodded. "Yeah…"

"What happened? How did they let you off?"

White stained red. The image reminded Abel.

"Er…" He hesitated. "The boss got bored of me and… he just let me off, yeah…"

"Well—uh… Welcome home, son!" His father grabbed his hand. "It's honestly been such a disaster ever since you were taken… I still need to take time to process the fact that you're home and…" He sniffled. Tears would pour as rivers for another time today.

His father fell to his knees, right below Abel, and he bawled; now sobbing, and crying to finally see his son again. Another emotional reunion, another place. But this one would be more heartfelt than any other. What was contained inside would change the tide of every single thing.

Everything.

Abel looked down at his father who sobbed, and up at his mother who stood aside, watching. He felt sorrow from looking at the both. The amount of grief they must've carried, ran guilt through Abel. The amount of pain through time they must've endured, it hurt Abel to know that. He felt sorry. But there was a glimpse of happiness. Happiness at the sight of people he finally recognized in his three years of loss. Three years of suffering where he couldn't find any route to take. Three years where he was forced his directions, dealt his cards, and was pointed rather than guided. He was lost for so, so long.

But finally, he was home. He'd come full circle to the people he started with. Back to the home he was raised in. Back to the feeling of being loved. He stood there, in the center, being embraced by the everlasting love his parents had held since his birth.

"I love you… mom and dad… I've missed you two so, so much…"

"We love you too Abel. We're so glad you're finally back home. It must've been so rough for you, and we're so sorry we couldn't do anything to help you. But you're here now, and so are we. We're back together as a happy family."

Abel nodded. His stomach noticeably grumbled.

"Are you hungry son? Your mother and I were just in the middle of eating supper. Come join!"

His parents went ahead and walked to the kitchen. Abel followed behind, but upon entering the kitchen, he suddenly felt his heart pulsate.

"Ugh—?" He grabbed his chest.

He was now crossing boundaries.

Looking forward, the kitchen seemed oddly darker than before. He saw a boy sitting at the table, who ate minimal scraps left from already eaten food. He was scrawny, bruised, and shedding hair.

"Abel? Are you okay?" His mother asked.

He suddenly snapped out of his trance. The kitchen was brighter, and the visionary boy had disappeared. Abel ignored the odd sightings, deciding to step foot into the kitchen. Doing so would ignite more unbound memories.

Suddenly, the boy had reappeared, once again at the table. His hair was long, but it wasn't blonde. His eyes were swollen, but they weren't blue. They were red.

"Reed!" A man marched heavily into the kitchen, seeing the boy who ate scraps desperately. "What the hell are you doing to my leftover food…? Did I not tell you to stay in your room?"

"I-I'm sorry dad… I was just h-hungry—"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!!!" He slapped the food out of the boy's hand. "Go back to your room right now. You're being punished for what you did, you sick, disgusting, devil child!" The man spat on his face. It mixed with the salty tears that now poured from the boy's eyes.

The man turned around and began marching back towards Abel. He saw the man's face.

It was his father.

The man walked right through Abel, as if Abel wasn't there.

"Is this…?"

Abel realized it. He was envisioning a past memory. One that contained his father, but one that lacked himself.

"This isn't my memory…"

Suddenly, his heart grew heavier.

"What is this…?"

The liquid that coated Abel's heart became thicker and more viscous. He felt the need to grip his chest tighter.

"Abel, talk to me. What's the matter?"

He snapped out of his trance again, once more in the brighter reality of the room, and lacking the memorable figures from his vision.

"N-Nothing…" He looked at his father—the father who'd raised him, and who looked at him with nothing but love. But for some reason, he felt off. For the first time in Abel's entire life, he looked at his father with a grudge. He was uncertain why, but he couldn't help resist the growing feeling of anger that began to manifest within.

He blinked, and suddenly, Abel was back in his faded trance; the memory world.

Right below him, he could see a boy, crying. Tears dripped onto the floor, combining with puddles of blood that already laid beneath. The image was interrupted by a smack to the face by a woman who stood across.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS REED!?" She yelled right into his face. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH YOU'VE BURDENED YOUR FATHER AND I BY HURTING YOUR CLASSMATES!? YOU NEARLY KILLED ONE FOR GOD SAKES!"

She smacked him again, this time making sure to scratch his face with her nails in the process. Long bleeding cuts were left on the boy's face. "B-But mom… the boys… they always forced me to do things… and when I didn't, they'd beat me up for it…"

The boy began to wail. His nose seeped blood and snot. "They… they kept humiliating me! They blamed me for things I didn't do and I kept getting in trouble for it! The other day, they forced me into helping them take pictures of the girls during physical education… But when they got caught, they… THEY PUT ALL THE BLAME ON ME! I WAS FRAMED! ALL THE GIRLS LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS DISGUSTING! THEN LATER IN THE DAY, THEY BEAT ME UP AGAIN FOR 'GETTING THEM CAUGHT'!"

"WATCH YOUR TONE!" His mom smacked his face once more.

"Guh—!" His face whipped aside. He fell silent. But his mouth began to move again.

"That was the last straw for me… The next time they'd pick on me again, I wanted to stand up for myself…"

"SO YOU BROUGHT A KNIFE TO SCHOOL?!" His mom's eyes were bloodshot. "AND SLICED UP SOME KIDS JUST SO YOU COULD FEEL BETTER!? IS THAT WHAT IT WAS REED?!"

"NO MOM NO!!!" He now yelled back. "I BROUGHT IT TO DEFEND MYSELF IN CASE THEY'D DO SOMETHING AGAIN, WHICH THEY DID! I FEEL ENDANGERED IN THAT SCHOOL MOM! I FEEL THREATENED!"

"BUT YOU NEARLY KILLED SOMEONE!"

Reed choked on his upcoming words. Instead, he began to cry.

"MY SON WOULD NEVER KILL ANYONE! YOU AREN'T MY SON!"

"D-Don't say that mom…"

"DON'T 'MOM' ME! FUCK YOU! YOU'RE A CHILD OF THE DEVIL. YOU DISGUSTING, LITTLE, PUNK!" She threw a kick at the boy's face, finally knocking him out.

As the boy dropped to the floor, so did she, but on her heavy knees. She heaved and she heaved, catching her breath to soothe her anger. Nearby, her own biological son laid limp, unconscious at the pain that marked his face.

Once taking enough time, the woman finally stood up. She wiped her bloodied hands on her dress and made her way out of the kitchen, right in Abel's direction.

Abel recognized the woman who approached and walked through him.

It was his mother.

"Abel!"

He snapped out of his trance.

"Why do you keep daydreaming? Can you hear us? Is everything alright?"

The woman who asked, was the same one he'd just seen brutally beat a little boy to the ground.

"I'm okay mom…" Abel looked down. He realized he was now sitting at the kitchen table, eating food with his parents.

Looking at their faces, all he could see now were the bloodstains of another boy.

Abuse, torment, and abandonment.

The liquid that coated Abel's heart had ignited, and it scorched pain into his chest. This burning pain was soon to be eternal. Or maybe it already had been all this time.

"Mom… Dad… I have a question…"

His parents turned attentively towards him.

"Yes? What's the matter dear?"

"Am I your biological son?"

The two of them stuttered in their expressions. "I— W-Why would you ask that? Of course you are, son!"

Boom!

Abel felt his heart pound in reaction to his father's response.

"Yeah… You've always been our one and only child since the very start. Can't you see parts of yourself in us?"

Boom!

Abel's heart pounded again. This time, heavier. The feeling brought odd conclusions to his mind. Ones he'd never began to think of before.

"Mom, dad… Am I adopted?"

The two's eyes grew wide. They hesitated in response. Locking eyes with one another, they shook their heads.

"N-No… Why would you ask that…?"

"I don't know… I just…"

"Abel…" His father put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll always be our one and only son."

"One and only…" Abel repeated. He scoffed. For some reason he found it funny, but he didn't know why. The thought began to twist and twist, morphing into fuel for something more sinister. The entire idea was too funny for Abel. So he laughed, and laughed, and laughed and laughed. Abel began laughing so hard that he needed to stand up.

"Abel? What's so funny?"

He couldn't stop laughing. Something was funny, but he didn't know what it was. Something was provoking him to laugh. Something triggered this reaction.

"One and only… huh?"

A familiar, raspy voice spoke into his head. It was quickly overtuned by his excessive laughter.

Now standing afar from the table, Abel continued to hold his stomach with urge to stop laughing. But in a sudden quick succession upon blinking, Abel found himself once more in the memory world.

Dark blue tinted air, and a low visibility to the eyes, Abel navigated his way around the seemingly empty house.

"Where am I…?"

Abel knew he was in his household. But everyone had vanished. It was just him, and the memories.

Echoes could now be heard from afar. Abel turned to its direction and began to follow. The closer and closer he got to the origin of the noise, the more he recognized it as the sound of liquid dripping.

"The living room…" Abel entered. What he saw next was meant to stain his brain forever.

His parents, swimming in a pool of heavy blood. And a boy, who stood across with bloodstained hands.

"Mom… dad…"