The Little Child Behind the Trash Bin

I am Pyotr Ilyich Dreamville. I am 19. And I hate everyone.

I grew up in streets with broken and flickering lights; feeding stray cats and dogs over my roaring stomach; walking with my bare feet in search for food in trash bins; and face covered with greases to have that awful look and trigger people's sympathy over others.

Fortunately, I often received cents I could use to buy bread on Sally's bakery, she was the lady who offered me food I could eat but I still paid her with the alms I had received from begging on the sidewalks. I didn't want to owe someone something, if I could pay I would, before it would be used against me and taken the situation for granted.

It had been my daily routine— went to school early in the morning, making meaning of my meaningless life, and begged for alms when the sun dove down — settling itself for a while underneath the horizon — to at least live hand to mouth. And that little Pyotr Ilyich Dreamville was nothing like similar to this little girl in white dress with golden belt who unbarred the black and white gate for me. She was born with golden spoon on her mouth, while I lived my life nothing to eat.

I forced a smile to arch on my lips.

"You're a little early, huh?" K highlighted, arms folded with a smirk on his face I had never seen him wearing eight hours ago. It was like, he's a different person than he used to be when we were on the Shoestring Lake.

"The fuck is this?" perplexed, I asked, looking for answers from this huge bulk of muscles standing right before my eyes.

"Réunion," he mockingly replied.

He told me eight hours ago to come here safe and sound and act like I didn't know him. He didn't tell me why, but now it was clear. He wanted me to look like I was willing to meet my goddamn siblings.

I used to just hate everyone, now I loathed every human I could bump into because of him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I scoffed. "Those words you said, staying here with you, was just a trick? I should have never trusted you, you son of a bitch!"

K chortled at his own trick, while the little girl standing next to me, which I assumed my little sister, covered her ears, wearing the look of pure disgust evident on her stare and on every inch of her face— maybe she wasn't used to hear curses in this house full of lunatics.

"Come inside, I'll introduce you to someone." He turned his back and headed off inside their house while the little girl held my hand now wearing a smile that exhibited her one missing front tooth.

"No, I'm leaving!" I announced, blatant and loud that a window on the second storey of their house unlatched, showing a teen black girl of my age with strange straight hair.

"No, you don't," K retorted, turning his head with intimidating stare penetrating upon my skin.

But I made a stand and acknowledged no shiver that rushed through my spine. I sauntered into the black and white gate with a heavy heart, removing the curl of fingers of the little girl off my hand. She crossed her arms and raised her right brow and the gate just latched, caging me in this goddamn house with no exit at all.

"What is wrong with you people!" I blurted, a little aggressive and a little blaring. "There's no way you could stop me."

"Go try to climb that gate and you'll get toasted to death," the little girl announced, threatening me with my life being at stake when I clogged my hands over the wall that surrounded this whole damned house.

"Yeah? 'Cause I'd rather die than having a chin music with anyone of you!" I yelled, I didn't care if it wrecked the little girl's eardrum, knowing her brow was raising too high like she was manipulating me.

"Why you hate us so much!" she exclaimed in her high-pitched tone louder than the soprano whistle of the kettle in heat, "we did nothing to hurt you!"

I scoffed. The girl on the window above even latched the blind a little thunderous that I could feel the sense of disappointment of the action she just took, while K remained hushed watching me with his most intimidating aura.

"Huh!" I sighed in this belief, "that's the point! You all did nothing! You just let me beg alms for my dear life to survive, searching left over food in trash bins, while the rest of you were enjoying the buffet on your gigantic table under the glass chandeliers, enjoying the dishes cooked by the most talented chefs all over the world. You let me sleep on the cold metal bench with my lamp being the broken lamp-post, covering myself with the old newspaper I found on Sally's backyard, while the rest of you were enjoying the warmth of your bed, feeling the sense of comfort every single damned night! I slept under the rain, I had no family I could rely on, I was dying every single day, and where were you? For Pete's sake, I am your brother!"

My cheeks heated and I could feel the tears escaping the hold of my lids, ready to fall and slide through the both sides of my face. I could feel my knees trembled, but I was holding tight on myself before I made a scene and collapsed on the ground. I didn't want them to see me weak, I was never weak, I would never be weak.

"Mother ran away with you! We couldn't find you!" K retorted, but he wasn't angry— I didn't know what he was feeling but it wasn't anger.

"You can fool your sluts, but not me, K!" I yelped in vexation, "you people here are goddamn gifted, and you think I'd believe you when you say you couldn't find me? What are your gifts for, a display? Then what the hell is this, a goddamned art gallery, you dumbfucks?"

The little girl's face became tamed while K finally entered the house like he didn't hear what I just said. The girl of my age above unlatched the window blind and peeked behind the dark curtains, feeling the shame after she turned her back to me a moment ago.

I shed my rushing tears and swallowed the lump forming in my throat heavy-hearted, my frail knees finally collapsed making my height level on the little girl's as she embraced me on my neck, silently crying that I could feel cold liquid tricking over my shoulder.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered in broken note, tightening her hug and nearing her face on my ears— making her sobs louder than before. "I should have never told you that."

"It's not your fault," I replied to stop her from crying.

I usually hated kids because they whined too loud like broken engines on start, but this little girl in white dress with golden belt just hit me differently. I didn't want my walls down, but I would do it just for her sake.

"It kinda is." She ended the hug and placed her little hands upon my cheeks, squeezing them in between as she pouted with her tears rolling. "Your eyes are red and swollen."

"So are yours so stop crying or I'll finger out your eyeballs. Do you want that?" I threatened, making her peered through my eyes intently.

"That's mean!"

"It is, so stop." I carried her off, she was sat on my arm while my other hand was around her back preventing her from falling. "I'll bring you inside."

It's worth to try, beside it was late if I still knocked on someone's door and begged them to let me stay. People were probably feeling the brimming comfort under their blanket with head lying on their soft pillow.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I'd understand if you don't want to. After what we have done..." she implied head downcast while her chin lied upon my shoulder.

"After what you all have done, this is the least you could do, don't you think?" I mockingly responded.

"Oh, right..."

I started to amble through the door that was meters far away from us. The black girl on the window above even rushed off that she left her window open, running for her dear life to welcome me upon entering the door. I felt embarrassed about the drama I just pulled a moment ago.

The light from the inside chandelier slowly showed me off from darkness— starting from one-year-old pair of shoes, to my trousers above-my-knees long, to my not-so-broad shoulders covered in dark jacket, up to my head showing my face to my brothers and sisters waiting for me in the front door.

The little girl, which up until now I still didn't know her name, turned her head with a smile curving on her lips that I had seen the moment the gate opened widely for me. She wanted to be put down so I did. The minute her feet landed on the ground, she ran and embraced K's waist now with a smirk on his face.

They were four and everyone was strangely in white and gold like gods and goddesses: the little girl, Karlheinz leaning on the door with arms folded, the girl of my age I had seen peeking above on her room's window, and a boy I assumed 17 years of age wearing glasses with East Asian eyes and emotionless face. So these were my siblings?

Heart racing, I took a step on the front door, making the black girl smile showing off her perfect set of porcelain white teeth.

"Hi..." It was a long greeting that the girl of my age mouthed, waving both of her hands in pure excitement.

I just replied an awkward wave of hand as K went beside me and slid his hand upon waist that I could feel his naked top rubbing off against my side. Dumbfounded, I could feel my cheeks heating and burning red with my nose enjoying his manly scent that invaded my nostrils. I attempted to push him off but he was a Hercules in flesh that I couldn't even make him move centimetre away from me.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked in forced annoyance, eyes locked on his face that was currently confused by how the way my body responded.

"I'm escorting you..." he replied, bewildered for even questioning him.

"I don't need an acquaintance, I can help myself, dick head!" I complained, but it seemed like it had just entered on his left ear and went off on the other side, acting he didn't hear the shit I just uttered.

"Chaminade," K called the black girl. So Chaminade was her name. That was cool! "Bring Lili to the dinner table and you, Ludwig, get the wine, pick the oldest."

We sauntered into the house in different direction with his hand still circled on my waist. Karlheinz was like the Padre de Familia in this house. A father to our dear siblings. Perhaps like me, they hadn't experienced having a father on their side, too.

"Where are we going by the way?" I questioned in clueless tone.

He didn't mind to look at my direction and just mouthed, "I told you I'll introduce you to someone."

"Don't you mean our siblings?"

"No."

"Then who are you referring to?"

We stopped and stood still right before the wooden door where K knocked for at least three time. No one opened it for us so he assisted himself and unlocked it in his will. The presence of an old man, his back was on the line of our sight, facing the fire place with shoulder long winter-white hair in wheelchair welcomed us.

"Him." He paused and remove his arm off my waist. "Our father... Signor Giuseppe Dreamville."