Story 2

Gary let the cold water wash over him. The blood stains washed off, but whether those were his blood or his victim’s blood, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care either. He bathed in silence. His wound stung when it came into contact with the water, but he didn’t wince at all.

He only vaguely remember what life was like before he became a pirate, although he only started this seven years ago. He was fourteen then. His father sold desserts by the roadside, and he helped out, because there was not enough money to send him to school. All the money earned was used for his mother’s medical expenses. And it wasn’t like they earned a lot. A large part of the money was given to the police as ‘taxes’, but Gary knew it was just extortion. Another part has given to the gangs. They barely had enough to survive. He always wanted to move to another village, where the police were (hopefully) less corrupted, or where they were no gangs. But his father refused, because his mother was too weak to move. There was once, his mother was in dire need of some expensive medicine, so his father refused to give in to the thugs. He was beaten to death. In front of Gary’s eyes. His mother died on the same night, because she didn’t receive the medicine in time. The thugs then claimed his house as theirs. To survive, Gary had to steal and extort, just like what the thugs did to him. One day, the pirates came into town and saw Gary stealing. The chief smiled, saying that he has got potential and asked if Gary wanted to join. The promises of shelter and food lured him in. The chief instructed him to kill the police patrolling the place. He did.

Did he regret joining? Did he regr