Chapter 10 : Before The Storm

"With every strike of lightning, comes a memory that lasts. Not a word is left unspoken as the thunder starts to crash. Maybe I should give up."

The young boy’s POV

“There we go; I saved the very best for last! I know how you’ve always liked meat so eat lots okay?” The aunt said encouragingly with a heartening smile, though no reaction was forthcoming from the boy who sat in front of at the dining table.

Succulent food filled the table, prepared by the aunt especially for her beloved nephew. The little boy barely ate a full meal since the last few days and indubitably, his wellbeing was a main concern for the aunt.

He didn’t say a word bar when necessary and it was as if he had grown mute. It was difficult to hear his voice, and no matter how hard the aunt tried to strike a conversation with him, he would remain mum. That itself was a worry too, as many other things in relation to the boy, but for now, she was more troubled about him hardly eating anything.

The aunt started scooping up dishes and put them on his plate, repeating how this would be good for his health and that some of it were his favorite food. The boy only stared at his plate, face void of any expression and didn’t seem fazed even for a bit at the amount of food his aunt prepared for him.

He wanted to tell her to stop doing all this. He wanted to tell her that no matter how many delicious food she cooked for him, they would only be tasteless once entered his throat. They looked tasty and full of flavor but he doubted that they would taste as good once he started eating.

He had no care for appetizing food, because in the end they wouldn’t be able to stop the pain he was feeling, no matter how tasty they were.

“Oh, love, why aren’t you eating?” The aunt asked, breaking the silence after seeing him not moving even a single muscle. The silverwares remained untouched, and he just sat there like a doll. Under different circumstances, it would be bloodcurdling for some people to have a little boy with no expression whatsoever on his face, never spoke, and had a cold, dark aura surrounding him.

But the aunt was used to this, and she knew that the boy once was not like this. It was because of what had befallen him that turned him to become the way he was. Hence, instead of being scared stiff of having him under the same roof, all she could feel was only pity.

“Is anything the matter, love? Is the food not to your liking?” The aunt asked again, hoping that she would get some sort of a reaction, a shake or a nod, at least, just anything. She knew that she could never get him to talk to her, but the woman can’t help but hope. She would keep on asking him questions until finally he decided to give her a respond.

“Are you not feeling well? Is your stomach hurting or something? Should we go to the doctor to have a look at it?” She kept on asking, patiently, bless her. Somehow, she had rather figured it out why this boy came to her.

Apart from being his aunt, probably she was the best person who could look after him. She loved him as if he was her own, and she actually doubted that the boy’s own father had the forbearance to deal with this every single day.

“Or would you like to eat something else?” Even though she never had a child of her own, she knew how to handle children who behaved like this. Yes, he was probably crossing the lines by misbehaving and not eating, but you cannot counter fire with fire.

She would slowly get there, setting the boundaries again and teach him the rules and regulations of the house. For all of it now seemed impossible, she actually doubted that those things would even work.

And finally, after what seemed like forever, the boy gave her the briefest shake of his head before sliding down the chair and walked away from the dining table, leaving his aunt there all alone with plates of untouched food.

The aunt could only sigh as she trailed him with her eyes, watching him head to the backyard. Sometimes she felt like she was at her wits end, not knowing what to do anymore. She didn’t mind the wasted time and effort for the food, since she could keep them in the fridge and heat them again whenever. But in the end, she still couldn’t get him to eat, and that saddened her.

Meanwhile, back on the backyard, the little boy was sitting in the center of it while staring at the ground; well cut grass filled his view. It was his favorite place in the entire house, and he wished that he could just sit there all day long.

Sometimes he did wish for the garden fays to appear in front of him, just like in the stories his aunt told him before bed, when she thought he wasn’t interested to listen. Maybe there were really pixies around the garden, who might just be as nice as his aunt might. And who knew, they might take him into an enchanted land, where he might forget everything that made him sad all these while.                                   

“Has any fairies come and visit you yet?” He turned his head to see his aunt walking towards him, with a plate of his untouched food. “They are either sleeping during the day or just shy to see such a handsome young boy sitting here all alone.” She continued, carefully sitting down next to him without spilling over the food.

The boy only looked at her, perplexed as to what she was doing out there with him when she was supposed to be eating inside. His aunt only smiled at him and leaned a little towards him, and whispered, “You know, I’ve heard people say that fairies wouldn’t want to be your friend if you don’t eat. Because if you don’t eat, then you will eventually fall sick and they don’t like that. Somehow, it will make them feel very sad and they would at the end of the day go away.”

She knew for sure that she was making a total fool out of herself, talking nonsense in front of her one and only nephew who might just know that she was lying. There were never fairies around the garden, or anyone’s garden, for that matter because they never existed. And who could ever justify that they would go away just because some kid was refusing to eat his meal. She would definitely ask if she ever met them.

Anyway, she would never stop trying to get the little boy to eat. Just a few mouths full will do, as long as he did eat something. “Hey, I tell you what, if you finish at least half of the food on this plate, I’ll take you to the butterfly park, all right? Who knows there might be fairies living there, too? And perhaps some ice creams afterwards too, since you’re such a good boy? It would be a waste of a very beautiful day not to spend outside.” She enticed him, with something that all children, including adults, love, which is ice cream.

The little boy seemed to ponder his answer, and as a final point nodded his head. The aunt smiled in happiness and mentally thanked both the butterfly park idea and the ice creams, since she didn’t know which one of those made the boy change his mind about not eating.

He took the plate from her and started eating, and his aunt praised him again for being a good boy. She stayed there with him, watching him eat, just in case. She knew that promising him the trip to the butterfly park and ice cream really did the trick, but she could never be too