PinPoint - A collection of short stories

a r t h u r 2/?*

*Mentions of trauma and death, light blood imagery.

Arthur did have a sad life. Sammy had a privileged. Yes, they died a terrible death; but they were not as useless as everyone assumed, no matter how many different words the funeral director used to explain the boys.
They all saw them as irresponsible - even the funeral leader - kids who tore each other apart until they both destroyed themselves in the end.
They were idiots;
useless boys who wasted everyone's time.
Only the parents of the boys grieved.

It was truly sad.

———

Arthur remembered the sight of the thick, dark blood on the handkerchief whenever his mother lowered it from her mouth;
her cold knuckles when they brushed his arm in her sleep;
the blue veins on her eyelids when closed;
her death.
He watched her die.
His mother's coughs echoed in his ear whenever there was a moment of silence.
Sometimes, he caught himself hating her because of the maddening sound.
But that never lasted.
He always loved his mother, even after she left him.

After she died, Arthur's father have him away to some neighbors because the father was going to marry again, and was leaving.
That was when Arthur was six.
His new family was nice;
They had a small home with two other children, so Arthur had a brother and a sister.
They were not poor, but they weren't rich.
Arthur's new father hated the boy, and frequently told him that he should kill himself.
His mother, however was kind.
She was busy though, taking care of the house and kids, but she always tried to be there.
One day, Arthur's mother came to him and told him that he will be staying at his elementary school.
"Miss Emerson loves you, she'll treat you just fine!"
For food, he would work in the cafeteria, getting him a small meal for dinner.
For a place to sleep, he would work as the janitor for the school.
For love?
He had no answer for that question.
Arthur never had a proper childhood;
he learned to be an adult at the age of nine.
He was cold, but respectful.
It was a delicate balance.
It was on Tuesday night when he was traveling to his house to say his hellos, as he does each day, when he saw something that would change him forever.
He dared not speak of the incident - no one knew but him.
Arthur was already toughened more than most, and suffered often because of it, but this forced him to decide;

Was Arthur a victim, or a survivor?

ᴳᴼᴸᴰᴱᴺ ˢᵁᴺ