Sacred Madness

Fragments

It was dawning when Mark entered the frontdoor, the house was still dim lit. He walked upstairs with his hands on his pockets, and when he’s already at the last step, his eyes landed at the portrait on the wall by the end of the staircase. It was of a woman, maybe taken in her early twenties. Mark took a step closer and stared at it. The woman's calm facial expression made her seems so elegant and gentle. The melancholic look in her eyes brought back a distant memory from those hazy days Mark remebered so well.

It was an early morning, back to the summer of when he was just barely 8 years old. He woke up to a familiar sound so he quickly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. He saw her mom playing the piano, her dainty fingers gliding on each key.

“Mom” he shouted as he ran to hug her.

“Hey baby” she hugged him back before kissing him on his forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah” he answered eagerly.

She smiled at him as she was gently combing his hair with his hands. “Lets eat breakfast”. She said as soon as she was satisfied with how it looked. She held his hand before standing up. "Come"

They were about to walk to the dining area when the front door opened reaveling his father who was holding hands with his mistress as they were smiling at each other flirtatiously.

His mom was frozen for a bit but she maintained her composure. She held her little boy's hand tightly and continued walking to the dining room as if she didn't just saw his husband flirting with another woman.

When they reached the dining room, his older brother was already there solemnly eating his breakfast.

"Good morning" he greeted as soon as he saw them.

"Good morning P'Saint" Mark greeted back. On the other hand, his mother acted like he didnt hear anything and proceeded to the kitchen.

Mark sat adjacent to his older brother but when his mom came back, she told him to sit with her on the opposite side of the table.

"Don't talk to him" her mom said as soon as his brother finished eating and left the room.

"But why mom?" he wondered.

"Because he's evil" she replied seriously.

"P'Saint is nice. He always help me when I need him" Mark reasoned.

"They will take your father away from us" her voice was cold and stern.

"But..." he decided not to continue his sentence when he saw his mom's angry expression. "Ok". He sighed before he continued eating.

After breakfast her mom prepared a basket full of food and they headed out to the beach.

He was so excited when they arrived that he immediately jumped into the water. His mom laid the blanket on the sand and placed the basket on the side. She sat in the middle and happily admired his little boy who looked so happy as he played with the saltwater. Mark gazed at her with his eyes filled with innocence and his bright smile which seemed like it can lighten up the whole world. Her whole world at least.

Those were just fragments of the past. Now Mark was standing in front of his mother's portrait, tears threatening to spill. The genuine smile of that once innocent little boy was gone.

"Good morning" a familiar voice he hated so much snapped him out of his trance. "Are you okay?". He sounded concerned but Mark was deaf to it.

"Why do you care?" Mark's tone was full of sarcasm. He looked at the man with eyes filled with rage.