“It must be one of my rivals trying to ruin my career!” Aether’s father shouted, his voice thick with frustration. He collapsed onto the sofa, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. The once jubilant atmosphere of the party had soured into something cold and heavy, as every guest left with the same troubled expression, their whispers swirling around Aether like a storm.
The room was silent except for the occasional sniffle from Aether’s mother, who sat on the edge of the sofa, clutching Aether to her chest. Her face was etched with sadness, the memory of how the guests had looked at them, especially at her, still fresh in her mind.
“My poor son…” Aether’s mother whispered, her arms wrapping protectively around him as she fought back tears.
The image of the judgmental stares from their so-called friends was seared into her mind—those pitiful looks that silently said how unfortunate she was to have a child-like Aether.
It wasn’t long before the whispers spread beyond the confines of the party.
The news exploded across the internet, with tabloids and media outlets eagerly feeding on the scandal. Headlines screamed from every corner of the digital world, spinning wild theories and assumptions just to draw in more clicks and boost their ratings.
No one seemed to care about the damage they were doing to a young child’s life….. Though they avoided mentioning Aether directly, the implications were clear. The rumours were cruel and relentless, and they quickly began to take their toll on Aether’s parents’ careers.
As top-earning actors, Aether’s father and mother were used to the spotlight, but this was different.
Everywhere they went, they were confronted with questions about their son’s so-called disorder. Some people even began to spread vile rumors that Aether wasn’t really their child, but had been adopted—an attempt to cover up some imagined flaw in their perfect lives.
Aether’s father found himself questioned about his own health, with people insinuating that there was something wrong with him. Others turned their attention to Aether’s mother, cruelly speculating that her brain had been damaged, affecting her ability to act.
The incessant rumours slowly but surely began to eat away at Aether’s parents, their confidence eroding under the weight of public scrutiny.
As the reel of memories played on, the current Aether, who was watching all of this unfold, clenched his fists in anger. “How did you get all this?” he demanded, his voice trembling with fury.
[Hmmm… That’s a secret~]
The mocking words appeared on the screen, taunting him.
Aether glared at the text, his heart pounding in his chest. “Are you reading my memories?”
[… Who knows~]
The response was playful, teasing as if toying with his emotions.
Aether’s rage simmered beneath the surface, but before he could react further, a soft voice from the reel caught his attention.
“Mommy?”
Aether turned his head to the reel, his eyes widening as he saw the younger version of himself, a small, innocent boy, looking up at his exhausted mother.
He knew what was coming…. the memory was etched deeply into his mind. The love he once received was about to fade from this moment on….
His mother looked down at the boy, her face lined with fatigue, “I’m not in the mood to play, Aether,” she sighed heavily, her voice tinged with weariness.
“Mommy, I just—” the boy began, his voice small and hesitant.
“Go to your room,” she interrupted, her tone sharp and unyielding.
“M-Mommy?” The boy’s eyes filled with confusion, his lips trembling as he tried to understand.
“I said, go to your room!” The mother’s voice grew sterner, her patience fraying. The boy’s lips curled up into a forced, broken smile, tears brimming in his eyes. “Heh… I’m sorry… Hehe… sorry, Mommy…
Hehe… Please don’t… Hehe… be mad at me… Hehe…”
The sound of his laughter, distorted by his sobs, cut through the room like a knife. The mother’s expression darkened as memories of her friends’ pitying looks flashed in her mind, how they boasted about their own ‘normal’ children while she was left to bear the weight of this burden alone.
The more Aether cried (laughed), the more those memories consumed her, filling her with a bitterness she couldn’t control. “I SAID GO TO YOUR ROOM, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!” she screamed, her voice cracking with a mixture of anger and despair.
“HICK!” The boy’s laughter died instantly as he saw his mother’s hand raise, poised to strike. His heart pounded in his chest, fear and shock paralyzing him as he slowly backed away, unable to say another word.
The mother stood frozen, her hand trembling in the air.
Guilt washed over her like a tidal wave, crashing down on her with relentless force!!
She lowered her hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to steady her racing thoughts, ‘I shouldn’t have shouted at him,’ she thought, the realization of her actions made her feel sick.
She moved to the kitchen, her mind in a haze, and began preparing a cup of chocolate milk for her son, hoping to calm him down.
Meanwhile, the little boy lay on his bed, his small body curled up as he cried (laughed) into his pillow. The tears soaked through the fabric, his muffled sobs (laughter) echoing in the silence of his room.
In his hand, he was holding a drawing of his mother and father… He really wanted to give this to his mother.
Suddenly, a loud crash rang out from downstairs.
TANG!!
“AARRHH!!!”
The boy flinched, his body jerking at the sound. He scrambled off the bed and rushed down the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest. When he reached the kitchen, his eyes widened in horror.
His mother’s hand was bright red, blistering from the hot milk that had spilled all over the floor.
“M-Mommy… Heh…” he stammered, his voice trembling as he tried to approach her.
“Call the doctor!” she screamed, her voice filled with pain as the scalding burn seared her skin.
But the boy stood frozen, his mind reeling from the sight of his mother in agony. He took a hesitant step forward, his instinct to help her…. to hug her…. like any child would, “M-Mo… Hehe… Mommy…
Hehe… are you… Heh—”
Yet,
SLAP!!
The sound of the slap echoed through the kitchen as the boy’s head snapped to the side, his small body crumpling to the floor. His left cheek stung with the force of the blow and he fainted…. blood dripped from his left cheek.
The mother stood over him, her teeth clenched in a mixture of pain and fury. She hadn’t meant to hit him…. it was a reaction, an outlet for the unbearable pain that was tearing through her….. But hearing that laugh, even in the midst of her suffering, had been too much to bear.
“Are you going to laugh even if I die?” she shouted down at his unconscious form, her voice filled with a sorrow so deep it was almost unbearable.
The room fell silent, the only sound the soft, pained breaths of a woman who had lost herself in the storm of her own emotions.
…..
…
Aether stared blankly at the reel as the scenes continued to unfold before him, each memory cutting deeper than the last.
He watched as his once-loving family slowly unravelled. His father, who had once been a pillar of strength, began coming home later and later, the warmth in his eyes was replaced with a cold, distant gaze.
His mother, desperate and broken, tried to force him to cry…. as if that would fix everything! The love that had once filled their home had turned into something dark and twisted.
[But it’s not over… is it?]
The words flashed on the screen, taunting him.
Aether took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to steady his trembling body. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
[Hmm… nothing much! Just curious what Aether… I mean, what that little Aether was thinking.]
His gaze shifted back to the reel, where the younger version of himself stood, watching helplessly as his family fell apart.
To cope with the chaos, the six-year-old boy learned to hide his true emotions… He began to act!!
Yes, Acting like his parents… Pretending to feel fear, love, hate, and sadness. He even forced himself to cry when it was expected, all to avoid the painful truth that his real self was unwanted and unaccepted.
[If your true self cannot be accepted, then… wear a mask. A six-year-old child knows this much… interesting.]
The words appeared again, mocking him.
But Aether knew that acting wasn’t enough to save his family.
The reel showed the moment when everything truly fell apart… his father’s affair with another woman.
“How could you do this to me?!” Aether’s mother screamed, her voice raw with pain.
His father sighed heavily as if the whole situation was nothing more than a burden, “Listen,” he began, his tone flat and detached, “we’ve both had a hard time dealing with Aether’s condition. Neither of us could support each other. Every time I came home from work, you’d start another fight about how much care he needs. I couldn’t take it anymore…
so yeah,” he shrugged as if he were talking about the weather.
“Bastard!” Aether’s mother spat through gritted teeth, tears streaming down her face.
Aether watched, numb, as his parents divorced. The court ruled that he would stay with his mother, a decision that felt more like a curse than a comfort.
His father moved on, happy with his new wife, while his mother was left to deal with the burden of raising a child with a disorder that had already cost her so much.
Though their relationship was strained, Aether’s mother still cared for him in her own way. She took him to doctors, hoping to find a cure for his condition.
But their fragile bond was shattered the moment she fell in love with another man….. a politician.
[That’s where the nightmare begins… right?]
The words appeared on the screen, and Aether’s heart began to race. His breathing grew shallow, and his level bar started to fluctuate wildly, a clear sign of the turmoil within him.
[Fu~Fu~… Happy times live short… Sad times live short… Nightmares… are the ones that haunt you every day!!]
