Free Thinkers Society

     It was with a cold wind that Akinari was woken up that morning. He had forgotten to close the window the previous night and the room was chilly all throughout. His desk, with his computer, his closet, and his antiquated, big television were all humid from the rain that had gotten in through the window during the night.       Akinari woke up shivering, with his body extremely cold, more reason for him to not get up from bed that morning. He got up, mostly only to shut the window. He then went to his bathroom like he does every morning. He brushed his teeth, he removed his clothes, he showered, he got dressed, and then went out of his room. Akinari secretly hoped to not eat the same breakfast he eats every day: rice, natto, and eggs. He knew he could not complain about the food as he would seem ungrateful to his parents and they might get upset over the whole situation.       Akinari went downstairs, the old wood creaking as he came down. He looked at the drawings that were hung on the wall, he had always seen them but never noticed how disturbing they actually were. One of the paintings was a large building, with a massive hole behind it, and from the hole protruded an eye; an eye that looked disturbed and tired, but almost with a sense of confidence to it. Another drawing depicted a woman in drab clothing crouching on the floor while a man with a very different apparel, almost from a completely different era, was holding her hands. Akinari continued down the creaking stairs. He got to the bottom and saw both his parents sitting down at the table.       “You’re late, Akinari”, commented his Father, still while looking at the newspaper. Akinari didn’t reply and continued on to the table. His food had already been served by his mother, it was the usual breakfast. Akinari slowly sat down on the dirty and run-down tatami mat. He started eating quietly and quickly.       “Akinari, you haven’t greeted us or even said anything since you came downstairs, is that really the way you act towards your parents?” said Akinari’s father, in a slightly more aggressive tone than before.       “Good morning”, replied Akinari, while letting out a sigh. His mother, then, joining the conversation pointed out,       “Please, Akinari, your father really worries about you, and recently, even I have. You have not been acting normally these days, you have been quiet, you have not eaten much, you have lost your respect towards most people, it is almost like your will to live and work is fading away. Please, Akinari, if there is something we can do, let us help you.”       “This is why I like being away from you, I’m fine”, replied Akinari. Akinari’s father grunted, “This is what happens when you are soft towards your children, all this brat needs are traditional values and manners.” he assured. Fed up with his parents’ scolding, Akinari got up from the floor and started walking away, with his food still half uneaten.       “Alright that’s enough”, said Akinari’s father. He got up from the floor as well and quickly walked towards Akinari. He grabbed Akinari by the collar of his shirt, and pushed him into the walls with run down and old paint. Akinari’s shirt had gotten stained from the wearing of the walls,       “you won’t ever dare to disrespect me or the food your mother gives you ever again, and don’t think I’m done with you either”, growled his father. He grabbed some spare rope he had laying around, he went back to Akinari and grabbed him from his shirt again. Akinari’s father lifted him up and threw him into the corner, knocking down a stool with a vase resting on it. The shattered glass from the vase hurt Akinari’s hands and knees and he started to bleed a significant amount. His father then got closer and started beating him up, using the rope as a weapon. Akinari’s skin in his arms started to burst open from his father’s beating. His mother cried and begged for his father to stop, but he would not.       After about 3 minutes of constant beating with a rope, Akinari’s father got tired, he threw the rope beside Akinari and left. Akinari, wiping off his tears, slowly got up. He went into his room, got changed again, struggling to do so because of the injuries; this time he used a jacket so that his classmates and coworkers would not notice his wounds. Akinari left the house and went to the university.       He rode his bicycle to the train station and then got in two different trains until he reached the university. On his way he admired the vast rice fields and the beautiful country side; although he had seen these most of his life, this day he was noticing details that he had never noticed before. He admired the mountains in the distance, the workers in the fields, the rivers, he even admired the quietness and politeness of everyone on the trains around him. When he reached the university, Akinari was feeling tired, discouraged, and mostly hopeless. He wished for an escape from his current life, yet felt powerless to do anything. He continued on into his classes, Akinari was studying law. He did not enjoy his studies, nor did he ever want to be a lawyer, but his parents thought it would be the best and most secure option for Akinari to succeed and make a profit in life.       Akinari attended his classes unemotionally every day, he had to sit through the lectures and try to pay attention so he would not further disappoint his parents by failing. After 6 hours of being stuck in a lecture hall with way too many people for his comfort, none of which he knew or ever talked to before, he was finally able to leave the university. He did not talk to these people because he could not, he did not do it simply because he was too uninterested and unencouraged to get to know anyone. To him, all these people were uninteresting and irrelevant, none of them meant anything to him and he probably didn’t mean anything to them either.       After leaving the university he took another train to his part time job, by this point his injuries had swollen up and he felt pain from sitting down in the train. He worked at a convenience store in the northern part of town. Most of the customers were disrespectful and rude, they would be arrogant towards him, and they would treat him with disdain and detachment, almost as if treating an android. His pay was terrible, barely enough to pay for transport and his education every day.       Akinari worked under terrible conditions, his boss was also extremely aggressive and would lose his temper over every little thing that went wrong in the store. He worked for many hours every day and would get home tired, unwilling to do anything else during the day. Akinari longed for a way out of the hell he lived in.       He got home that night, more tired than usual, his parents were already asleep. He got undressed, and got ready to sleep. Akinari went to bed, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. The mental toll this day had had on him was too much for him to bear. The squeaking of his bed was especially noticeable that night. He decided he could not live any further under his current conditions.