Stereotype Simon

They were awoken from their sleep when he made a piercing cry. "Mary, go and look at what your child wants. He is ruining my sleep. The mother got up and went to her son's room. She turned on the lights and saw him wailing. "What happened my dear?",the mother asked "Don't come close to me. Mama are you okay? He was beating you up, and you were mourning. You were very hurt. Are you okay? Mama!" The boy wept and sniffed. His mother hugged him tightly saying, "Honey it was a dream. It was a dream! It's alright, It was a dream! Look at me, I'm not hurt and no one hit me. I'm okay and I'm here for you. Now stop crying otherwise your father will wake up and then scold both of us. Simon folded his mother in his arms. His mother was the source of his comfort. She became a warrior to fight the demon who he had seen in his dream. The mother lay in the bed with him and ruffled through his hair while she sang for him a song, in whispers, so that it might not wake up his father. The next morning, at the breakfast table, the father said, "Simon why aren't you eating? Men don't eat like girls. Be a man and eat like one." Simon replied saying, "Yes Baba, but why can't girls eat a lot?" His father said, "If girls eat a lot, then they become fat, and no one likes overweight women. Just take a look at your sister. She is slim and beautiful, and we all love her for that. Viola, get me a glassful of water." Viola, who was Simon's twin sister, said, "Yes Baba." After a few minutes of silence on the table, father said, "So Simon, why were you crying last night? You almost woke me up." Simon said, " I had a nightmare." Father asked, "What was it about?" Simon replied saying, "Nothing Baba, just a silly dream." Father said, "Well whatever it is, I don't want to see you cry like a girl. Be a man and learn to control your emotions. I do not want my son acting like a girl anymore. The mother who was washing the dishes turned around and said, "Ben, they are too young for you to make either one of the superior over the other." Father scrunched his forehead and narrowed his eyes. He then pointed his index finger towards the mother and moved it to and fro saying, "Mary, don't you dare tell me of what I should and should not talk to my son and daughter about. They are my children, and I can tell them whatever they need to know. He picked up his phone from the table and left. It was as if the mother had ignored the talk completely, but while she was doing the dishes, she heard the soft whimpers of her son. She turned around and said, "Simon, what did you dream about last night." Simon sat quietly as if he had he hadn't heard what his mother had just said. She went closer to him and sat on her knees, then held his face in her hands and said, "Honey, what has happened? What did you see? After a pause, Simon said, "Mama, I saw that Baba lashing you with a belt, and your back was bleeding." His mother's eyes were filled with tears. She was thinking of how unfortunate her children were to dream about their mother being beaten up by their father when they were only eight years old. She kissed him on the forehead then said, " It's alright! it's alright!" (apparently, it was the only way that she could console him.) After a few minutes of constant hugging and kissing, Simon said, "Mama, why aren't we like normal children? My friend Monica tells me that her father cooks for her and every weekend, her family goes to a restaurant just so they can enjoy it. Why not us? Why? He said 'why' as if he were questioning himself for the crime that he had done for which he had been punished with a father such as his. Every time that he said 'why' his voice got louder and more full of rage. The mother heard the frustration in his voice and said, "Oh dear! It's alright. You are going to be fine. Your father is just irritated and annoyed these days." Simon said, "Has he been irritated and annoyed for eight years? Since I've been born, he has always been mean to me and I hate mean people, therefore I have increasing hate for him. The mother said, "Oh no my dear! If your father hears you say this, then you will get scolded. Please control your temper." Mary looked at simon in his hazel brown eyes and said, "Do not end up becoming anything like him. I am going to go to Viola and talk to her." Simon said, "Don't worry! I will be nothing like him."