Star Lost

Laughter roared through the halls outside of Jesper’s room, glasses clinking with each other. Joy filled the household except for one part of it which was his room. It’s been days since Jesper left it. This was a normal occurrence for him, especially when guests were around. He wasn’t allowed to since mother and father are ashamed how people would see him with his abnormal features. Honestly he didn’t look any different than the others, the only difference were his ears. Pointy-elf looking ears. No one knew why his ears looked that way. No one in his family has ever had any record of having ears like his. So why him? Was it bad luck? Whatever it was, it made his life hell. Jesper sat on his bed, his stomach growling and begging for food “I’m hungry” whispering to himself. Since he wasn’t allowed to leave his room he didn’t get a chance to eat or drink either. The day was getting late. It wouldn't be long until mother and father went to bed after the guests left. The idea of him sneaking out from his room to the kitchen popped into his head. Maybe there would be some leftovers for him to devour. He waited for things to get quiet, watching the rain outside hit the windows and guessing which rain drop would race down to the bottom first. Midnight finally came, the rain stopped and it has been quiet for a couple of hours. His parents already fell asleep. It's time. He creeps up to his door, cracking it open to look. It was still quiet so he cracked it a bit wider and poked his head outside. His room was at the end of the hall so he looked to the left in the direction of the kitchen. There was no one in sight. It was now or never. He made his way out of the door, tip-toeing on the floorboards that didn't creak. Tip. Toe. Tip. Toe. Tip. Toe. His palms started to sweat. This wasn’t his first time doing this but no matter he does it it's always as nerve wracking as the first. Passing his parents bedroom then the spare bedroom, he finally made it to the kitchen. Whatever celebration they had earlier, they cleaned up pretty good. No food was left out. He passed the dining table that was in the middle of the kitchen and made his way to the cabinets. Not a crumb in sight. Come on, there must be something around here. He opened the cabinet and started rummaging through it as quietly as possible. Empty pickle jars, expired cereal, moldy bread ah bingo! He found a small bag of biscuits behind one of the cabinets. They were a bit hard but honestly he doesn’t care. He can’t afford to be picky. Ecstatic that he found something. He arranged back all the stuff that was in the cabinet and grabbed the bag with the biscuits in it. Just as he thought everything was going smoothly, the worst possible thing that could happen happened. The biscuits he was holding bumped into the vase that was on the countertop. It twirled its way off the countertop shattering all over the floor. Fuck. Shards scattered all over the floor and panic started to flow through his whole body. He let go of the bag he was holding and dropped on his knees. He heard his parents door open, he picked up the shards pricking his fingers The steps were getting closer and he knew he was in for a beating. Mother and father hate it when he leaves his room, thinking that he causes too much trouble. He was once thrashed for using the bathroom for too long. Just as steps became louder so did his heartbeat. He could feel the blood leaving from his face. “I’m sor-” The palm from mother’s hand made contact with his left cheek before he could finish his apology. Mother might not be as aggressive as father but she always has the worst temper. She screams, hits and lashes out and right she’s in the worst mood yet. “What the f**k are you doing in the kitchen?” Mother spat and walked his way. Jesper quickly tried to hide the biscuits inside his shirt but he was too slow. Mother grabbed it out of his hand “Not only do you cause trouble breaking the vase but you’re stealing?”. She raised her hand to hit him again. “I’m so sorry I was just so hungry. I didn’t mean to break it, please believe me mother” Jesper covered his head with one arm, the other grabbing the hem of his mother’s nightgown. She grimaced seeing him lay his hands on her dress. “Don’t f*****g touch me and never call me mother again. I am not and will never be your mother” she kicked him in the stomach. He let out a small grunt making sure he wasn’t too loud, father hates it when he’s loud. Father was standing near the end of the hallway, watching him get beat by his wife. Slap after kick after punch after slap. It wouldn’t stop. His sight had gone blurry and he could tell he was falling unconscious. No, not yet stay awake it’s not your time a voice in his head spoke. The voice was right, it wasn't his time he didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not like this. His breathing was heavy and with whatever energy he had he spoke in the smallest voice “Please stop… it hurts… it hurts so much…” He curled into a ball his whole body was aching and what felt like centuries Father finally spoke up. “That’s enough” he sounded calm, too calm. The hitting stop and fathers footstep became louder. The old man grabbed a handful of his hair “Stop crying. You think you’re hurt? Imagine how we feel? Do you think we want to do this? This is your fault”. His face was so close he could smell the man’s ratchet breath. Jesper stopped himself from gagging, his hands clawing on father’s fingers. “Please… I’m sorry” What am I even sorry for? “It was a mistake” What did I even do? “Please let me go” Let me go. Father dragged him out of the kitchen by his hair. Jesper screamed, not knowing where he was taking him “Please, please, please” he sobbed. “If you’re not going to be respectful then get out” he heard the lock on the front door unlock. “Father please” he begged, scared what’s about to happen. “Enough is enough” the door opened and he threw Jesper out the door, landing on the wet muddy ground. “Get out. Don’t you dare come back if I ever see your face again I’ll kill you” Jesper crawled to the door and one last time he begged '“Father please don’t do this to me” Slam. The door shut, locking him outside, Jesper slapped the door “Let me in… let me in…”. Silence… this has to be a dream. He got kicked out with nothing to call his own. Bursting into tears, the pain in his body and the realization of what happened… it’s just too much and before he knew it, the darkness took over his vision and Jesper passed out