Laphia / Chapter 1 - The Same Wish

The water began to boil in the brown stained pot, shaking the lid as the air forced its way out. Shung carefully removed the boiled egg after putting out the fire under the stove. The eleven year old boy stood no taller than four foot high, thin to the bones and as frail as a twig. The only hopeful features on his body are his short wavy black hair and a pair of deep black eyes on his gentle face.

A little four year old girl; two feet high with neck-long ebon hair, sat down by the table before picking up a hard loaf of bread to eat. Shung began peeling the egg tenderly before he dropped it on the girl’s plate. She stopped with her bread after seeing the egg and handed the remaining half to the thin boy.

“You eat the buns since I have the egg.” the girl mouthed; not a sound came out of her mouth. “You have some bread too, Miyu, I don’t want get beaten up again just because your stomach growled in front of Penson.” said Shung with his thick dry lips, completely understanding what the girl had mouthed.

Her name was Miyu and she was a born a mute without a father who left when her mother; Wendy Summer, told him that she was pregnant with her. However Wendy didn’t give birth to Miyu alone, she married a man who was also a single parent, well, sort of a single parent. That man was Penson Row; a loving husband and father who gave his heart to the two girls of his life.

What was once a shattered Wendy who thought she would had to struggle raising her daughter alone, then led a perfect life with Penson, all perfect but a little scratch. Penson treated Miyu who was born a mute like his own flesh and blood yet he was utterly cruel to his nephew; Shung. The man hated his nephew and wanted to dispose of him before he saw the good that the boy had; he was a good punching bag. The boy was treated like the two words his name was derived from; ‘Shit’ and ‘Dung’.

Their neighbours were afraid that Shung might harm little Miyu because of the way Penson treated them, but he did the total opposite. Shung treated Miyu like she was his little sister and him to her as well. They had a bond with each other; a bond of love. However Penson didn’t like that idea at all.

“Get your filthy hands off my daughter you little rat!” That was what his uncle would say to Shung if he was caught playing with Miyu.

Wendy dared not speak too forcefully against Penson’s actions towards Shung, fearing that one day he might do the same to both her and Miyu. All she could do was to treat Shung like a normal human being when Penson was not around, which was during the day when Penson works at a nearby excavation site.

The abused boy saw hope in his miserable life from Wendy and that spurred him on to continue living. Things then took a turn when Wendy died. Miyu was no more than a year and half old when her mother contracted what was thought to be a deadly virus. It was no more than the common cold but due to her naturally weak immune system and the lack of proper medication, the cold became fatal and took her life.

Fearing that her ‘deadly virus’ might spread through the town, Shung, along with the two children were chased out of Tambessan. A shabby wooden house was built for them a few leagues away, leaving them with a small garden, a cow and a few hens. They were exiled and were never allowed to return to Tambessan, fearing that they might bring the virus with them.

On her dying bed, Wendy made Penson promise that he would raise Miyu for her and he did. Fortunately for him, not all the townsmen believed that they too contracted the virus, which kept him his job at the excavation site. Without Wendy around, Penson could only rely on Shung to take of Miyu who was more than happy to do so.

Their house turned into a furnace during the summer so everyday, Shung would bring his little sister to play in the nearby lake so they could cool off. The water was clear and the sun glimmered over the gentle surface. He took off his rugged shirt before removing Miyu’s white robe. With a splash, Miyu jumped into the lake and shivered because it was unexpectedly cold. He sat in the shallow lake watching as Miyu jumped around, splashing water everywhere. She was a lot more energetic than her brother who much preferred to just relaxed and cool off in the water.

Sands filled their surroundings with the presence of little vegetation. Not many plants and animals could survive in such conditions, their animals died at the end of the first year and the only reason they were able to live in such conditions was that Penson constantly made trips into the town every week. With the help of a few friends, he managed disguised himself and enter Tambessan to buy supplies; food, utensil, clothes and others.

“Carry me!” mouthed the little girl, arms raised in the air.

Shung slipped the small white robe over his little sister and fastened it with a rope around her waist. As tedious as it was, Shung lifted his sister up on his arms and carried her home with her silver whistle gleaming around her neck. As she was a mute, her mother bought her a whistle so that if something happened to her, she could simply blow the whistle to get someone’s attention. Shung felt that he was fortunate to have such an adorable little sister, sensible, pretty, yet may be quite silly at times. He loved nothing more than to see Miyu happy and smiling brightly, and detested nothing more than to see her sad and in tears.

The ball of fire descended into the horizon, bringing forth a glowing white orb above the cloudless sky. A tall dark man burst into the house. He was hefty and had visibly strong arms with cuts and dirt all over his hands; Penson had returned home.

“Get out.” said Penson impatiently, tossing a small bun at Shung.

Outside the house was where Shung spent his night everyday. The lack of cloud cover made the desert a freezing wasteland at night. Shung jumped into a hole that he dug before he began eating his bun. The hole was wide enough for him to lie in and deep enough to shield him from the cold desert winds. Soft insulated sand made his bed and sand worms were his companions.

“Hello.” said a voice.

The boy looked up to see a man draped in a dark purple robe, lined with golden fabric. His face was hidden by a hood that revealed only his lips and a shaved chin.

“Hi,” said Shung, “Who are you?”

“I’m someone who is here to guide you,” said the man softly, “guide you to the end of your misery.”

The skinny boy remained silent but showed deep interest in the man’s words.

“Just stand up for yourself.” said the hooded man, “Don’t let your uncle treat you like dirt. Stand up to him; fight him. That is all.”

The robed man turned and walked away, out of sight from Shung. He immediately stood up to question the man further but he was gone. It was as though he had disappeared into thin air.

How did he disappear like that? I saw him walked away in this direction! There’s nothing that he could be hiding behind… I must be seeing things…

After deciding that it was just a mere hallucination from deep hunger, Shung dropped back down into his hole and went back to his bun.

“Happy Birthday, me…” Shung whispered to himself, taking another bite into his bun.

That night before he fell asleep, he made a wish while Miyu eavesdropped by the window, “I wish for a family that loves and cares for me, whom I can also love and care for… It doesn’t have to be complete though. Just one of my parent, or maybe a sibling or two will be enough. However, if that is still too much, then all I ask is to see their faces and hear them speak their names.”

The stars-etched sky acted as his blanket and the warm sand his bed; sending him to slumber a year older.