The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Chapter 26: Get To Know Each Other

But something unusual began to be written by brother in his diary. He wrote that he didn’t have any friends in high school. And also some of the bad boys in the class started bullying him.

Every day, my brother wrote down what those bastards did to him. At first, they just often made fun of my brother then continued throwing away his books. Over time, my brother started to become an errand boy and the boys asked him for money. My brother was also often beaten up for no reason. Worse yet, the longer it took, those who bullied my brother were not his classmates only, but the several seniors who were friends with them.

Because my brother’s pocket money was quite much, they always asked for money from him. My brother also couldn’t defend himself and was getting more and more depressed. But he said that my grandmother and I should not know about what he went through. Because he really loved us and didn’t want to be a burden to us.

Even, my brother didn’t want other people to know that I was his little brother, for fear that I might get bullied because I have an older brother who was a loser.

“I can’t stand it anymore. My life is trash. I’m trash. I believe I’m of no use to Calvin or grandma. The world doesn’t need me, just as I don’t want the world.”

That was the last sentence in my brother’s diary. From the date he wrote, it was one day before my brother was found hanging himself in his room.

I felt pain in my chest. It was as if a knife had been stabbed into my heart. I cried. A terrible cry that I dare not make a sound of. My brother... Did he go through it all? Those worse nightmares.. Which I might couldn’t even face. And he had to keep everything to himself. I was furious. Extremely furious. A feeling of huge resentment rose in my heart. I have to avenge the bastards who caused the death of my brother.

.....

As a teenager, all I knew was to report the case to the police station. I couldn’t tell my grandmother anything, for fear that her health would get worse. I have to fight for my brother’s rights alone.

The next day, after school, I went to the police station with my brother’s diary as evidence.

However, do you know what the police had said? They didn’t take my report seriously. They said that the case was over and could no longer be continued. They said that my brother died of depression because of the death of our parents. The problem of being bullied was a common thing that happens in school for teenagers. Bullying cannot be used as a reason for someone to commit suicide, if the parents educate the kid properly.

I begged with tears in my eyes. That’s my brother. He was abused and humiliated by his schoolmates. My brother committed suicide because of their treatment. But those damn cops wouldn’t respond to me at all. They continue to deny it for various reasons.

Even though I was still a teenager, I kept fighting for my brother’s rights behind my grandmother’s back. My struggles had failed for various reasons that even didn’t make any sense. Until finally I realized, that the police in Handway City deliberately covered up my brother’s case. That they were too weak and trampled by the gangsters. All cases involving extortion and the other illegal business would be covered as tightly as possible.

Therefore, I decided to seek justice in my own way. Something like looking for the bastards who bullied my brother. In the course of following their footsteps, I became aware of the various crimes they committed. How their syndicate made people like my brother as the lowest prey on their food chain. It made me realize that it was not only my brother’s rights that I have to fight for. But all the victims of their bullying.

One day, grandma fell in the bathroom. Because she was very old, grandmother was Easley got into critical condition.

“Grandma. I’m fine here. I’ll make them pay for everything they did to big brother.” I said, besides my grandmother who was lying unconscious.

I knew it was the last time I could see Grandma still breathing. Because a few hours later, grandma left me alone in this world.

After my grandmother’s death, I lived alone. But at that time, I knew that I have a purpose in life after so long tossed around in the waves of uncertainty. I would destroy those gangsters. So that my family could rest in peace.

***

Emma wiped the tears that almost fell down her cheeks. She didn’t expect the past of the guy in front of her to be so tragic. Emma had several siblings, and she couldn’t imagine if any of them died. What else died by suicide.

Calvin smiled and pushed the bowl of crab porridge in front of Emma, “Your porridge will be cold if you don’t eat it soon.”

Emma was still holding her breath, “Sorry.. I feel sad to hear your story. I shouldn’t have behaved like this..”

“I should be the one apologizing. Looks like my story ruined your appetite.” He stared at his food, “Even so, I’m still fine now. The past can’t be changed, so there’s no need for us to regret it. All we can do now, is to make sure that the bad things in the past won’t happen again.” 𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

Emma nodded, “You’re right. All we can do is fix the present and prepare the future.”

Calvin smiled, “Eat your porridge. It won’t taste good when it’s cold.”

Still, with a sad face, Emma nodded and spooned her porridge, “This is delicious..”

**

The two people came out of the seafood shop. Their faces were beaming as they talked and sometimes laughed.

“Hah.. It’s getting colder every day, right?” Calvin said with steam forming in front of his mouth.

Emma nodded, “I didn’t know winter in Handway city would be this cold. By the way, what did you here with?”

“I’m riding a motorcycle.” He pointed away at a red sports motorcycle parked not far from Emma’s car.

“Oh.. That’s your motorcycle..” Muttered the girl. She had seen it earlier while parking the car. “Was your motorcycle from yesterday couldn’t be saved anymore?”

“It can be fixed. But it will take a while. Troy told me that. Luckily I got a discount from him.” He chuckled.

Calvin glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. You’d better go home soon. Come on..” He motioned for Emma to walk beside him.

They crossed the street and walked slowly towards their parking location which was quite far from the shop.

“By the way.. I’m glad to meet you at the food shop today.” Said Emma.

Calvin smiled, “Really? Actually, I’ve always wanted to take you out to dinner. But I’m afraid you would think that I’m being too aggressive. Because.. Somehow I see you as the kind of person who doesn’t like to be bothered.” he was honest.

Emma chuckled, but nodded to confirm, “To be honest I’m not very good at socializing. Since a kid, I was always restrained by my parents so I didn’t have any friends. I lived like a bird in a cage. But now I’m free. You can see for yourself, right?.. I look confused. I’m always afraid to do the wrong socializing. Afraid to make other people hate me. Always have bad thoughts, especially to men..”

“Oh..” Calvin seemed to realize something, “I know. The life of a pretty girl isn’t that easy, right?” he guessed with a chuckle.

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