Beyond Good and Evil

I ran to the edge of the cliff, but Lady Scarlet and the Maestro had already vanished below the treetops and beyond the fog of the forest below.

“Lady Scarlet… Mother… she…” I cried.

“There, there kid.” Mr. Ren tried to comfort me.

“Is she going to die?” I asked. I could barely breathe. I had witnessed a lot of people die since coming into the Chaos Lands, the place beyond the rift. But out of everyone, this was the first time I found myself feeling so sick. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. Maybe the Maestro cast a spell on me.

“Take a deep breath in and out, kid. That fall wouldn’t kill Lady Scarlet,” Mr. Ren tried to reassure me. “Besides, she said she would see you again, so it’s just a matter of time.”

Although what Mr. Ren said was true, it didn’t make me feel any less worried for Lady Scarlet.

We picked up our pace and made it to the Forest of Voices. Although I was exhausted by this point, I couldn’t rest. I had to reunite with Lady Scarlet.

“Kid, slow down. It’s important you rest while you can.” Although Mr. Ren, my father, was saying this. I didn’t want to rest while Lady Scarlet was still out there.

“I want to find Mother,” I responded to him, displaying my defiance.

“But if we run into that creature again, we will be too tired to do anything,” He tried to reason.

Reluctantly, I sat down, and we caught our breath. Although Buddy had fallen asleep, neither Mr. Ren nor I could sleep. I was too worried about Lady Scarlet, and Mr. Ren was probably keeping guard over me.

After we had both caught our breath, Mr. Ren agreed we could go on and look for Lady Scarlet.

I practically ran off to search for her. In fact, I had gotten so excited that I hadn’t even thought about waiting for Mr. Ren.

“Kid, wait up!” Mr. Ren screamed. I turned around expecting to see Mr. Ren, but I had travelled too far from him. The fog was thick and shifting. As with all things in the Chaos Lands, even if you only travel a short distance from someone, you could easily get lost. I had lost sight of Mr. Ren.

“Mr… Daddy!” I called out, hoping to catch sight of Mr. Ren. But instead, there was an eerie silence. I walked around expecting to run into Mr. Ren at any time, but no matter how much I looked, I could never find him. The Forest was like a never-ending maze of trees.

I wandered further and further until I could make out a shadow. I was hoping with all my might that it was Mr. Ren. But when I approached it, I saw that it was not him, but someone I never wanted to see again. It was my birth father.

What was he doing here? I knew Lady Scarlet said he had entered the rift along with my Stepmother and Anne, but I thought I never would have had to see them again.

“What the hell are you doing here?” My father asked. His pot belly jiggled as he yelled this.

I said nothing.

“Don’t ignore me, you vile wretch. After you kicked us out of the camp, we had to go into the rift. We barely survived. We all got separated in this forest. This is all your fault.” He yelled as he approached me.

Again, I said nothing. I knew from all my experiences that even if I responded, he would likely beat me.

“You continue to ignore me?! If anything happens to them, I will kill you,” he yelled, spitting over me.

I didn't say anything; I was hoping it was actually the Maestro, as it would be nicer if it were him rather than my actual father.

“You stupid kid.” He yelled as he brought his hand down, smacking me across the face. The impact was so hard that it took all the wind out of my mouth. I fell to the ground.

Buddy tumbled out of my backpack, landed on his feet, and started to growl. While Buddy tried to protect me, he was a little dog, and my father was a much bigger person. Buddy couldn’t do anything. As I lay on the ground, Father kicked me. I was used to this; I had experienced it all my life.

Seeing as I was going to be beaten and kicked no matter what I did, I thought I would finally ask the questions that had haunted me all this time.

“Why do you always hurt me? Why do you always treat me poorly? Why do you love Anne more than me? Why don’t you love me at all? What did I do wrong?

Father stopped kicking me and laughed.

“You have dirty blood. A dumb, dirty girl like you has no worth. You should be grateful that I didn’t kill you the moment you were born. In fact, you should be praising me for being so kind.”

I didn’t know what he meant. After meeting Mr. Ren and Lady Scarlet, I had learnt this sort of behaviour wasn’t normal. I shouldn’t have been treated this way, that it was alright not to like this and to not be grateful for the beatings I received. Father was the one in the wrong.

Mr. Ren and Lady Scarlet gave me many things: courage, hope, happiness, and love. But they also gave me something more practical. The sash around my neck had a concealed knife. If I wanted to, I could finally defend myself against my father.

I thought about it for a moment. But I decided not to do anything. I didn’t want to lower myself to his level. He always inflicted pain. I didn’t want to be like him. I wanted to be better than him.

I scanned my surroundings. A gap between trees was exactly what I was looking for. I just had to wait for the right moment.

Father continued to kick me for several minutes. I was feeling sore. Every part of my body hurt. But I had to endure it as long as I could, just make it a little longer. Father began to pant, tired, and I saw my opportunity. I rolled over and got to my feet. My shoes had fallen off during the beating, but still, I ran, scooping up Buddy in the process.

My father yelled many things, but I didn’t listen; all I did was run. I ran and ran deep into the trees and the fog until I lost sight of him.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

End Chapter 25