Pushing the Boundaries of Parental Love

At first, everything seemed fine among our family, despite the curse and the odd appearance it gave me. My parents reluctantly told the doctor about it, but they didn't have a choice. He was shocked to hear that was the case, though he definitely sounded skeptical about it.

Curse or not, he still gave me a thorough examination, which I had passed with flying colors. He gave them a good lecture on how to raise a kid, since I was their first child, and to contact him if I ever became ill or had any other issues. My parents thanked him as he left, giving us some privacy. They hoped my condition was superficial and nothing more would come of it. Unfortunately, life's not that simple.

Almost a year had passed, with time circling back to the end of the warmer months. My mother was able to care for me without any complications, and my father continued his work, helping around when he could to give her a break. It certainly did help that he no longer carried the curse anymore. Even so, he never once considered himself lucky, cause he knew I was the one to bare the burden now.

But one day, things took a turn for the worse. My father couldn't make it home from his trip to the village, as a heavy storm had appeared as he was out restocking. This was around the time where my mother's milk wasn't enough and they had started feeding me solid food, or as solid as mushy, milk-soaked bread and fruit could get. With my father unable to return, it was just me and my mother for the night.

She waited patiently, watching the rain outside the window, with me in her arms, hoping her milk was enough to sate my appetite. But it was not. I started to cry, my hunger growing even stronger. She tried to calm me down, but it was no good. No matter what she tried, I wouldn't cease my wails. 

Eventually, she gave up on dad coming home that night, especially with the downpour. She decided to bring me to my crib, hoping she could put me to sleep so I could wade out the hunger 'til the morning. He was sure to be home by then.

"There, there, Abel. Just rest for now, my little angel," she cooed, rubbing my belly, hoping it would soothe me to sleep. But it had no effect as I continued crying even louder. She moved her hand from my stomach to my cheek, hoping that caressing it would be more effective. That simple act ended up being one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

My nose started to twitch, sniffing the air like it had smelled something to eat. Right as her hand got close to my face, something came over me, darkness overtaking my vision and other senses. My mother noticed something was wrong as well, but before she could make out what was happening, a sharp pain shot through her finger. She recoiled immediately as she shrieked briefly in agony.

She looked down to see what the hell happened to her, only to find herself half a finger short. With blood oozing out, she immediately used her shirt to try to stop the bleeding. But over the noise of both the rain and her own faint moans of pain, she could hear a crunching sound. Almost like the sounds of chewing.

That's when it dawned on her; she was so preoccupied with her finger, Abel had slipped her mind completely. How could I forget about my son? she thought as she looked up to see if I was alright. But as she got closer to get a better look, she was stricken with a horrific site. The adorable baby she was trying to soothe just a moment ago looked like something out of a nightmare.

My head was replaced with one that looked beast-like. Except it wasn't an animal she had ever seen or heard of. Its skin was dark and shadowy, its face bearing no eyes, no ears, nor even a nose--but it did have a maw. And what a maw it was, housing large, yellowish teeth that looked almost human. And those very teeth were the ones making that noise she heard, chomping away at her finger like it was just any other snack.

Tears welled in her eyes, as I, her son, had turned into some kind of monster out of a folktale used to scare children. But just as quickly as I had become this abomination, I turned back into her baby once more. She looked at me as I lay in my crib, her face stricken with despair as I drifted comfortably to sleep as though nothing had happened.

***

When my father arrived back the following morning, he was immediately met with the sight of my mother sitting on her chair, her hand wrapped in her own bloodied clothes, vacantly staring out the window. Worried, he put down the supplies he brought and rushed to see what had happened.

That's when she turned to him, her face pale, her eyes sunken, and with some reluctance, told him what had happened the prior night. The color now drained from his face, as well, hearing the horrific tale. That's when he heard me stirring awake from the other room.

He made his way to me, afraid of what he might see from his son. But as I finally came into view, he looked almost relieved, as I looked like a normal baby. He could feel the color return to his face as I started waking up. For a moment, he thought maybe his wife had just hallucinated what happened last night from sleep deprivation.

That was until he saw it. As I yawned, he could see that the very few teeth in my mouth, as well as my tongue, were coated a dark red. The color as blood. The shock he experienced might have kept him standing there for even longer if it weren't for my sudden crying that snapped him out of his stupor.

Despite everything, he had to remind himself that I was his son. And he promised to take care of me, no matter what. He walked out of the room and into the kitchen, preparing the food I had been waiting for since last night. My mom looked at him in shock. She asked why he would prepare food for a monster.

"Because that monster is our son!" he scolded her as he continued making my breakfast. She was taken aback, but his harsh words helped her snap out of it, as well. He was right, that despite everything, I was still their son. Feeling overwhelmed with emotion, she couldn't help but start crying, holding onto the back of her husband as tears flowed out endlessly.

They were going to get through this together, as a family, they thought. They were sure of it. But this was just the first of many trials, as it wasn't long until my father got to experience it himself.

A few days had passed since then, and just like before, I was hungry. However, my mother was occupied with making dinner for Dad, leaving him and me alone in the room next door. He thought it was best to make more time for me, so here he was, watching as I crawled around on the floor, playing with my little makeshift toys.

The scent of food wafted into the room, reminding us that dinner was near. Feeling my stomach growl, I started whining as I crawled around the room. My father tried to calm me down, assuring we would eat soon. 

But as a baby, the only thing I understood was the need to eat. That's when it appeared before us. A rat had gotten in from outside and was scurrying around the floor, also searching for food of its own.

My father saw it, getting up to handle it. But before he even had time to reach for it, he saw something black lunge at it. He flinched, taking a small step back as he saw this small beast devour the even smaller animal, its squeaks being silenced almost immediately as it chomped down on it.

He wasn't even sure what he was looking at, as its body resembled that of burly dog, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what it was since it lacked any type of ears, nor could he get a good look at its face since it was turned away, feasting on its prey. That's when he remember Abel, thinking he might be in danger. He turned around to make sure he was safe, only to realize he was gone. The clothes he was wearing were on the ground where was just moments ago, with tears on them like they had been forcefully ripped off.

At first, he thought the beast had already gotten him, somehow. He turned immediately back to it, grabbing the chair like a make-shift weapon. But right as he got close, what he saw caused him to hesitate. Beneath the creatures shadowy aura, he saw it was wearing a diaper. My diaper. Before he could piece one and one, the monster finished its meal with one last gulp, now turning its attention to him.

One look at its featureless face was all my father needed to know. It was the very same monster my mother described to him the other day. A part of him had always hoped she was just imagining things, but seeing this all but confirmed it. Their son truly was a monster.

His knees gave out from the realization, causing him to fall back on his rear. Now on the floor, with nothing between them, Abel charged right at his defenseless father. Despite having dealt with bigger game before, his father couldn't help but be paralyzed in fear, like he was the cornered prey he was so used to hunting. But as Abel got closer, his shadowy, beastly form slowly started to dissipate, until all that was left was a normal baby crawling into his father's lap.

Like with his mother before, Abel acted as normal as can be, all the while his father was lost in his own thoughts, trying to keep his sanity in check.

"This is my son. This is my son. This is my son..." He looked down at me as he repeated this in his head over and over again. I looked back at him and gave him a smile, one that was stained with the hair and blood of the rat I just devoured.

"This is... my son?"