"The Never-ending Night"

"Ah... it's still dark outside..."

I thought to myself as I quietly sat by my window and stared into the seemingly endless night sky. I usually spend my time staring out this window whenever I'm not at school or studying for exams. My life isn't one of any importance... it's a constant flow of disappointment and hurt feelings. No one cares for what I have to say or think.

"I want to escape from this pain..."

I'd often to say to myself... For as long as I can remember, everyone in my life has only seen me as a burden and someone that isn't important. Somewhere down the line, I started to believe that too. My mother passed away when I was very young, she was the one who made my days' worth it. She would always dress me for school and make me small lunches. But once she passed, all of that stopped and I was left alone. My father remarried almost instantly, to a woman that corrupted his mind and took over the life I once knew.

"Shiro, you're still here? Can't you actually do something instead of being worthless for once?"

She'd tell me while my father stood there and watched. My stepmother's name is Eika, but I normally don't even care to remember it. I'd get punished by her whenever I did something that wasn't to her liking. As time went on, her foul view on me quickly spread throughout our neighborhood and even to my school.

"Why are you here Shiro?"
"Ugh! You're disgusting!"
"You should just die!"

These are things that I hear almost every day. My teachers at school don't seem to do anything about it either, they just stare as I get bullied.

"Shiro! Come downstairs!"

Yelled my father... After a couple minutes of thinking, I slowly walk down the stairs not sure what to expect. Unsurprisingly, my stepmother was sitting right next to him smiling.

"Shiro, Eika is pregnant"

He said in a somewhat excited tone as Eika's smile seem to get more sinister by the minute.

"Oh... I see. Is that all you wanted to tell me father?"

I asked in a calm tone trying to ignore Eika's facial expression.

"No, what I wanted to discuss with you is that since we're expecting, the baby will need a room. Your room to be exact."

My eyes widened, my room was my only safe place and the thought of it potentially getting taken away from me was unbelievable.

"But that's my room! You can't do that! Where would I stay?"

Eika's facial expression turned into a smug face as she sat back on the couch crossing her arms. My father leaned towards me and said:

"You can stay in the extra room down the hall, of course the baby isn't due for another 6 month or so. So, you can stay in your room until the end of the school year Shiro."

As soon as he shared this with me, my heart sank. I couldn't believe it, I was losing the one place that I felt safe, where I could express myself without being judged. The room in question that my father mentioned was a small room only large enough for a bed and a small desk, I'd have no room to fit the majority of my stuff. Nothing else was said that night as I simply nodded and walked back to my room, I could hear Eika quietly giggling as I walked up stairs. That night was probably the first time I cried in a long time. I was lost and I didn't know what the future would hold for me. As I laid in my bed, I just thought to myself:

"Why... Why me? Why does the world hate me so much? What did I do to deserve all of this pain?"

To this day, I still wonder what I did to deserve the harsh life I was given, I make good grades and I can take care of myself. Yet, I always find myself getting dealt the bad set of cards everywhere I go. As I slowly started to calm down, once again I went towards my window and looked in the abyss that was the night sky. Never ending... but yet endlessly beautiful. I admired the night sky, the stars that shined brighter than everything.

"Maybe one day, I too could have a star to illuminate my world..."

That was my final thought as I slowly drifted into what seemed like the best sleep of my life. As the next day came and I headed for school, like usual I expected nothing good to happen. Classes went by, my teachers gave our assignments, I ate lunch, and went back home. I hated this, I felt like robot simply doing a task on an endless loop. I felt like a side character of my life, I envied others who have a good life, I desperately wanted what other people had, it wasn't fair for everyone around me to be happy all the time when I was always miserable. But at the same time, I always knew that having a happy life wasn't in my deck of cards...

Over the next few weeks, I started to notice my things slowly getting boxed up and baby items getting moved into my room. While this was happening, my father seemed to not care and just let this happen as I slowly lost my safe haven. At school, word seemed to spread more rapidly about my misfortunes.

"Poor Shiro, must suck to be a loser!"
"Haha! It almost makes me feel bad for him."
"Imagine losing your room!"

I always hear these comments at school, as time passed, I simply didn't care anymore what anyone had to say about me. I became more secluded than I already was, I always ate alone, and never talked to anyone around me. One day, I had left school later than usually and was walking home. I looked at my phone and saw no texts.

"Just as I thought... my parents don't even care enough to check up on me."

I chuckled to myself as I stood at an empty bus stop where my stress and emotions for some reason finally caught up to me. I cried for what seemed like hours, with no one to comfort me or care. I was losing hope in everything. I wanted to end all this pain that seemed like it would never end. As I continued to cry, believing that all hope was lost, that's when I heard a soft voice from behind me:

"Why... are you crying? If you need someone to talk to sir, I can stay here for a while..."

As I lift my head up, I see a girl that was like a star, a star that would shine brighter than anything in the night sky.

"Those tears... they don't suit you."

She said to me in a tone that calmed my nerves and made me feel like I was the only person in the world. It was something about her voice that made me forget about the pain I was enduring. The way she had asked me her question, had made me think to myself that maybe... maybe I do matter to someone.