Oh, Bryan? He's a single father. Wife left him years ago with Roku, now almost twenty years old and still acting twelve. There he was again, complaining and complaining about how the weather shouldn't stop him from going to a party that was "inside, anyways." Roku didn't realize how much he was loved by his father, but it was probably because he did stuff like this.
The argument was disrupted by a deafening knock at the door. Who could be arriving at this hour, in this weather? He certainly didn't order take-out.
Brian went to go check, as Roku was still fixated on convincing his father to let him go to the party. He creaked the door open, but no one was there; then - he looked down. Five babies organized beautifully into a large basket with blankets enveloping them. He didn't have just one child anymore, he had six.
Let's fast forward a little bit, shall we?
Besides the surprise, confusion, and worry about what to do, Brian was actually content about the situation. He always wanted to add to his already minuscule family, and this was just bestowed upon him. Was his prayer heard? Over time he raised the kids on his own. He never had thought to figure out who dropped them off, because he had yearned for more company; and to raise a set of five as his own? This was a dream come true. He educated the children himself, was the best caretaker he could be, and they reciprocated this in the years to come. They grew older and older, completing high school just nearly. They loved him, and he loved them even more.
And they lived happily ever after.
Haha - no, not really, they didn't.
You see, Roku still exists, unfortunately. And he wasn't happy. To be the only child turned to one of six isn't a pleasant feeling. Sure, he was given more freedom as his father was busy all the time, but he didn't want that. He wanted his attention, his love; the freedom he was getting wasn't filling this hole. So he did the obvious - he got jealous.
He wanted to send a message that he had been waiting to send for the last couple decades after being essentially abandoned by his father. He was going to get back at them.
He had a "master" plan. He had already thought things through. Weed in the bag of the youngest son's, a weapon in the middle child's, death threats signed by the oldest son's, a "running away" letter from the youngest and oldest daughters. He wanted to get back at them, so he was going to frame them. He was shaking with joy after he completed his tasks.
It was one of those warm evenings, where the weather was just right, all five of your favorites were there, and you wish you it could last forever. And it really was. The sun was shining, all five of his "pupils" as he loved to joke with them, were there, a day before high school graduation.
The chatter was disrupted by an authoritative knock at the door. Brian got up and was met with several police officers; a warrant was shoved in his face and three proceeded in with handcuffs.
Crying, screaming, thrashing didn't help. The law was the law, and although innocent until proven guilty, for now, they were guilty just as much as they were innocent. All were in tears, except Roku. He giggled just far back enough where nobody noticed. He was so used to being not noticed anyways, right? Well not anymore. He got his father back, and this time for sure.
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Author's Note
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I based this story off of Mahabharata when Dhritarashtra raised five sons on his own and trained them as his pupils. In this story, as well, his eldest son became extremely jealous at the fact, and challenged them in many ways. I wanted to take a similar method of telling this story, and did so by telling it this way.
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ReplyDeleteZ, I loved the subtly sarcastic comedy you incorporate into your story. When I read the first sentence, I thought it was gonna a very happy tale about family, but you changed it completely by the second sentence. That’s a great writing technique to capture your reader's attention. Also, I think your story probably resonates a lot with the “oldest” sibling feelings. I was the only child for six years and the only girl in my immediate family, so I was always the center of attention until my sister was born. I can relate to Roku, it’s a tough pill to swallow when your parents give attention to someone else. Obviously, I did not reach a level of revenge and actually adore my siblings, but at the age of 6, I knew exactly how Roku felt.
ReplyDeleteHi Z!
I really liked this story because of the depth of personality that you gave to Roku, as well as the sarcastic tone of the narrator. The story also surprised me, because I thought there would be a twist at the end and Roku would get in trouble. I guess you could say that the lack of twist was a twist in itself. One thing I would say is that sometimes you change tenses, for example when you write: “You see, Roku still exists, unfortunately. And he wasn't happy.” It can be a little confusing. Overall, really interesting story!