Chapter 2 The weight of silence

“Daniel, bring the stick.”

No response.

“I said, bring it.”

The room stayed still.

For a moment, I thought maybe—just maybe—this time would be different.

Daniel stood there, not moving.

His hand tightened around the stick… and then, suddenly—

He turned and threw it out of the window.

The sound of it hitting the ground echoed faintly.

Everything went silent.

My father’s face changed instantly.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Daniel didn’t answer.

He walked away, went into his room, and locked the door.

Click.

That small sound felt louder than anything else.

And then… it was just me.

Alone.

My father turned toward me slowly.

The anger in his eyes didn’t disappear.

It grew.

“You think this is a joke?”

I couldn’t speak.

“You are not enough.”

The words landed heavily.

“You don’t study. You don’t focus. What do you even do?”

Each sentence felt like a weight pressing down on me.

“You must be wasting your time outside… playing with friends.”

I wanted to say I didn’t have any.

But my voice stayed trapped inside.

Then his anger shifted.

Toward my mother.

“This is your fault,” he said sharply.

“You never made him serious.”

The room filled with raised voices.

I stood there… frozen.

Not moving. Not reacting.

Just listening.

Because that’s what I had learned to do.

Stay quiet.

Disappear.

After some time, the house went silent again.

Doors closed. Lights turned off.

He had gone to sleep.

But I didn’t.

I sat in my room, staring into the darkness.

Thinking.

Not about what happened—

but about what he said.

You are not enough.

The words didn’t feel new anymore.

They felt… true.

A little later, I heard soft footsteps.

My door opened slowly.

It was my mother.

Her eyes were red.

She had been crying.

She came closer and sat beside me.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything.

Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke—

“Promise me… you’ll study.”

I stayed silent.

“Please,” she said, her voice breaking,

“take an oath… become a better man.”

Her words weren’t loud.

But they hurt in a different way.

Not like anger.

Not like shouting.

But like something pulling at me from inside.

I looked at her.

For the first time that day.

And I saw something I didn’t expect—

Fear.

Not of me.

But for me.

I nodded slowly.

Because I didn’t know what else to do.

Because saying no… wasn’t an option.

Because maybe—

just maybe—

if I tried harder…....

things would change.

But deep inside, a quiet thought remained—

What if they don’t?

After a while, she left the room quietly.

The door closed behind her with a soft sound.

I sat there for a long time.

Thinking.

About her words.

About his words.

About everything.

Promise me… become a better man.

You are not enough.

Both voices stayed in my head.

I didn’t know which one hurt more.

I lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

My eyes burned, but I didn’t stop.

Tears kept falling silently.

No sound.

No movement.

Just quiet.

At some point, my thoughts started fading.

Not because I found answers—

but because I was too tired to keep thinking.

Too tired to feel.

Slowly, without even realizing it,

I fell asleep.

With tear marks still on my face.

And one small, fragile hope in my mind—

Maybe tomorrow…

will be better.

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