It all started with a gun...
The air was cold and dark, and not much movement was made in the little town.
The bespectacled man in rags looked left, looked right. He spotted a middle aged man. Perfect for his target.
He walked over to the middle aged man, which was clad in a pair of tight jeans, and grinned.
"Hello sir! Here to buy a christmas present?" He waved his hand with that smile plastered on his face, his gruff voice echoing in the still town.
The man with jeans turned and saw the bespectacled man. He then opened his mouth and rejected.
"Er... No, I gotta go-"
"Wait for a moment, sir," the bespectacled man grinned. He took out a big box from his leather bag.
The man with jeans looked cautiously at the suspicious man.
The bespectacled man then opened the box, and pulled out a new and polished gun.
"This is a toy gun, perfect for a christmas present for your son!" The man smiled and said.
Somehow the man with jeans felt a homely presence coming from the toy gun. Well, he did have a son... However, he still had doubts.
"Is this a water gun?" he asked.
"Of course! It can shoot out quite a lot of water!" the bespectacled man said.
The man in jeans looked at the toy gun... it seemed harmless.
The bespectacled man's eyebrows were then knitted. He looked a little depressed.
"Actually..." he began. "I come from a poor family... I lost my son, only recently. I was going to give this present to my son, but..." Tears streamed down from his eyes.
The man in jeans, this time, gave in due to his sympathy.
"How much is it?" he asked.
The bespectacled man grinned a little. "I just need some money for a small turkey."
The man in jeans smiled at the bespectacled man and handed the money to him.
"Don't worry," he reassured the lackey. He then took the box and walked off.
The bespectacled man took off his glasses, and grinned slyly. He wiped his crocodile tears.
"It will be over soon..." the man grinned even harder.
The man in jeans, whom we shall name Mac, with the box in hand, walked to the little wooden cottage, located in the middle of the small town. The town was small; the cottage was smaller. There he peeked in the door.
"I'm home!" he called out. He could not help but grin when he saw his wife walking to him.
"How's work, dear?" Mac's wife asked with a soothing voice. With long, straight hair that fit perfectly with her porcelain skin and small black eyes, she kissed her husband with her small, heart shaped lips.
"Oh, y'know... Always the same," Mac looked around. "Where're the kids?"
"Always the same," Mac's wife, Leen laughed. Mac grinned and swung the door closed. Two little children chuckled and laughed like little mischievious elves, and ran to their room.
"Ahh, Reb and Max," Mac said. "Hey, where's Tiv?"
Max's head popped out of the door, sulking. "He's in a bad mood, making trouble for us again."
Mac sighed, and Leen frowned. "Where is he now?" she asked.
It was Reb's turn to pop out of the door. "I don't know. But he made a lot of noise and quarrelled with us."
Mac then searched around the house. The kitchen, the yard, the room.
Then, he spotted a figure in the attic.
"Tiv!" Mac called out. The figure turned around. His hair was messy, and had some dirt on his cheeks.
Mac tried to comfort him, for he knew Tiv's reason for anger.
"Tiv..." he began. "I brought you something for christmas."
Tiv sulked a little, but not too much.
"It's a toy gun! A toy you always wanted!"
Tiv couldn't help but smile a little.
"The price is worth that of a small, little turkey!"
Mac held out a box. Tiv tried to snatch it, but Mac dodged.
"Not yet Tiv, open it tomorrow, on Christmas."
Tiv frowned, but Mac could see that he was excited about tomorrow's christmas.
"C'mon, come with me, or you won't have the gun," Mac said. He held out his hand.
Tiv grabbed it, after hesitating.
Mac knew Tiv was upset about the family's income(and the fact that Mac doesn't spend much time with them), however, he still asked Tiv out.
"You got your present, so let's get Reb and Max a present too!" Mac tried to sound warm and happy.
Tiv sulked, but silently followed.
Mac picked a small doll for Reb, and a small toy car for Max. Tiv stared at his siblings' presents. Suddenly, he didn't feel so angry anymore. In fact, his father got him a big present, yet bought small ones for his brother and sister. Guilt filled his tiny little head.
All that's left is to wait for christmas.
The next day, it was Reb who got up first and woke everyone up before dawn. "IT'S CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!!" She danced around and ran to the small christmas tree her parents bought. Reb saw three boxes lying under the tree. She saw the big box labelled "Tiv" and felt sad that the box wasn't hers. The rest of the children ran down. Max saw the big box and the name in it, and yelled, "TIV!!! IT'S NOT FAIR YOU GOT THE BIGGEST BOX!!!" Tiv rubbed his eyes and smiled. He unwrapped his box and opened it.
The colorful gun shone on him and reflected his excited face.
Tiv's heart floated to the clouds. He was happy that he finally got a toy gun!!! He quickly ran to the sink to fill some water in the gun. He then sprayed the gun around and around, getting everyone wet.
Max cried, Reb was angry and called her parents.
"MOMMY!!! DADDY!!! WHY DID TIV GET THE BIGGEST PRESENT!?"
Leen yawned and walked down. Water then splashed into her tired face.
"Tiv? No! Stop, Tiv! YOU PUT THAT GUN DOWN RIGHT NOW!!"
Tiv stuck his tongue out at her. Leen ran down and grabbed the gun.
"For goodness sake, stop wasting water! Our family has not enough money to afford water anymore!!" she yelled. "And this is not a water house! So stop it right-"
"SHUT UP LEEN!" Mac's voice boomed upstairs. "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!!!"
Leen got scared for a second. She then glared at Tiv and walked upstairs holding the gun.
Tiv frowned. The toy gun was the reason for his excitement. Every christmas had been the same; just a small turkey and some potato salad. And now his father wasted his money for a turkey for his toy gun, and his mother just HAD to confiscate it.
Tiv started to hate his mother for ruining his christmas, and decided to steal the toy gun back.
Tiv sneaked into the master bedroom and looked around. His father and mother are sleeping soundly. Tiv saw the toy gun at the corner of the wall and quickly grabbed it... That's when he noticed his father's heavy breathing. He stole a peek at his father's face and squinted his eyes, relying on the moonlight shone at his father's face.
His father was sweating profusely; with dark circles around his eyes. It was like he was having a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. Tiv's stomach churned.
He then slipped out of the room unnoticed.
It was morning, and the sun just rose. Tiv was the only one not asleep; he played with his toy gun at the yard. Then, he heard his father screaming.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!?!?" Mac yelled at Leen. Leen knitted her eyebrows. "We always didn't have any money, Mac. Didn't you know...?"
She was as puzzled as Tiv. Mac was gentle and never raised his voice before.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP *****!" Mac yelled. Leen gasped, and Tiv covered his mouth.
"Mac!!! The children are upstairs!" she continued.
"Who cares, those ********* just don't know how to discipline themselves, they all should die!!" Mac shouted.
Leen's heart split into half as she turned pale. "... What... WHAT DID YOU SAY, MAC!?" She could not stand it anymore. He wasn't the same as before.
"What's with you and those kids!? Always bothering me!!! I can't stand hearing you nagging and nagging and nagging! My head literally got burst from hearing all that ****!" Mac swore.
Tears welled up in Leen's eyes. She ran, sobbing and covering her face.
Tiv stared. Something was wrong with his father.
Leen did not cook. She didn't even make any salad. She sat in her room and cried and cried. The children were hungry. Max cried, Reb frowned, Tiv stared at the gun.
Mac was out working, or that's what he thought.
He looked at his reflected face in the gun. Somehow, the gun was a bit too shiny.
Suddenly, the door opened. And a pale Mac stood there, breathing heavily. He grabbed Tiv's toy gun from his hands and ran to the master bedroom.
"BANG!"
Everyone was shocked. Then, Max cried even louder. Reb yelled. Mac rushed into the room and held the toy gun. He then pulled the trigger and shot them two times...
They were dead. Tiv looked at the bodies Reb and Max, lying motionless, blood splattered on the floor. He trembled with cold feet. Mac then glared at the bodies, kicked them, and walked out of the door.
He left Tiv alive.
TODAY'S XMAS FOR SINGAPORE. OKAY I KNOW MY WRITIN SUCKS AND YEAH CLIFFHANGER. OKAY GTG BYE. ._.
Labels: storiesa
