Theo woke in a cage he’d never seen before, a lock on the handle for it. He banged on the rails, “Help! Mother!” he whined out. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he felt the pain in his wrapped hand all at once, overwhelming his innocent mind. “Please… I’ve suffered terrible terrors of the night…”

The clunk of leather boots brought Theo’s cries down to a shaky sniffling. His father approached and sat on the floor in front of him. He tossed a canteen through the bars at his son. His father had a shadow of void painting his face before he looked away.

“Father.. Where are they?” was a question that would never receive an answer. His father stood and walked out of Theo’s view. The boy knew only the worst must’ve happened. From that day forward, it was as though his father’s tongue had been ripped out.

The father kept the boy in the cage in the hopes he would never have to harm a person again. Perhaps they could come to understand his condition better and could control or eradicate it. Within weeks of being fed various vegetables and soup, Theodore became extremely pale and thin. Anemia. Within the following month, Theodore was on his deathbed, unable to find any kind of appetite or strength.

Theo’s father left for what seemed like an eternity while the child rotted away in a cold cell for a large animal. Eventually, Theo’s blurred eyes filled with the darkness of his father’s robes. His father held a fresh bloody heart through the bars. Theo hesitantly fed from his father’s hand, making a mess of himself as he weakly feasted.

His eyes became bloodshot, and the beating of his own heart filled his head, drowning out the constant ringing he’d been hearing. Pure bliss. His father had given him the gift of returning to a conscious state. “Father..” Theo started. “I . . .” he couldn’t get out the words.

The boy crawled to the edge of the cage and peered into his father’s dead eyes. “What’s wrong with me, father?” he asked sincerely. For the first time, his father opened his mouth in response. “Nothing that can’t be fixed . .” he whispered hesitantly. Tears dragged down Theodore’s cheeks before dropping to the floor.