It felt like a large rock was haphazardly thrown at me, a loud thud resonated through the study as my father gave me a straight jab right on my face.

There was a searing sensation of pain on my left cheek, my vision had gone hazy and my knees gave up causing me to fall to the floor. I tasted blood inside my mouth and felt one of my molars become slightly loose from their gums.

“Pack your things and never return, don’t ever show your face here again.”

The man in front of me shook his right fist, It seems he had exerted a bit of force when he let out a punch. He fixed his sleeves, tidied up his tie, and hastily collected his coat from the leather armchair.

“F-father, wait, please let me explain-" With tears on my face, I pathetically crawled to his feet and grasped his shoes, begging for his time and consideration.

“Do not call me father!" The man combed his ash-coloured fringe with his hand.

"I raised my sons to carry themselves with honour and decency. Tell me Ein, where the hell did you pick up that habit of courting a fellow man?" Rage and disgust seethed from his blue eyes.

"I never had a son who acted like a bitch in heat." His gaze had become deathly and shrugged me off from his feet.

"Ein, you don't exist here anymore. Get out of my house."

Father swiftly put on his coat, buttoned them and stormed out of the door. He never looked back and I saw his figure disappear as he slammed the door shut.

That was the day I forgot the word called family.

***

A high-pitched, beeping alarm rang through my ears.

Cold sweat littered my face. Waking up from a nightmare was rough. I took my phone from the nightstand, glanced at it, and turned off the alarm. It was 6:45 AM, Monday, October 16, 2023.

"My favourite day of the week, mundane Mondays." I groan as I emerge from the comforts of my bed. I sat up for a bit and stood up. Then, I promptly straightened out the sheets, fluffed the pillows, and went to the kitchen to fix up breakfast.

"Rice cooker is on and the grains are on the quick cook mode, the bread in the toaster will be ready in a few and coffee is brewing! Time to prepare lunch, Are you ready Ein? Yes, we're ready!”

I opened the refrigerator, inspected the inside for ingredients, and then spotted a dozen large chicken eggs, milk, butter, and yesterday's leftover chicken curry. I pondered for a bit if it was better to reheat leftover meals but then an idea came to my head.

"I guess chicken curry omurice looks good for lunch. the spices should taste better now. Today's lunch will be spicy, Ein you better bring lots of water."

I quickly took out the curry, butter, milk, and two eggs. Then grabbed my water flask and lunch boxes from the shelf and wiped it clean, afterwards I set them on the counter.

I developed a habit to talk to myself in the mornings. It eased the loneliness I've been carrying for years.

It had been 22 years since that event from my nightmare. My father, a distinguished diplomat, had disowned me after learning about my sexual orientation, to make matters worse my entire family became appalled by it and severed all ties with me. Almost all of my friends vanished, the neighbourhood where I previously lived in loathed me, and I got kicked out for immorality from my boarding school.

I tried to stand up for myself, but the people there beat me back down to the ground.

It was too much, I closed my eyes to the scenery outside, I kept my mouth shut and blocked my ears from any noise. I tried to protect myself and silence became my only dear friend.

My heart numbed, everyday sights, noises, and people… They all felt like nothing. Eventually, I got to the stage when I couldn't find sense in anything anymore. My vision gradually disappeared, my ears only heard the quiet, and the next thing I knew, I had become alone in a very dark place.

<MAIL! MEOW! MAIL! MEOW! CHECK ME HUMAAAAAANNN!>

Startled by the vibrations and my phone's annoyingly loud ringtone, my arm nearly swept it off the countertop.

'Did I change my ringtone over the weekend?' I pondered. 'I don't remember setting this, it should be a chime, not an annoying catty voice.' I sighed and grabbed the bread from the toaster and poured my coffee.

I glanced at my phone's notification bar, it was an email from Monique Salva, I hurriedly opened the message to check.

[Good morning! Stop talking to yourself! How do you like your new ringtone? It is cute, right? It sounds so youthful! Keep this set from this day onwards! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧]

[- MonMon yo' Frenny 7:00 AM]

My brows arched with annoyance and my face cringed after reading the message. Why was she sending an email… Wait, was she the one who screwed up with my phone settings? My face twitched with anger and my fingers were itchy. I hastily replied back to the petty email.

[You call that cute? Sometimes your quirks scare me. ಠ_ಠ]

[- Ein the Numbah Wan 7:02 AM]

I chuckled and hit the send button, once it was done, I set my phone to aeroplane mode. 'That should keep Monique at bay.' I sighed with relief then ate my buttered toast and coffee in peace.

Monique Moss-Salva, she's my boss, I work as the company's secretary and her assistant manager.

She is an old friend I met back in high school. She was my senior and I was a freshman. We met during club days, I was part of the Literature and Linguistics Club and she was the president.

When I was thrown away and was drowning in the depths of my own darkness, Monique was the only one who reached out to me. She forcibly held onto me and dragged me back to the light. If it weren't for her actions, I would have stayed there for an eternity.