The Mediums Help

07

The rain had stopped with a dark sky without stars, and a moon. Overcast clouds adorn the sky tonight, occasionally seen lightning appearing without the sound of thunder. People chose to go home immediately for fear that the rain would come again.

Meanwhile, a well-lit small house in a small, seedy alley was bustling. Many grown men with scary faces were sitting in a circle at a small table smoking. Cigarette smoke filled the room with yellow lights.

Surya focused on looking at the card he had, but then he let out a resigned sigh as the muscular man without hair showed the card he had gotten. Three aces, and one joker won him without anyone protesting. All the money on the table he immediately brought home with laughter that was so satisfied.

"Don't forget what you owe me, Surya," he said as he put all his money in a plastic bag. "I'll be waiting for the money in two weeks time, you should get my money back."

Surya snorted while rolling his eyes in annoyance, he started to leave without finishing the many cigarettes that were still left on the table. Some of his friends gave looks of pity, but there were also some who looked at him with annoyance and hatred.

Tonight he couldn't channel his frustration into the gambling house, he chose to go home with the pain. There was still a tomorrow for him to win all the money at the tables, he was pretty sure about that.

Surya came home on foot, crossing the streets full of dirty water. He didn't see any potholes, nor did he choose a road that didn't have standing water. Without even thinking he lunged all over the street, letting his sandals get full of dirt. Even the rather long cloth pants were dirty with the addition of a little splash of water.

The door to his house opened with a bang, so wide it made a loud sound. He strode wide enough, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets. It's as if he's a thug in the house, but a coward when he's at the gambling house, and unfortunately the people at home never know about that.

"Regina, make Father some coffee!" he ordered as he stood in the kitchen doorway.

Regina who was sitting on the floor while making the donut dough looked up annoyed. "My hands are too dirty to do that, can't Father do it himself?"

"Why should I have children if I have to go alone?"

"But I have to do this job so Mom has money."

The broken glass surprised Regina, she saw Surya slamming a baking sheet filled with donuts, and a plate shattered on the floor. She couldn't say anything, just as silent as a statue.

Surya started to get closer, and Regina screamed as loud as she could. As if deaf, Surya was not disturbed by the scream. He was getting scarier now, one hard slap hit Regina's right cheek just like that. Now her cheeks were red, even the outline of Surya' hand was clearly visible there.

Pain spread across her face, and her neck also ached as she turned to the left at a speed she never knew how fast. So fast that she didn't realize that Surya was doing something crazy like that.

"Don't scream like a bitch!" shouted Surya who started to get angry. The skin on his face and his eyes turned red when he saw Regina sobbing. He lightly pulled Regina's long hair until the girl was also dragged towards the kitchen door which was quite far away.

"Father, don't do anything crazy!" Regina screamed hysterically. She tried to break free, but couldn't. Now all she could hope for was Resa, but sadly she had no idea where her older brother was now. Anik will never be able to provide any help after what happened a week ago. "Father, it's hurts!"

"This hurts more," Surya said before hitting Regina hard on the head, and the girl fell a little further away.

Her head hurt so much, that Regina's vision started to blur. She felt like she was going to lose consciousness, but she didn't pass out. In fact, she could still see Surya's eerie reflection.

Surya smiled contentedly for a few moments until he staggered into the wall. He saw Resa helping his younger sister with a feeling of worry. "Bastard child," he muttered as soon as he left.

“This hurts,” Regina said through her sobs.

Resa saw it was a pity, but his father could do crazy things like this. He began to turn towards Surya who was staring at him flatly, as if he had never committed a crime. "What's wrong with you, Father?"

"Can't you just stay quiet for one day? I'm sick of hearing your ramblings that can never turn into money!" snapped Surya.

"Didn't Father ever feel guilty for hurting people in the house? At that time it was Mom and I that you hurt, and now Regina?" Resa stared in disbelief, he started to help his little sister to stand up even with great difficulty. "Are you out of your mind already?"

"I told you to be quiet!" Surya slammed the television set beside him like a madman.

Regina ran away to her room because of the fear she had. While Resa sighed heavily and then said, "I can never be silent every time I see Father like a madman."

Surya started kicking the various tables that were nearby, and then walked away saying, "I didn't have any polite, obedient children. They were all like crazy people."

Resa who heard this could only breathe deeply enough, he saw his father was really gone. He didn't know where he was going, but it was better outside than causing trouble at home.

"Regina, are you in there?" Resa knocked on his sister's door, but there was no sound for a long time. Until finally the bedroom doorknob began to move, the door opened slowly.

He saw Regina was crying until her face looked no longer beautiful. Her blushing cheeks made Resa take a deep breath for the umpteenth time, he started hugging his sister lovingly. "Cry until you feel more comfortable, Regina."

"Will crying make my cheeks go back to normal?"

"Your cheeks need time to change to the way they used to be."

"Then what about the donuts?" Regina let go of Resa's embrace, she looked up so she could look at her older brother. "We can't sell the donuts tomorrow, how about now?"

"I'll make the donuts tonight, you sleep okay?"

"But what about your bedtime?"

"I'll go to bed after making the donut dough, and will wake up early to shape the donuts with a hole in the middle. You don't need to worry about that, better get some sleep so tomorrow won't be as late as earlier."

"Thank you very much, I owe you a lot."