Chapter 16

Last night Eli came home just before his mother woke up, Eli was very panicked and he promised himself to come back as soon as possible. Eli didn't want to see the bodies again and hoped to forget the horrific incident. 

Eli was pensive, he didn't know why, since he met the boy, everything started to change, his life became increasingly tense. What is her relationship with that boy? even though they didn't know each other, this made Eli even more confused. Eli's eyes fell on the ventriloquist doll that he had placed in the corner of the room, a doll in the shape of a boy who always smiled with wide lips. For some reason the doll's face reminded him of the mysterious boy, Eli didn't understand why he always remembered the boy even though they didn't know each other.

"Eli... Eli..." Eli was still lost in thought, he didn't hear his mother's screams, which kept calling his name.

"Eli... you damn kid!" The woman's voice started to sound louder, she was getting angry because Eli never answered her calls.

“Eli…”

“Huh? M…mother?” Eli only woke up after hearing a loud scream from his mother, Eli was really scared, his mother's voice was like a very bad disaster for him.

Eli ran as fast as he could to get to his mother, but no matter how fast he could he was still shouted and hit by the woman he called "mother".

“Fool... how many times do I have to tell you, if I call you you have to hurry up. Aren't you tired of being hit all the time? huh? come on, you stupid kid!” The woman hit Eli while continuing to curse him with harsh words.

Eli just looked down while holding back his tears, Eli couldn't fight back even though he really wanted to, but Eli knew that if that happened, maybe his mother would hit him even harder or maybe kill him.

"Sorry mom... I'm sorry..." Eli cried, he kept apologizing but it was no use the woman wouldn't stop hitting him until she was satisfied.

“Why don't you just die, you stupid child. There's no point in you living, you can't just obey your parents!"

"Sorry mother... I won't do it again..."

Eli really regrets his life, many questions arise in his mind. Why did he have to be born into the world? Why did you have to be born into a family like this? Eli never found the answers to all the questions that arose in his heart.

***Betty came home, she felt the tense atmosphere in the house. When she opened the door she was immediately greeted by her mother hitting Eli mercilessly, Betty felt uncomfortable with what she saw. Even though this was not the first time his mother had beaten Eli, sometimes in his heart he felt pity for his younger sister.***

***"Mother, never mind, do you want to kill him?" asked Betty who was standing next to her mother.***

***"Betty, when are you coming home?"***

***“It's not important, just stop all this disturbing the view. Eli, go to your room and clean your face!" After saying that, Betty went straight into her room, Betty slammed the door to her room hard.***

***Eli felt grateful, thanks to Betty, finally his mother was willing to let him go and let him go because otherwise Eli might not be able to wake up tomorrow because his whole body hurts.***

***This night, after all the family members had gone to sleep, only Eli was still awake. Eli couldn't sleep, his eyes had difficulty closing. If he closed his eyes, the image of the boy kept appearing in his head. This made Eli feel uncomfortable, the boy made his life uneasy. Eli always feels scared, because somehow he always accidentally sees terrible corpses thrown away by a mysterious man.***

***"God, what actually happened? Eli doesn't understand..." he said while holding his breath, Eli looked at the window in his room. The sky was the same sky, the sky he saw every night. It was dark and so cold, when he looked at the sky Eli felt calm and afraid at the same time, the sky seemed to swallow him.***

***Eli tried to restrain himself from going out tonight, but something inside him was struggling forcing him to come out.***

***"No... no... Eli doesn't want to come out, Eli is afraid..." he said while covering his ears, Eli looked at the ventriloquist dummy sitting in front of him.***

***"B...but it's definitely more fun outside, outside isn't the same as at home."***

***“No… no, Eli doesn't want to… Eli is afraid…”***

***“Why are you afraid? Can't you meet that boy again?"***

***"But Eli doesn't want to meet him, Eli is afraid..." Eli trembled, his body soaked in sweat.***

***“We have to get out, if we meet that kid again can't we ask him? why are you afraid? there's nothing to be afraid of?"***

***"But...but what if Eli meets that person in the black jacket again? Eli is afraid of that person, he always carries a corpse."***

***"There's nothing to be afraid of Eli, isn't there me now? You're not alone anymore."***

***Eli was silent, he looked at the doll shaped like a boy sitting sweetly in front of him. The doll didn't move at all, but Eli was confused about where the sounds came from. Was this doll talking to him just now?***

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