Brother After Dark

Prologue

“Mommy, have you been drinking again?” the little girl asked her mother as she stood over the counter to pour herself another glass of whiskey. The mother didn’t hear her daughter, or at least, she pretended not to. “Mommy!” she called again. “Mommy!”

The mother drank almost half the glass of the whiskey and then poured herself another one, oblivious of her daughter, whose persistent cries filled the kitchen.

Thunder bellowed outside, causing the little girl to scream in fear. She had always been scared of the thunder. She ran to her mother’s side in haste, seeking protection and comfort like any little child would in the middle of a storm. Her mother wasn’t expecting her daughter to throw herself at her side, which caused her to lose her own balance, although the liquor could have easily done that. As a result, she dropped the glass in her hand, sending it shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor. The sound of breaking glass, combined with the crashing sound of the thunder and the strike of lightning caused the girl to scream in terror.

“Mommy!” she cried.

The woman had enough of the child’s screaming. It was too much for her to handle.

“I’ve had enough of you, little brat!” she bellowed. “All you do is whine and cry! It’s a fucking thunder! Get over it! Or do you want me to tie you up in the tree outside?”

But the threats made the little girl cry even louder.

“Shut the fuck up! Shut up! Shut up!”

The little girl kept on crying, begging her mother to protect her, comfort her. But instead of feeling pity, the mother got even more irritated.