a night full of darkness

Dark, silent, and terrifying. These three words describe my feelings right now. Alone in the dark room, I close my ears and try not to hear anything. Because currently, there is a monster that often enters my house, making the atmosphere frightening. My mother always told me that if the monster came, I should go into my room and cover my ears so I wouldn't suffer too much. The monster often beats my mother at night. Maybe that's why she doesn't want me to hear or see the pain she endures.

My family is very poor. Even for food, we rely on rice given by our neighbors. If only that monster didn't come to our house, maybe my mother and I could enjoy better meals. I once thought about killing that monster, but that might trouble my mother even more. So I abandoned the idea.

In my neighborhood, I am always avoided by my friends. Sometimes they even throw pebbles at my head. Not just my friends, sometimes the neighbors' wives and other people in the community belittle me and my mother. Only Mr. Harto sincerely helps us. Although his wife fears that my mother might take her husband away, he always helps us sincerely. Especially now that my mother works as a night butterfly in a small brothel. The reason my mother works at the brothel is that the monster sold her there. And possibly, that monster will sell me too when I turn 15.

As usual, my mother came home with a bit of money and bruises on her beautiful face. I rushed to greet her and brought out the medicine kit to treat the bruises on her face. "Mom, why do you always come home with bruises like this?" I asked, trembling a bit, while treating the bruises on her face. Smiling gently, she replied, "Because your mother is too clumsy. I often fall and bump into things on my way home." I knew she was lying to keep me from worrying too much about her condition. Her smile seemed to tell me that everything was fine, hiding the suffering she had endured. I always wondered when this nightmare would end. Why do my mother and I have to go through this?

While I was talking to my mother, someone kicked open our door, drunk. The person who came in was my father. My mother immediately told me to go to my room. I quickly hid behind my bedroom door. But this time, I didn't cover my ears. "Did you bring any money? If you have it, give it to me quickly!" said my father harshly, still drunk. My mother refused firmly, even though she knew the risk. Because all this time, the money my mother earned was always gambled away by my father. My father, feeling annoyed, immediately hit my mother while cursing, "You damn whore. Just give me your money!!" The sound of his punches was so loud that it could be heard behind my bedroom door. I also heard my mother keep refusing him, even though she was screaming in pain from being beaten. Suddenly, there was the sound of a bottle breaking, so loud. I tried to peek through the door to see what was happening. When I opened a small crack in the door, I saw something I shouldn't have seen. My mother lay weakly with a severe wound on her head. There were shards of glass around her head. And there was a broken glass bottle in front of my bedroom door. My father, who showed no remorse after hitting my mother with the bottle, was smoking near the front door. I felt angry, immediately left the room, and took the broken bottle. Then I hit the back of my father's head with all my might, killing him instantly with a single blow. Finally, I managed to kill the monster that made us suffer. I felt relieved, but I also lost my mother because I couldn't treat her wounds.

The night began to fade after my father's head hit the broken bottle I had struck him with. His body fell lifeless on the floor in front of this small house, amidst the scent of blood and pungent cigarette smoke. I stood still, facing the scene I had long awaited. Relief filled my soul, but sadness still lingered in every moment of this success. I stepped into the chaotic living room, looking at my mother's face, lying helplessly. Shards of glass still scattered around, reminding me of the price paid for my protection tonight. Now she is free from the terror that haunted her, although I find myself trapped in loneliness and loss. I tried to calm myself, though unable to hold back the regret of seeing how far I had to go to protect those I loved. "Mother," I whispered, wiping the tears streaming down my cheeks. "I hope now you can sleep peacefully. I will find a way out of this darkness, for both of us."

The sky outside began to emit a soft dawn light, marking the end of a night full of despair and the beginning of a new journey. I lifted my head, facing a future that was not clearly visible, but full of hope for the freedom and peace we had long sought