Chapter 7: (v.2) Dining in Hell!

Reads: 87

The next day arrived, an ordinary Sunday, and his mother had invited relatives for lunch.

Christos retained his good mood from yesterday and he thought, “This will be a good opportunity to see if my communication has unblocked!”

His mother's two cousins arrived, who always talked about past events, laughing and making fun out of them.

Christos never said anything, as he believed that his words possessed no value, and interested no one. Nevertheless, he believed that he could break his silence that day.

Present to the table was also his brother, Michalis. What was remarkable was that after Christos’ explosion, instead of being closer, the distance between him and Michalis became even bigger.

He had managed to say something important with his mother, however, as always, a surface calmness, and undersea turmoil dominated in his family. Subconsciously, he could see that.

“I saw it, and did nothing!” a violent thought erupted to the surface, and he started feeling guilty again.

He then became conscious of the guilt and thought that it wasn’t his intention for things to be that way. And that he would try to right his family's wrongs.

“I'll start with my father,” he thought, deciding to attempt communication with him. He wanted to explain that while parents contribute to the family's material wealth, children also increase the family's knowledge through their studies. In a family, every member should be considered equal.

Everybody waited Christos’ father to return from work so they could have lunch.

“What is going on I wonder?” Christos thought and started to feel anxious of what the outcome of his attempt would be. “How will he treat me today?”

Petros entered the house, greeting the family members one by one. He appeared to be in a good mood.

“He doesn’t seem to be angry anymore,” Christos thought.

They looked each other for a while and then Petros approached him. “Well, what do you know,” Petros said, “Phil Collins is coming to Athens this September!”

“Oh really?” asked Christos without understanding why Petros said that.

“Yes,” Petros continued. “It would be a good idea to go to see him!”

He felt confused, something was wrong. “Yesterday we almost wrestled and today everything is like a morning breeze?” he thought.

His confusion shifted to anger and Christos looked at his father with an angry but also pleading at the same time stare.

Realizing what Christos meant, but not replying, Petros retaliated with a resentful glance.

The message Christos received from his father was, “I want you to be okay, but let me be at peace!”

Christos became blocked and became depressed and desperate again. He couldn’t communicate with him and that made him feel down.

They were sitting at the table, and finally, the food was served.

“Mmmm! Amazing food, Iulia!” said one of Iulia's cousins.

“Yes, you outdid yourself today!” said Iulia's other cousin.

Christos realized that he himself outdid something that day, his limits.

Trying to exercise his communication skill with the rest of the people at the table, he couldn’t even say a word.

The mocking jokes started.

To Christos these didn’t sound like jokes, especially after what happened earlier. His despair turned into rage.

“Damn!” he thought, “Damn! Damn!”

With a stomach tied up to a knot, he lost his appetite and stood up. “Excuse me,” he said and left the table.

He didn’t stay to see his relatives’ reaction, and he didn’t care. Only rage dwelled inside him. At that moment, he himself was rage.

“I am too angry to rely on pillows alone,” he muttered. “I will go to the forest!”

He started to walk towards the forest of that existed near his family's house. The heat of August felt unbearable, making him like a kettle ready to explode.

Upon entering the forest, his walking likened to that of primitive men: back leant forward, walking with uncertain, staggering steps.

“The caveman is back!” he reflected.

At a clearing lay logs and branches, fallen from nearby trees.

He lifted a heavy branch and turned towards the tree. “So you don’t want to talk to me right?” he shouted. “Take this then!”

By hitting the tree trunk with all his might, the branch broke, due to its rotting state.

“Rotten like everything around me!” he yelled.

He took a sturdier branch and began to attack the tree with rage, and with every strike that found its target, the whole tree shook.

The vibrations from the shake reverberated through his hands, filling them with intense pain, but he continued to hit the tree berserk, yelling every time a successful blow was being delivered.

Finally, he decided to deliver one final strike.

“CRAAAK!” the branch broke from its base, flying a distance of several meters until finally reaching the ground.

By discarding the branch handle and by looking at his hands, Christos saw blood run through his palms from scratches made by the rough branch bark.

A large part of his anger had subsided, but still he wasn’t calm. He continued to hit the tree with kicks and punches, leading himself to the point of physical exhaustion. His rage finally evaporated.

The mobile phone rang. It was his brother. “Where have you been?” sounded Michalis worried.

“I am in the forest,” Christos replied.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am fine!”

“Do you want me to come over there?”

Christos felt indifferent. “Come,” he said bluntly.

After a few minutes, Michalis appeared in the distance. “How are thing going?” he asked while he approached.

“For so many years,” Christos said, “I hid behind our parents! And look what happened!”

“I think it is better this way,” said Michalis. “What I could. . .” he started saying but momentarily hesitated. “What I couldn’t bear these last few years was your resignation. At least now you react! You are doing something!”

These words satisfied Christos, as it seemed that someone from his family agreed with his rebellion. But he wasn’t happy either, neither sad with the presence of Michalis next to him. He felt nothing.

“Do you want to go back?” asked Michalis eventually.

“Yes,” Christos replied and stood up.

Submitted: February 27, 2024

Literary Fiction romance therapy psychology counselling personal-development