Ethan stood frozen in place. A harsh wind slammed through the open door, yet he did not even blink. He only stared at his father's face. Somewhere inside, he wanted to hug him, but the look in his father's eyes stopped him. It was calm, distant, almost noble.
Without saying a word or offering an embrace, Rami stepped inside the house, as if he came here every day. He walked into the living room and scanned the place briefly.
"It doesn't look like a bad place."
He picked up the food from the table in front of the couch and handed it to Ethan. With his other hand, he grabbed a beer, sat down, stretched his legs onto the coffee table, and took a sip.
"I've missed this comfort… though the beer is awful. Seriously, is this what that fake dad of yours drinks?"
Ethan was still standing by the door, staring at him. After a moment, he shut the door.
"Is it really you?"
"What? Not happy to see me, son? It's me. Your father."
Ethan frowned.
"Where were you all these years? Stealing in Egypt again?"
"Watch how you talk to me. I did everything for you—"
"For me what? Drop the father act. Tell me. Why are you here?"
Rami took another sip of beer, then slammed the bottle onto the table and stood up. He walked straight toward Ethan until they were face to face.
"Just like… just like your mother's eyes."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Believe it or not, I nearly died just so you could live a normal, happy life here. Is this your gratitude? If another man were in my place, you'd be a slave in Egypt right now!"
"What are you even talking about?! You dragged me and my mother into this! And then she DIED!"
Rami suddenly slapped him and grabbed him by the collar, slamming Ethan hard against the wall.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare, Ethan… I didn't kill your mother! I even warned her, but… she was determined to burn alongside me on that path…"
Rami's eyes lost their focus. He slowly released Ethan's collar.
"Then… then you were born. When you were born, your mother didn't want your life to turn out like this…"
Rami sank back onto the couch, grabbed his beer, and took a few long gulps. Ethan listened in silence. For the first time, he realized how much his mother had truly cared about him.
"So I made a plan… I contacted some friends near the Israeli border. They prepared a vehicle for me, and I gave you a fake identity. I told her—"
Rami could no longer hold the hardness in his eyes. Tears streamed down his face. He covered his eyes with one hand. Ethan took a step forward to sit beside him, but Rami stopped him.
"Stay there… d-don't come any closer…"
Ethan froze and listened.
"I told her not to come… it was too dangerous. But she… she insisted on walking into hell with me anyway…"
Silence filled the room.
Rami wiped his tears, lowered his hand, grabbed the beer, and took one last sip before standing up. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small boar statue, handing it to Ethan.
"I brought this for you to keep, Sami—Ethan… I have to return to Egypt in a week. You're the only one I can trust here."
The brief warmth Ethan felt vanished. Anger rushed back, but this time he said nothing. He grabbed the small boar statue roughly.
"Get out."
Rami said nothing and left the house.
Ethan went to his room with the statue in his hand, slammed the door shut, opened the drawer beside his bed, placed the statue inside, and closed it. He lay down and asked himself, Was this a dream? Then he fell asleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! CLICK!
Ethan had slept until morning. He opened his eyes, sat up, and slowly opened the small drawer, hoping that last night had been a nightmare. The statue was still there. Since it was the weekend, there was no school.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Ethan, I'm coming in."
Ethan closed the drawer.
"Come in."
His stepmother entered the room, grabbed him with an irritated motion, and forced him to sit on the bed.
"Didn't I tell you alcohol is forbidden?"
"M-Mom, there's a misunderstanding—"
"Quiet! You even left the empty bottle on the coffee table in the living room. For one whole week, including the weekend, you're not going out. Home to school, school to home. That's it."
She stormed out and slammed the door. Ethan thought telling the truth would only make things worse, so he stayed silent. After a while, he got up, took a cold shower, and went downstairs for breakfast.
At the table, his stepfather was eating while reading a book.
"Good morning, Dad."
"Morning. Come on, sit. Let's eat together."
Ethan sat down. His stepfather ate calmly.
"Can I ask why you drank one of the beers?"
"I-I just—"
"You just… what?"
His stepfather glanced around discreetly, made sure his wife wasn't nearby, then leaned toward Ethan.
"Look, son. I'm not saying never touch beer. Just be a little smarter, alright?"
Ethan looked surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"Why leave the bottle on the table like an idiot? I already know you open a few bottles from time to time."
"Really…?"
"Drinking occasionally isn't a problem for me, son. But if your mom catches you, I can't help you."
His stepmother walked into the kitchen and began washing dishes. As Ethan ate, he realized his stepfather had been more of a real father to him than his biological one. It made him happy.
Then his thoughts returned to the statue.
Ethan finished eating angrily, stood up, and went back to his room. He shut the door, opened the drawer, and picked up the boar statue.
"Why? Why did you suddenly show up, dump some emotional nonsense on me, and leave this ugly thing behind?!"
He stared at the statue, his anger growing with every second.
"I hate you!"
He threw the statue violently onto the floor. From where it struck, an eerie mist leaked out. The room instantly froze, as if it were the polar regions. Ethan stepped back in terror.
A low, barely understandable voice echoed:
(Huuunger… you… called… me… more… more…)
"What—what's happening? D-DAD! MOM!"
He tried to scream, but no sound came out. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't speak. He rushed to the door and grabbed the handle.
"Ah!"
The handle was frozen solid. Impossible to open.
He turned toward the statue.
From within the mist emerged a creature with exposed bones, vampire-like fangs jutting unnaturally outward, a mouth torn up to its nose, no lips, hollow eyes staring directly at Ethan. His heart pounded violently as it slowly approached, its uneven teeth clicking.
It stopped in front of him, grabbed Ethan's face with both hands, and stared into his soul with glowing red eyes.
"…huuunger… come to me… more… swallow… devour… more…"
"N-NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! H-HELP!"
Ethan suddenly opened his eyes.
He was on the floor. His stepfather was kneeling over him. Disoriented, Ethan looked around.
"Dad, the statue… there was a horrible creature in my room—"
THUMP… THUMP… CRACK… THUMP… THUMP… CRACK…
An unbearable pressure crushed his chest, as if someone were squeezing his heart. He looked at his stepfather.
His eyes were blood-red.
"Huuunger… be… quiet… or else…"
Fear surged through Ethan again.
Suddenly, everything returned to normal. The pressure vanished. His stepfather's eyes were normal once more.
"Are you okay, son? What statue are you talking about?"
Ethan couldn't understand what had just happened. He felt as if that thing was still watching him. He was afraid to say anything.
"I-I was thinking… maybe I should get a statue for my desk?"
"Huh? That's it? Fine. We'll get one tomorrow."
His stepfather left the room.
Ethan's fear deepened. He looked at the spot where he had thrown the statue, but there were no broken pieces. A heavy weight settled over his body. He barely managed to crawl into bed.
And once again, he fell asleep.
End of Chapter 2