Chapter 1: The Runaway...

14 February, 1999, Sabah. – I’m scared. We’ve got to get out from this house, otherwise there will be blood paint on this house walls; and I can see bruises on mum’s face and whole body. Mum’s bruises and wounds seem severe as I look up from beneath my sister fluffy pink bed, hiding. That man outside walking around yelling at all of us. I can hear him waving his knife violently against the bedroom’s door, forcing to open the locked door. I descend my body deeper into my sister bed. BOOM! My 15 years old, oldest sister, Atie jumps out from the windows of the bedroom from the 1st floor and hits the ground. She runs as fast as she can to seek for help from the nearest neighbours. It’s too late. The door opened.

          SMACK! That man hits mum on the shoulder with his left fist and she topples to the floor. My older brother who is 13 years old coming from the corner of the bedroom seizes that man right hand that holds a knife and begs for pardon. Kuya cries so bad and begs the man to release his knife, afraid that it might slash mum. The man let go the knife, waves his hand and pushes Kuya against the wall. He takes that act from Kuya as an act of defiance, which mean more hits. Kuya regains poster holding back his tears, as the berserk man screams “You wanna fight me?” while hitting hard Kuya’s face and body several times. I freeze under the bed refusing to move a single muscle.
 

        I can see my 11 years old sister, Etil crying hard while assisting my mum to be on her feet again. Without dropping a single tear, mum with strength inside her looks at that man’s devil eyes. I pray hard, "Please God", I say to myself, "just let us get out from this house". Kuya is trying his best to keep away that man from getting closer to mum. That man murmurs something and another blow pushed Kuya’s head against the tile counter top. I can hear people stomping down the staircase up towards this 1st floor bedroom. Just the second I see my aunt’s face in front the bedroom’s door, I run out from my hiding place towards my sister and mum. Somehow I breathe a sigh of relief. My sister, Atie also there is standing just right besides my aunt, crying really hard. Atie shouts painfully “Papa, please... That’s enough”. Aunt Mercilyn hugs Papa from the back. With a soft tone aunt Mercylin tries to calm down Papa and brings him outside the room.

         My sister Etil quickly grabs mum’s right hand and leads her out from Atie’s bedroom. I follow as I hold mum’s left hand. I tremble with great fear when I look at that man’s eyes; the eye of a killer, the eye of no-sympathy. It was once an eye of a loving father; a very caring and funny husband to my mum. He seems to have lost his soul and no longer reminds of himself.