WOUNDED

"I say one day you will leave this world behind. So live a life that you will remember...." The lyrics of the song sung by Avicii re-echoed in his ears like the re-sounding of a loud bell.

Richmond's blood ran cold and tears gradually dropped from his blue eyes.

This song which was sung at his parent's funeral ceremony brought back the heartbreak that came with their deaths.

The hushed lyrics of the song filtered away from his ears and the dark moments of the past were refreshed in his memory making fresh tears drip down slowly from his eyes.

He could still remember that fateful morning. His parents went out to get him a present on his fifth-year birthday but only their corpses returned to the Grearld Villa a few months after.

"They did not survive the accident," his aunty announced to his aging grandfather.

"No," his grandfather yelled as a stream of tears dripped down from his eyes and he slummed no the chair like someone stripped of his life.

As young as he was, his blood ran cold and he shivered absently as he stared at the dead body of his parents at their funeral ceremony.

Large droplets of tears formed in his dripping gradually on the bare sand. "Drip..." It sounded as it landed gently on the dusty floor.

"My Mum can't be dad, where is my dad, bring them back to me or I am going to end my life right this moment," he could still recall the moments he had refused to be consoled.

His heart ran cold as he continued to recall these sad events. He thought his relatives were going to take good care of him as the next heir of the Gerald family, the richest family in the city. But this was far from the truth.

He thought that was the worst for him, but unknown to him, the worst was yet to come.

Just a few weeks after the death of his parents, he heard his aunt whispering to his grandfather. They wanted to chase him out of the Villa because he was epileptic and they saw him as a disgrace to the family.

"We can't afford an epileptic patient to be our heir," his wicked aunty whispered into his grandfather's ear.

"But he is just a little child, we can't chase him away," Richmond's aging grandfather replied with his shaky voice.

"How is he going to survive the harsh realities of the world out there," he added.

"Father, it would be better for him to leave this family for good than for him to remain and become a reproach to the family's name," my aunty snapped standing on her ground.

"Besides who cares if he is dead or stays alive? That's solely left for his fate to decide," she continued.

"And it would be better if he joins his dead parents, they would even be grateful to us for the reunion," she hissed.

At the word, his grandfather was heartbroken again and fresh tears poured down from his eyes.

But Richmond's aunt wasn't even worried, she wanted him out of the family by all means, and that she was going to do.

Richmond shivered absently as the thought of leaving the house crossed his mind. He had nowhere to go.

The next morning was a morning that he would never forget until he sounded the tune of his revenge against his kinsmen.

He slept peacefully on his bed, sad and lonely and something terrible happened to him.

"Splash..." a cup of hot water splashed on Richmond's body and he screamed out of bed in great pain.

"My skin....." He screamed as he jumped out of bed in pain.

He could still remember the foggy steam rising from his body as tears dropped down to mourn his burned skin.

His weeping eyes met with the hateful glares of his aunty who twisted her face in disgust.

"I thought you would never wake up bitch. Your time in this villa is up," she growled at him.

Richmond was in pain and confused at the same time. His aching body could hardly allow him to think straight.

But before he could plead for her mercy, a hung man appeared, ready to drag him away from the house...

The man gripped him so tightly on his neck bone, causing him so much pain that he could hardly breathe and tears escaped from his eyes.

"I wish my parents were still alive, this torment would never have started in the first place," he thought as fresh tears poured down from his eyes.

His heart was torn apart with grief and his body ached with pain.

The man that held him drew him outside and pushed me to the floor and he fell on the hard concrete floor of the Villa.

"What have I done to deserve all this," he wept.

Richard tried to stagger to his feet but he felt a sharp pain in his left foot. He had dislocated his limb bone, making him scream in great pain

"Ouch, my foot......" He screamed in pain falling back to the floor.

"That serves you right," his aunty shot a snare at him.

"And remember never to return to this Villa, ever," her last words re-echoed in Richmond's ears.

Richmond stared into his aunty's eyes and more tears escaped from his eyes. His legs felt as though it was going to pull apart and he passed out.

As he recounted these sad events, he could still feel the Sharp pain in his legs. It wasn't taken proper care of and it grew worse until be began to limp permanently.

And for this reason, everyone called him limping mind.

Now he lived with a poor widow who he now recognized as her mother. The perfect replacement for the one he had lost.

He wished he could return to his kinsmen and inform them that he was no longer epileptic.

By the chance of his brilliance, he met a mystery doctor who treated him through his strange martial acts. And in turn, Richmond became his student.

BUT NO, He won't return to those wicked men who collided with his wicked aunty to chase him away from a Villa to which he was the heir.

Rather than going back to them, he was going to gather all the strength in the world and come back for his revenge. HOOK OR CROOK. IT WAS A WAR AGAINST HIS OWN BLOOD.

"The best student for the 2021/2022 session is......" The Rel city commissioner of education announced shifting him back to the present, away from his thought.

He cleaned up his already tearing eyes and waited for the announcement that would determine his fate with shivering feet.

All the best students of various high schools in the eloquently decorated conference hall held their breath waiting for the announcement.

Each of them could already feel their hearts pounding hard against their chest.

But nobody's heart raced faster than Richard's. And tears even fell swiftly from his eyes.

Now, he was looking forward to this scholarship because it was his only hope of going to college and becoming the doctor he had always dreamt of.

Richmond could no longer control his legs from shivering. It seemed as though the announcement was taking longer than usual. All other voices were drained out of his ears except the commissioner's voice.

"The best student is Richmond Adelaide," the commissioner finally announced.

Richmond could not hide his joy as he tried to limp into the air but he felt the sharp pain in his leg again.

"Ouch," he exclaimed in pain but his joy soon absorbed this pain.

He didn't realize that tears were already dropping from his eyes.

Finally, he secured his place in the prestigious Giwa college.

Richmond limped forward to the front stage to receive his award. He had made it finally. He wished his parents were still alive to witness this great day with him.

Immediately the students saw limping, they burst out into laughter.

"Hahaha, limping brain," the students laughed at him.

But that didn't bother Richmond. He had finally made it. He took his picture with the commissioner and his award.

Tears of joy mixed with sorrow poured slowly down his eyes while everyone in the hall laughed at him instead of applauding his brilliance.

The commissioner noticed what was happening and he shot a disappointed glare at the students in the hall, making the mockery stop immediately.

"I am disappointed in you all, how will you guys be laughing at a genius rather than appreciating him, I am really disappointed," he noted.

Then, he looked at Richmond and his lips parted into a smile.

"You made it," he said tapping his shoulders. Then, he began to applaud him. "Tap, tap tap," he clapped slightly And the rest of the students joined him. Soon, the hall was flooded with the thunderous sound of clapping hands.

Tears escaped from his eyes as he wished he had somebody to celebrate this happy moment with. He had no friends nor a close relationship.

But there was still one person that he held dear to himself. She was more than just a friend to him. That was Jennifer, his girlfriend.

She had also stood beside him and encouraged him through everything.

She was his Juliet and the only reason he had been able to survive such a difficult life at high School

He would have to find her and show them the award.

After the award-presenting event, Richmond began to limp swiftly to her suite. With his hands placed on his dislocated limp.

Then, he got to her house and continued to limp to her private room. Even though he was exhausted, he had to continue limping.

When he finally got to the door, he placed both hands on his legs to catch his breath.

But then, he started to hear some strange moans from the room and this made his heart skip a beat. His girlfriend was inside with someone else.

He forgot that he was already tired and he stood up again on one foot. He strained his ears to hear what was happening in there.

"Be gentle on me baby," he recognized her voice.

His blood ran cold and he shivered absently. Tears poured down from his face as a wide range of possibilities crossed his mind.

"What exactly was happening over there," he thought with his heart already pounding hard against his chest

For the first time, he decided not to believe his ears. Jennifer could never do such a thing to him.

The thought of Jennifer betraying him made tears flow down his face.

He would have to find out for himself. He placed his hands on the door and fortunately, he discovered that the door wasn't locked from the inside.

He drew a deep breath, ready for the shock of a century.