Revenge of the Adopted Child

Collision

The scorching sun was starting to burn his skin, but that didn't stop Almero from continuing to rummage through the trash, looking for anything he could sell. He ignored the pungent smell of the garbage, as the most important thing now was earning money to buy food.

Almero had tried applying for jobs at every company, but none would hire him; they all said they no longer needed additional employees. This was despite the fact that they clearly stated on the company's gate that they needed additional employees. Eventually, Almero learned that the reason why all the companies he visited wouldn't hire him was none other than pressure from the Greysoon family. His former foster family had threatened to harass any company that hired him.

"Isn't that Almero, the former foster child of the Greysoon family?" a beautiful woman asked her boyfriend.

"Yes, that's right. His fate is very sad. Who told him to betray the Greysoon family, and now he's homeless?" the blond man said to his girlfriend with a condescending look.

"Now he's suffering the consequences of his crimes," the woman added.

 Almero felt his ears burning; he'd had enough of the insults; if he continued, they would only escalate. Almero glared at the two couples, and they quickly left, realizing they couldn't intimidate him any further.

"Just annoying," he cursed softly, then resumed searching for valuables in the trash heap.

Jeff had just stopped his car after discovering Almero. Jeff wanted to see the man's suffering with his own eyes. He had even deliberately asked someone to secretly spy on Almero. Jeff didn't want the man to get up and would forever ensure that Almero would rummage through the trash on the side of the road.

"You're perfect for being around trash heaps like this," said Jeff, now seated in his luxury car.

The sharp sarcasm from that familiar voice made Almero pause. He glanced at Jeff out of the corner of his eye and then went back to searching for valuables in the trash can.

Jeff clenched his fists, his eyes sharp, feeling extremely annoyed at not being able to provoke Almero.  Meanwhile, Almero remained calm, as if Jeff were an invisible entity.

"Honey, we better get going. I can't stand looking at that trash. I'm afraid the smell will contaminate the car," Abigail said, waving her hand in front of her nose as if to dispel the unpleasant odor emanating from Almero's body odor.

"Abigail and I are getting married tomorrow. You can come to our wedding, but not as a guest, but to pick up the used bottles." Jeff and Abigail burst out laughing, delighted at Almero's helpless expression.

Almero roughly placed the worn-out sack on the ground and stared at Abigail and Jeff with a disgusted expression. But seconds later, he tried to remain calm, because if he got angry, they would be satisfied.

"Don't be arrogant! Your glory is only temporary before it's destroyed!" Almero said with a straight face.

"Hahaha! Last time before you were kicked out of the Greysoon family home, you said the same thing, but look what happened," Jeff said contemptuously. "I'm still sitting comfortably in a luxury car while you're busy scavenging for a living."

"Come on, honey, don't listen to his nonsense. Forget about revenge, no one even wants to help him now," Abigail said, clinging to Jeff's arm.

Almero clenched his jaw and clenched his fists. He remained silent, because arguing with people like them was a waste of time.

"I know your facial expressions very well when you're angry, and it's more or less like this now," Jeff said mockingly.  "This lover you cherish so much will become my wife, while you live as a street bum! How pathetic."

After she had satisfied herself with insulting and rubbing salt into Almero's still-open wounds, she simply left with a look of happiness on her face.

Meanwhile, Almero could only stare intently at the luxury car as it began to drive away.

***

That night, snowflakes began to fall, their whiteness covering every rooftop. Almero was sound asleep in front of a shop that had been closed since the afternoon, his sleepiness vanishing as he felt the cold piercing his bones. Without a blanket or comfortable bed, Almero slept on a worn mat. Then, reaching for a clean, used cardboard box, he used it as a blanket, somewhat alleviating the chill, though it still made him shiver.

Bang!

Almero sat up abruptly when he heard a deafening sound. Shivering, he walked to the source of the sound and at the end of the road, he saw a car emitting a thin plume of smoke after crashing into a large tree in front of him.

 "A crash," Almero said frantically, looking around. "Help... There's been an accident, help!" Almero shouted repeatedly, but his voice seemed to freeze as the snow fell harder.

The road here was deserted, with only a few vehicles passing by at any given hour.

Almero couldn't ignore the person in need of help inside the car. He immediately ran towards the car. He brought his face to the window and saw a woman in pain, her face covered in thick, red marks.

"Miss, open the door!" Almero shouted frantically, banging on the car window, but the woman didn't respond.

Almero became even more panicked when he noticed the smoke pouring out of the car. Wasting no time, Almero quickly grabbed a large rock from the side of the road and, without hesitation, broke the car window. He then painstakingly pulled the unconscious woman out. He couldn't see her face because the red liquid covering her face was pouring out.

 "Miss, wake up," Almero said, patting the woman's cheeks alternately.

But there was no response, and seconds later he stiffened when he realized this woman was the one he had helped on the side of the road. Without thinking, Almero immediately pulled the woman out of the car to save her. The smell of gasoline wafted through the frozen air. Almero picked up the woman and ran as fast as he could.

Time seemed to slow down, making his body tremble even more in the tense, tense situation. A few seconds later, the sound of a car exploding so loudly, Almero and the woman fell face down onto the snow-covered asphalt.