mentions of suicide

Gabriel was a quiet boy, everyone always said. A quiet but well-meaning, well-mannered boy. He had dark eyes and brown hair. His smile was quiet and rare, like the sun on all those cloudy days in the small town he grew up in. When he did smile, everyone smiled back. It was reminiscent of the Mona Lisa, that small curve in his lips that brought everyone to like him even more than they already did.

He was hardworking, as he was the son of the woodworker. One might stop by the shop for a chair, thanking him as he politely gave them the change at the register and blushing as he complimented them. He always asked how you were doing when you said hello, and when you were the one that asked him, he would always say, “Just fine, thank you. How are you?”

He was strong, but not muscular. He wore sweatshirts and close-fitting sweatpants, always dark colours. He walked about by himself and the girls were always talking about him, whispering about how cute he was.

I suppose that it all began when his father died.

See, his father went to war and did not make it back. Gabriel was furious. No one saw him but his mother when he heard the news. “He punched a hole in the wall, and yelled in an angry voice,” she told her knitting club later. “But he apologized to me and fixed the hole. He gave me a hug and said that he was sorry for being upset, that I was going through this too. He’s such a sweet boy.” The news got around and people didn’t really think much of it. Until he went to war.

One night, he vanished. His mother was in tears. “He told me he was going for revenge,” she said. “He said someone had to pay. He had to kill that murderer. I didn’t stop him. I was afraid he would get angry. But he’s underage and I fear he’ll be killed.” She began crying and was glad when they switched the topic.

Now everyone was alarmed. All who knew him were shocked at the once-peaceful boy’s actions. They wrote letters asking him to come back. But he never did. He wrote only to his mother. She said that he acted as though all were fine.

Eventually, the war ended and Gabriel came home. He was different. More silent and moody. Always quiet, he only talked when talked to. He never smiled. He was still polite but he seemed darker. (The girls still liked him. Silent and tortured was very cute, according to them). 

One night his mother ran into her good friend’s house. “He’s ran away,” she sobbed. “He’s ran away.”

It took them awhile to get the whole story out of her. It appeared that he had had an argument with her and he’d thrown the china at her. She had gotten out of the way but it shattered against the wall. “He had looked down at his hands as if wondering what had happened,” she said. “It was one of the only times I’ve ever seen him scared.” He had packed a bag and left, saying the whole town was better off without him. 

They didn’t see him for many years. Eventually, he came back, horrified. “I’ve killed innocent people, children,” he cried. “I’m a monster.” 

He comitted suicide by jumping off a cliff. His mother was distraught, his friends gloomy. 

The rest of the world didn’t really mind. While he was gone, he had taken over the world.

….

I was a little sad that I had to make him evil. He started out pretty good 😢