Jon Athan - Am I Beautiful?

Amber remembered Adam’s trip to Japan in 2017. When she questioned him about his early return, Adam had claimed he finished his business meetings early and he had been eager to return home to Amber because he was homesick. She was suspicious about his excuses, but she shrugged it off since she didn’t have any evidence of mischief or misconduct.

Miki said, “Well, that trip was very… eventful. I wish I could tell you everything, but I think you deserve to hear the truth from Adam. I’d like him to… confess. If he does that, I will call the police, walk out the front door, and turn myself in.” She looked at Adam and said, “If he does anything else—fight, scream, lie —I will hurt you. You , Adam, your wife, your child… I will hurt all of you.”

Amber lunged at Miki, the chair’s legs screeching on the tiles. But she wasn’t trying to attack her. She was begging for mercy for her child. Accepting her helplessness, her anger turned into fear. She couldn’t fight Miki while restrained to the chair. She had to find the intruder’s sympathy.

Miki approached Adam. They gazed into each other’s eyes, as if trying to communicate without saying a word. Adam’s eyes said: ‘ Please don’t do this. ’ And Miki’s gaze said something along the lines of: ‘ I’m really enjoying myself. ’ She peeled the duct tape off Adam’s mouth and left it dangling from his cheek. He gasped for air, then he hissed in pain.

He looked at Riley and said, “I–I love you, Ry Ry. Everything’s… going to be okay. All right? O–Okay?” He turned his attention to Amber and said, “I’ll… I’m… We’re going to get out of this. Just… Whatever I say, whatever you hear, don’t believe it all. Think about something else.”

“Are you kidding me?” Miki asked with a smile of disbelief. “Are you already thinking about lying after everything I just said?”

Adam turned towards her so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. Grinding his teeth, he said, “I didn’t say that, you monster.”

“But you did, didn’t you? You told her not to believe you.”

“My truth is different from yours.”

“No, no, no,” Miki said as she strolled back to Amber’s side. “You’re trying to confuse us already. You’re talking about… What’s the word? Um… Per… Perception, right? That’s what you’re talking about, isn’t it? Well, I’m not asking you to tell her what you think happened, I’m telling you to tell her—to tell your lovely family—what really happened between us in Japan in 2017. The truth… is the truth. It’s as undeniable as… the scars on my face.”

She ran her gloved index finger over the scars on her cheeks while smiling deviously. The gesture confirmed Amber’s suspicions: The scars were connected to Adam’s trip to Japan.

Miki said, “Now, I’m going to give you another chance to start telling the truth. No more mind games, Adam.”

Adam’s eyes met Amber’s. He saw the fear and agony in her eyes. She nodded at him, as if to say: ‘ It’s fine, just do it .’ Earlier in the night, before Amber attempted to flee their home with Riley, Adam was ready to tell her a version of the truth. With Miki in the room, he couldn’t sugarcoat his actions. He couldn’t claim he just casually attacked someone. He had to tell her exactly what he did.

Adam looked into the living room. He heard a puddle splashing outside. It was followed by a child’s laughter and some muted voices. Some kids were jumping in puddles outside as they made their way down the street. He looked back at Miki, then at Amber. Both of the women shook their heads at him.

‘ Don’t do it .’

Adam yelled, “Help! Help! Help! ”

Riley grimaced, then she whined and covered her ears.

Miki took the shears out of her coat pocket. Adam stopped screaming. He recognized those large, sharp scissors—the same dressmaker’s shears he had used to mutilate her face.

“Wa–Wa–Wait,” he stammered.

Miki folded Amber’s right ear horizontally, then she cut up into it with the shears starting at the edge of her earlobe. The cartilage crunched as Amber screamed. The shears came to a stop halfway up her ear after the first snip. Her ear was small, but it bled profusely. Blood streamed down the side of her neck and large drops dripped onto her shoulder.

Plop!

“Stop!” Adam yelled, jerking frantically in his seat. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please, don’t hurt her! Oh my God, please!”

Miki gripped Amber’s hair to control her head, then she cut her again. With the second snip, her ear was severed. It bounced off her shoulder, then landed on the floor. Amber clenched her eyes shut and groaned. The tape over her mouth was soaked in saliva and tears. A smattering of blood landed on the edge of the tape, too.

Blood clogged Amber’s ear canal, muffling her hearing and warming the side of her head. She felt like she was bleeding in her skull. For a moment, she wondered if she was stabbed in the head. She didn’t realize her ear was amputated until she opened her eyes and spotted it on the floor. The pain left her feeling muzzy and tired.

Adam was shocked into silence and deafness. He couldn’t hear his daughter’s cries or his wife’s whimpers. He just stared at the remaining bits of ear—jagged, bloody cartilage—sticking out from the side of Amber’s head. Her blood was a shade darker than her natural red hair. Then he heard Miki’s voice—and, somehow, only her voice.

Miki said, “Every time you scream, I’m going to cut a piece off her. Got it?”

Adam was attacked by the horrid racket of chaos and panic as his hearing returned. Yet, no one could hear them outside.

He said, “Daddy’s here, Ry Ry. Close your eyes, baby. Please, go–go to sleep. Oh God, please don’t watch this.”

Riley couldn’t hear her father over her own crying. Head down, she hit the highchair’s tray with her fists and flailed her tiny feet.

“ Got it? ” Miki repeated.

“I’ll do whatever you say,” Adam answered. “Just don’t hurt her again. Please don’t hurt her.”

“Good boy. Now start talking.”

Adam’s lips moved, but he didn’t say a word. He stared at the table and thought about his explanation. He was willing to tell Amber everything, but there was no guarantee that his confession would save them. He hoped he could save his family by jumping straight to the point. He believed Miki wanted revenge, so he thought about sacrificing himself.

I deserve it, he thought. I should just let her kill me, but what if she doesn’t let them go after I’m dead and gone?

Miki rolled her eyes and said, “You really want to do this the hard way, don’t you?”

“No, wa–wait a second. Please, just kill me. Kill—”

Miki pinched Amber’s left eyebrow and pulled it away from her face. Then she closed the shears over the loose skin.

“Stop it!” Adam barked.

Amber convulsed on her chair, but she couldn’t escape Miki’s clutches. The blades were buried under her eyebrow. With each slight movement, voluntary and involuntary, she helped separate her eyebrow from her face. Blood leaked out, cascaded over her eyelids, and glazed her eyeball, and then it ran down her cheek.

With two snips of her shears, Miki cut Amber’s eyebrow off her face. It landed on Amber’s lap. But she wasn’t finished yet. She pinched Miki’s other eyebrow and started cutting into it. Some of her short hair was trimmed, bloody strands spiraling down to her legs. It took three snips to severe it. It joined the other eyebrow on her lap.

Blood cascaded across the other side of Amber’s face. It looked like she was crying blood. The hot pain shot across her forehead—throbbing and throbbing and throbbing.