The two-headed boy

Being born with an extra head, from a parasite twin that did not manage to develop, had been a motive of inferiority, fear, and repudiation for Jonah all his life. But Alma, so named by her brother, was the only inseparable companion of the boy whom everybody considered abandoned by God. Alma never spoke and remained inert with her eyes closed and a serene expression, unable to hide her genetic malformations.

His parents adopted him when he was three months old. Many praised the kindness of Mr. Gustavo Caraballo, a short and emaciated man, who let himself be pushed around by his wife, Felicia Caraballo. A woman who was exaggeratedly fat, with delusions of grandeur and who was blind. She believed herself to be the most beautiful woman in the world, something that in the eyes of everyone else was not the case. The truth is that she was a few pounds away from being part of a circus show.

This married couple did not deserve any kind of admiration for having welcomed a poor monster into their home. Their only interest in receiving Jonah in their home was the extra food ration that they received from the government. The poor boy was mistreated and forced to feel inferior. He was not allowed to leave his room when they were in the house to avoid seeing his disgusting deformed body. Mr. and Mrs. Caraballo said that he had a foul smell. , and no matter how hard Jonah rubbed his skin until he bled, it did not disappear.

Jonah's life had not been easy. He lived isolated from the world and constantly exposed to the mockery of ignorant people. On the day of his 12th birthday, for the first time, Jonah began to repeat in his mind that he was not a monster. It was so liberating for him, that little by little and without realizing it, he began to shout it.

"I am not a monster! I am not a monster!" He was screaming, louder and louder. Convinced for some strange reason that he was not a freak. Jonah ran out of his house and screamed that he was not a monster. He was running so fast that he had to hold Alma's head in his hand so that it wouldn't bother him. The people who saw him pass by looked at him strangely, his presence provoking disgust. But the children were afraid to see him. They wondered in their innocent little minds who was that strange little man, who possessed the color of the night and carried on his shoulder a strange head?

As he ran, Jonah noticed the grimaces of terror and contempt on the people who saw him pass by, but one girl, in particular, caught his attention. She appeared to be a beggar, was barefoot, and her clothes were ragged. She was shocked. Jonah approached her slowly and tried to show her a friendly smile, even though his teeth were rotten and deformed.

"Why is the child afraid? You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not a monster. I am a human being just like you." He came closer and closer and extended his hand to wipe away the tears that had already flooded the girl's eyes. When he touched her cheek, the girl was cold and immediately fell to the ground, fainting. Her flabby little body could not bear such terror. The people who around ran to help the girl, while some tried to revive her, others despised and humiliated Jonah with hurtful words, but there was something specific that marked him forever.

"You are an aberration, a mistake of God, should have died the day you were born. Look at you, the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, you torture yourself living the miserable life you lead. You should kill yourself." Every word was a stake in Jonah's heart. They seemed to have forgotten that he was only an innocent child who, by the trickery of fate, was born with that cruel condition.

"Why are you still here? Get out, you freak!" Shouted one of the people there and kicked him out. For the first time, Jonah understood that no one could ever accept him. They were right. He was a monster who should have died at birth. He cursed God in silence for giving him a piece of shit for life.

He turned around and left. He didn't know whether to run or walk. He didn't know how to react. Nothing in his life mattered. It had never mattered just that he hadn't realized that until that day. He walked very slowly at first, letting everyone see his disfigured body in amazement, but then he began to run. When he got home, he locked himself in his room to cry. He cursed God at the top of his lungs, his parents, and everyone who despised him.

He asked herself over and over what he would do with his life, perhaps he should end it, but he didn't have the courage. He had understood that he was a monster, but he was also a child, and that was what no one else was able to see. He lay down on the floor, and looking at the ceiling, he thought of God, the cause of all his misfortunes. Then he thought of the Devil, maybe he could help him, nothing could be lost.

He closed his eyes and began to call him 'Come, I need you'. He said again and again, but as expected, nothing happened. However, from that day on he never left the house again. He hardly ever left his room to eat, although sometimes days passed without him leaving. The people who called themselves his parents didn't bother to find out what was wrong with him. The food ration they received from the government was big, but they were already tired of him and only wished him dead.

Jonah reached a point in his life where he didn't care about anything and had a million reasons to feel that way. He didn't own anything and didn't have a remote chance of getting anything. He didn't want material things, that didn't make him happy. He just wanted to feel loved, but he knew it would never happen. He was a monster, and it was clear to him that it was impossible for anyone to feel anything that was not disgusting or fear for him.

Being aware of his sad reality, he gradually stopped being a naive child. He became aggressive, ready to defend himself against anyone who tried to harm him. He no longer cared about being a good person, for he was a monster, and that was all others saw. He didn't go out during the day. However, in the darkest nights, he walked freely and without covering his faces around the town of Audi. If someone looked at him or looked frightened, he would stare into their eyes and then smile at them. All of this hurt him, but he had learned to pretend it wasn't so.

He had nothing to gain by being weak, even though he was a child, society had forced him to forget it and be just a monster. He always wore a gown, which he only took off on very rare occasions to wash it and not feel so much itchiness in his deformed little body.

The townspeople were already tired of seeing him walk the streets of his town, scaring the children, defending himself aggressively against anyone who wanted to hurt him, and acting like he wasn't a monster. After several weeks of planning, a group of men and women agreed to wait for Jonah at the Three Plagues Bridge, which connected Jonah's house to the town. These people only wanted to harm the poor boy, who would only go into town and sit for hours in the small park to watch people pass by. That bothered them because they were incapable of accepting anyone different.

On the night chosen to throw Jonah out of town, it was snowing heavily, but that didn't stop those malicious individuals led by a man named Alfredo from waiting for hours. At nine o'clock at night, Jonah was about to cross the bridge, when he felt several hands holding him tightly. In vain he tried to get free. Immediately he feared the worst, but he did not cry out. He knew that nobody would help him, not him, a monster. They wrapped him up in a blanket and put him in a sack. He risked suffocation, but those individuals were so stupid that they didn't think about it, even though they didn't care.

They went downstream with him, and when they were a little far away, they took him out of the sack and unwrapped him. Jonah was shivering with cold since he had no other clothes than his robe, is lying in the snow gave him the sensation of burning. Alfredo took a stick and began to touch it roughly all over his body so that Jonah would open his eyes.

NOTE:

I'm sorry if the novel is not perfectly written. I am not a native English speaker and I am doing my best.