They say hell is a place you descend into.
For me, it began with a box.
A black, silent, breathing box.
---
My name is Aiden.
Just another nobody in high school - average grades, average looks, a typical nobody.
But what wasn't average... was how Haru treated me.
He wasn't just a bully - he was a demon, a ruthless monster in human skin.
Every single day was torment. Punches for spare change. Kicks if I walked too slow.
He even made me drink water from the toilet, pissed on me in front of the students, and made me lick his blood-crusted shoes while laughing with his friends.
But the worst? The threats.
"If you even think of snitching, I'll f*cking kill your father and make your mom beg for mercy before I torture her to death."
Haru was a bully, renowned in the whole school. He came from a prestigious family - his dad was a well-known politician and often meddled with the school whenever serious actions were taken against him for bullying. At last, nothing was done, as his father meddled through the affairs and bribed the headmaster. This gave Haru even more confidence.
My father worked in the same school - quiet, honest. I always looked up to my father.
My mother, a housekeeper, poured every drop of love she could into our little home.
Seeing me returning with blood-shed clothes and bruises, my mother always asked me if there was any problem at my school or if I fought with anyone. My father too always noticed the bruises and cuts I had on my body, but he never asked or said anything about it - he just stared in silence. And I too didn't dare to speak a word about it to him.
I was afraid. Afraid of losing my only hope of living.
Whenever I was asked about my injuries, I always came up with lame excuses.
"I fell down the stairs when I was playing with my friends haha."
"I was playing football and the ball hit me really hard, but I really had so much fun."
But in reality, I was just a loner. My pathetic self didn't even have a single friend, nor did anyone bother speaking to me. Everyone knew I was a victim of Haru.
I wanted to end it all so many times. I stood on the rooftop... pills in hand... rope tied to the hanging ceiling fan... but I stopped myself every time I thought of them - of how they struggled for me.
So I endured. Until that day.
---
It was a regular Thursday when Haru snapped harder than usual - slammed me against the lockers and fractured one of my ribs.
But this time, someone reported him.
The principal summoned both of us. I was not surprised - it was not a new thing, him being summoned for his bullying - so I expected the least.
But then... something different happened. Fate had different plans for him that day.
The principal, an emotionless man whose office always smelled like old wood and secrets, gazed calmly at Haru.
Haru said:
"Hah, what do I need to do this time? Don't tell me I have to write a 1000-word apology letter to this bitch."
"Or do I have to stand next to the corridor again?? Whatever it is, just f*cking do it already."
The principal said,
"Haru, this time I will give you a different punishment. Something unique."
He calmly said-
"Assistant, please."
His assistant - a pale man with thin-rimmed glasses and a scar above his brow - gazed at me for some time and then nodded.
"Sure thing, sir."
"Follow me," he said to us both. Haru rolled his eyes.
"Hurry up, I don't have the whole day."
---
We were led into the dark alley of the school, deeper and deeper into parts of the school we had never seen. We were finally at a dim-lit white chamber, deep in the staff quarters.
There were no windows. No desks. Pure silence and just a single object dominating the room.
A box. Twice the size of a refrigerator. Metal. Cold. With tiny vents on the top.
"What the hell is this?" Haru shouted.
The assistant smiled.
"Just go inside for 30 minutes. That's all."
"No fucking way. Just give me detention."
"The principal insisted."
I could see Haru's ego weigh the decision.
Thirty minutes lying down? Easier than detention or a written apology. And the box seemed properly ventilated too.
He shrugged and muttered,
"Whatever. Pussy punishment anyway."
Then crawled inside.
I was told to sit by the box.
"Observe. Make sure he completes it."
The door clicked shut as the assistant left.
---
As soon as the assistant left, the vents... began to close.
One by one.
Tink. Tink. Tink.
The box began to tighten - mechanical cords squeezing around it like a constrictor snake.
"HEY! What the hell is happening? Get me out of this shit."
"Enough of your jokes, it's getting cramped in here, it's hard to breathe."
"HEY F*CK FACE, DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME, GODDAMN!"
I tried my very best to open the box, but it was tightly sealed and packed. My fragile hands could never open it.
I ran towards the door only to find it was locked from the outside. I banged on the door repeatedly, but not a single soul responded.
I screamed - screamed till my voice faded.
"Help, someone please help! He is dying."
Then it began - the sound of panic.
"UHHHH UHHHH UHHH I can't... breathe! I can't breathe! OPEN IT! OPEN IT, DAMN YOU! Please!"
"Please open it-- sniff sniff Please Aiden! Please, I don't want to die, please."
"Oh lord, what did I do to deserve this, HAH..HAH..HAH..."
"I will never bully anyone, ple-please.. fo-forgive me aa- I- can't breath- HAH..HAH.."
Haru screamed, cried - cried a lot while screaming for help.
"I CAN'T- ANYMORE!! PLEASE! PLEASEEE! I'M DYING-!"
"AIDEN, PLEASE HELP ME, I BEG YOU, RELEASE ME!"
It was almost as if my heart stopped. I cried, but not a sound came out from my mouth, while helplessly beating the box with my bare hands hoping it would open.
I cried. I screamed and screamed and screamed.
He begged.
He screamed.
He sobbed... and sobbed and sobbed... until his voice gradually started fading...
"HELP-help-hel-he....."
His voice faded into nothingness, deep in the void... pin-drop silence.
Only 10 minutes had passed.
But it felt like forever.
---
I was kneeling in front of the box,
Fists bleeding from pounding the door.
Eyes flooding with tears.
"Even after all he did to me, I... didn't... I didn't want him to die."
Click.
The box opened all of a sudden.
---
I somehow managed to look inside the box with a faint hope of him being alive, but what I saw will haunt me until the end of time.
Haru's body was twisted - bones broken from thrashing inside, desperately trying to get out.
His mouth foamed, tongue hanging loose.
His eyes... were gouged out.
Torn fingernails etched bloody scratches into the walls - scratches on his face and arms.
I fell to my knees.
Hands on the cold ground, tears falling silently as I stared at the ground.
And then... something happened. Something I never expected from me.
I smiled.
---
ha..haha-HAHA-HAHAHAHHAHHAH..HAHAHAHAH...
Hysterical.
The silent room echoed with my voice... I couldn't stop... I couldn't...
I was laughing like I was the happiest person in the world, while tears showered from my eyes.
I was not myself.
Something changed.
It came from somewhere deep - somewhere I didn't know existed.
That's when the assistant returned.
He stood at the doorway, expression calm, with a warm smile on his face.
I turned to him, blood tears still in my eyes, laughter fading.
All I muttered was a single sentence.
"Thank you, Dad."