"Mom? Could I please see my grandmother?" 

     "No." she growled, "You killed her. You f***ing killed her! How in God's name am I supposed to trust you to see her in the damn hospital? You should be ashamed of yourself, you selfish brat!" 

     "Edith, please, give our son a break! He saw your mother fall unconscious in front of his own eyes, so you should be more soft on him for the next couple of months until we are both sure he revives from the situation. Okay?" Dougal's father ordered. 

     "You idiot! She died in front of my very own eyes too! And no, I'm not going to be helping a child murderer. And if that's what you want to do, then go do it like the heartless sicko you are. In other words, get out of my life! Especially you, Dougal Abbott. You are a disappointment to the Abbott family tree. Just get the hell out! Both of you! And I swear," she added as Dougal and his father ran away from her, "if any of you ever step foot into my bedroom ever again, you both will receive swats as a punishment!!!" she screamed as Dougal and his dad got out through the front door to calm themselves outside.

     "D-Dad, am I really a murderer?" Dougal's lip quivered in fear.

     "No, of course you're not! Don't listen to what your mother says. Whenever she's this angry, she just ends up speaking utter nonsense. And what makes it worse is that she actually believes in what she says, which is not you, son. You're able to stick with reality more than she can. Whenever something horrible happens to someone, she immediately blames someone else for being a murderer, even though most of the time, they usually aren't. In other words, Dougal, your issue is not half as bad as your mother's is. You cherish that luck for a moment." his dad assured him.

     "Dad, does my grandma have anger issues too?" Dougal wondered.

     "Maybe not, maybe so. If she doesn't, then we shall both feel glad that she doesn't. If she does, then she's very good at hiding it. She may have gotten much better treatment than you have if that's the case." his dad sighs and proceeds back inside, holds the door open, and reminds Dougal, "Make sure you don't go to your mother tonight. She needs to refresh herself for a while. Perhaps tomorrow, she'll either forget about it or just feel fine. I only hope that she'll apologize to you soon. Because you are not a murderer. You are not even a bad person. You're just a normal boy with issues of your own, like everyone else. No one can be perfect, but they themselves can be perfect in their own way. Is that understood, son?"

     Dougal smiled.

     "Yes, Dad." 

*****