S C H A D E N F R E U D E
noun [shahd-n-froi-duh]

Satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You raced around the apartment with fury, feeling yourself approach borderline contentment. You glanced into every room you passed then stopped when you reached the end.

"HEDWIG, I told you to come for lunch an hour back!" You yelled as loudly as you could without sounding completely psychotic.

You walked towards his room and pushed the door-

SPLASH!

You gasped as a gush of cold water doused you from head to toe. You stood completely still in the room doorway, water dripping from your clothes and hair. You waved your arms around to get rid of the wetness then groaned loudly in frustra-

You heard someone start giggling in the corner of the room, possibly behind the bed. You started stamping your foot and crossed your arms.

"Come out here Hedwig RIGHT NOW!" You screamed and a few moments later, he got up from his hiding spot and walked to you with his head hung low.

"Why? Why did you do that?" You asked with complete sadness.

"I was just passing the time [y/n], it was pretty funny-"

"I'M DRENCHED HEDWIG! THIS IS NOT FUNNY," You yelled and he looked to the floor. You rubbed your forehead then sighed, "I'm disappointed in you."

"[y/n] I-I'm-"

"Just go have lunch and think about your behaviour over the last few days," You instructed flatly and he sulked as he walked to the kitchen.

*****

You've taken him under your wing. You found him in a psychiatric home, with no one to really care for him. You understand the disorder thoroughly, you've studied it. You just wanted to help Hedwig as much as you could and perhaps give him the life he would imagine of.

But having a mind of a nine year old boy... It makes life far more tough for you. He takes everything as a game or for fun, which is great most of the time because he gets his chores done but when you're attempting to tell him something important, get him to do something he may not want to or teach him something, he starts to divert his attention.

You stared at him as he slurped his bowl of noodle soup without saying a word. You sat there till he finished. You felt bad for him but he can't continue acting like this in your house. You won't be able to cope with his behaviour.

He started to get up but you grabbed his arm pushed him back to his seat. "Do you know why I'm sitting here like this, watching you?" You asked and he looked to the tables with a frown.

"Because I dumped a bucket of water on your head," He mumbled.

"Yes... And that you have not been listening to me whenever I'm telling you something or asking you to eat or finish some work, Hedwig," You explained and clenched his fists.

"But it's boring! I want to do something fun!"

"Teasing people and playing pranks on them isn't fun Hewie."

"It's fun for me!"

"But it's not fun for everyone else, okay? It makes me feel very sad and makes me think that you don't care about me."

"I do care about you..."

"You don't play pranks on people you care about," You pouted your lips and he crossed his arms, "Now, go put your bowl in the sink and wash your face."

"Yes mom..." He sulked and dragged himself to the kitchen. You watched him then smirked, an idea popping into your mind.

You turned around and faced the front, looking to your hands and planning out the scheme in your mind.

*****

The next day...

You walked around the living room, clearing up some of the books that you had borrowed from the library for the week. You wanted to do some reaearch into psychology just for general knowledge.

"I'm hungry, can I have something to eat?" Hedwig crept up to you and asked you softly. You didn't acknowledge his presence and walked past him. "Mom I'm hungry please," He repeated but again, you did not listen to him.

You walked towards the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the refrigerator. You pretended as if you were thinking about giving it to him but as he was about to speak, you took a big bite from it.

"Mom I wanted that... MOM!" Hedwig started to grow irritated and you struggled to hide the smile appearing on your lips.

He tugged on your shirt and bit his nails. You didn't change your attitude and he groaned loudly in frustration. "UGH FINE I'll get it myself!" He moped towards the kitchen then grabbed an apple from the refrigerator.

As he took a bite and chewed, a thought came into his mind. He shook his head, thinking that it couldn't be possible.

"I'm going to paint a picture for you because I love you," He said leaning at the kitchen island. Your attention didn't sway to his direction and he scrunched his eyebrows.

"Mom can't hear me... she always wants me to paint a picture," He whispered to himself then collapsed onto the floor and curled into a ball, crying to himself.

You continued to do what you were doing but then when the sniffling grew louder, you turned back and widened your eyes.

You bit your lip, hesitating to acknowledge his existence but then your motherly nature kicked in. You got up from your seat then walked over to him, sitting beside him and crossing your legs.

"Hedwig, what's wrong?" You asked and he crawled a little away from you.

"Nothing."

"Come on Hewie, I was just playing a trick on you! I could see you this whole time but I wanted you to feel how I do when you trick me," You explained and squeezed his shoulder, "Stop crying please? I hope you realise that I become very sad when you throw a bucket of water on me or switch off the water heater when I take a bath right after I'm sure I switched it on, or when you change the time on the clocks and I wake up too early for work."

You rubbed his nose and stared at the floor, tears rolling down his cheeks. "But I'm not crying because of that," He mumbled and you tilted your head in confusion.

"What?"

"My remote control car broke... I cant fix it. I wanted to ask you but you couldn't see me."

You stared at him with disbelief. "Hedwig you're-"

He sat uo straight and crossed his legs, facing you, "I'm joking mom!" He hugged you tightly and you shook your head with a smile on your face.

"Hedwig you're a funny young man," You said softly and kissed his cheek.

"Actually..." He looked to his hands with shame, "I was crying because I was sad that I had disappeared. I'm sorry, I won't tease you anymore. I don't want you feeling sad anymore."

You hugged him tighter then kissed his cheek. "I love you Hewie," You whispered.

"I..." He started, "Could I have ice cream?"

You moved away and laughed, then got up and took his hand, "Of course you can!"