Chapter Text
Morro was a nobody. That's what he's been told for most of his life, right after he waa the only one to have survived the car crash that took both his parents before paramedics could arrive.
The nurses praised him, for being alive and having survived such a nasty situation.
But Morro knew better. It was pity from where they praised him, it was nothing but lies because Morro was no miracle. He was an infection.
"Morro!" His little eyes opened to be met with the dim light of candles. He sat up, footsteps loud above his head as he rubbed the sleep away. The mattress below him was dirty again, and it was slowly becoming more and more uncomfortable to lie on. "Morro, get your fucking ass up here!" He didn't make a sound as he got up and went up the creaky wooden stairs.
When he opened the door to be met with the warn sunlight he blinked.
It was always so cold in the basement.
A hand grabbed his shirt and dragged him away from the basement door. He was dragged into the kitchen, and dumped onto the floor. "I thought I told you to clean up this whole floor before I got down here. You want to sleep outside again?" Morro shook his head, he got onto his feet and stared down at the ground. He's been living with his mom's sister and her wife for a year now.
Pain is all he can recall from the moment he's stepped into this house and went under their custody.
Morro was just a kid, so he must be overreacting.
"Clean up, if I see you didn't do jack shit I'm throwing you outside for the rest of the day." Morro nodded, watching as she walked off and left him alone in the kitchen. He knew better than to simply standing there, but the idea of being thrown outside was looking a lot better than staying inside. So Morro worked slowly, barely on getting to cleaning some nasty stuff stuck to the oven window when his aunt walked back in.
She breathed in, walked over and grabbed his hair. Black tendrils oily with the lack of showers he's allowed to have. He whines, but he's quickly thrown outside into the backyard and locked out. He stares at the backdoor before getting up and rubbing his sore scalp.
The outside was always a lot better than the inside. He had room to let his mind wander, to escape and run off wherever he wanted to. Morro walked over to the wooden fence, searching for that one weak spot he knew the wood had somewhere. When he found it, he slid a piece of wood aside and slipped out and into the real world. Morro is never allowed out of the house, due to the fact he isn't cared for, and because his caretakers were afraid he'd say something.
So he was never allowed out. Morro didn't mind, he didn't like people in general, so being isolated wasn't as bad as his aunt and husband thought it was on him.
He preferred the silence over the yelling.
Morro walked down the sidewalk, grimy little shoes squeaking as he walked down the sidewalk. Bruises littered his arms, but he didn't mind the stares as long as he kept walking. He managed to find himself at a playground, and he sat under a tree and watched as the people around him played.
He had to place in the world, not since he's the reason his dad and mom died. Morro was a curse, something that eats away at the people around him and leaves nothing but a grave as evidence of his work.
That's what he's been told, and that's what he knows as the truth. There is not a single lifetime or universe where he isn't some kid with a curse to ruin the ones he loved. So he stopped himself from loving anyone, before he could tear down the world.
"Hi, are you new to town?" Morro looked up, a girl with orange hair and a boy with dull blue hair were looking down at him. Not with frowns of disgusting or pity, but a small a kid would give.
Morro only blinked and stared back, mouth hanging open as a lack of words filled his head. "I told you he'd be scared, if he's new then we should have offered a snack Ko..." The boy with dull blue hair whispered, he seemed anxious, but he spoke to the girl with a small passion. "Shut it starfish, I'm gonna be your new friend. What's your name?" Morro blinked again, closing his mouth and swallowing before speaking.
"Morro..." The girl smiled, she pulled the boy beside her down to a crouch beside her. They were eye level to Morro now.
"My names Koko! And this little starfish is Sirius, you can call him starfish too. It matches his name!" Morro nodded, watching as Koko and Sirius sat down.
Morro never thought he could feel warm.
When he went back to the house, he snuck in late into the night and settled down in the grass near the shed. The grass was a lot softer than the mattress he sleeps in down in the basement.
The next day wasn't much different. Morro woke up with his back aching but otherwise unharmed. When he waa finally allowed inside a cold plate of oatmeal rested on the dinner table. He took it and went down to the basement, eating in the dark and in the silence of an empty house.
Morro was twelve. His birthday was in a few days and he knew there was nothing to come, not when he's been having birthdays down in this basement for four years now. He didn't mind, he knew he deserved being alone after forcing his parents to die.
His life was just an empty story now, there was no hope for him, and even if he made two new friends he knew eventually they too would get tired of him. The same way he gets tired of himself.
The same way he stares into the open flame of the candles. Thoughts of letting the little flame touch the wood of the house, to watch it all burn while his caretakers screamed inside.
Morro brought a hand to his mouth, bile rose up his throat too quickly and he threw up. He coughed, little tears falling down his face at the prickly pain in his throat, leaving behind a disgusting aftertaste when he swallowed.
Those thoughts were always there. It's just that Morro only ever acted on them when he felt tired. It usually just meant he'd put his little arm over the flame of a candle, watching as his skin reddened before little bubbles formed just small enough to pass by as a pimple. It would hurt for a little, and then the pain left and he'd be left with nothing but a hollow sensation deep in his chest.
"You brat, you disgusting piece of garbage!" Morro held his cheak, tears streaming down his face as his little hand twitched against his cheek. There was a disgusting itch deep inside his limbs, his mind wandered for a second too long and he found himself being grabbed by the hair. He yelled out, the pain abrupt as he was dragged across the floor.
"Why haven't you died already!" Morro cried out, he twisted and planted his feet on the ground. The hand in his hair let go of him, but he didn't let go of the hand. He pounced and as he bit down on a hand he hear the sound of a cry, a shocked startled cry of pain. "L-let me go! Stop it you animal!!" A punch landed right onto Morro's face. Right at his nose and he let go as the pain stung all the way to his eyes, he whined as tears fell down his face again.
He was hit again and this time Morro felt his world darken.
"Oh, are you okay?" Morro nodded, keeping his face hidden in his arms to prevent his two only friends from running away.
Look at him, being even more selfish.
"I-it looks like someone hit you... Morro?" It was Sirius, his little voice sounded afraid, but he spoke clear enough for the two to hear.
"I'm okay." Morro really was okay. He was breathing, sadly, but be was still okay. There was nothing to save, Morro wasn't worthy of being saved.
Morro stopped leaving the frail mattress at all. It was just two days before his birthday before he turned thirteen.
But nothing will change, he's going to continue to live this awful life. Because that's what he was destined to live, he killed his parents, and thoughts about killing his aunt habe begun to haunt not just his day hours but also his sleep. He is afraid of what he is capable of doing, but then again Morro was nothing but a cuse.
It was cold. Colder than ever before. Morro shivered, covering his mouth with his hands as he blew warm air into them. The candles did little to light up his vision, barely showing him where everything was.
The candles flame danced about, waving at him and swiveling from side to side. It was beautiful, watching how it curled around before straightening.
Burn.
His breath hitched, he covered his mouth and he took a shaky breath in through his nose.
Burn it all down.
He sat up before he could truly think. He grabbed the candle, before grabbing another in his other hand. His feet moved across the basement and he slowly crawled up the stairs. When he got to the door he opened it with a struggle. It was dark out, and the sound of a TV on dragged him to the living room. Candles in hand, he stood at the entrance to the living room to see his aunts husband sitting slouched on a pull out chair.
Morro glanced down at the flame in his hand. He turned and left, walking down the hall and reaching one of the ghest bedroom. It was clean inside, and as he walkes over to the bed he smiled as he dropped one of the candlss onto the bed.
Flames spread across the bed, eating away at the wood before crawling up the walls.
He was happy that this house wasn't up to date with the fire alarms. He left the door open, and as he walked back to the living room his smile had only widened. It felt odd on his face, but he couldnt gelp but want it more.
Burn him. Watch him burn.
Morro stepped into the man's vision, holding a candle in his hand with a smile no child should wear. There was no time to react because he threw the candle and the man yelled. The flames burst open, eating away at flesh and filling the air with the disgusting smell of human.
Morro snorted. Slow giggles that turned into loud insane laughter, he laughed even when tears streamed down his face. He laughed even when a hand grabbed his shoulder and a cry pierced the air.
Tears and laughter left his body as a punch landed on his face. Blood ran down his face as he laughed, he continued to laugh even when he felt the heat of flames licking at him.
The heat consumed his entire body and he cried as fire ate away at his body. There was only fire, more and more fire. His skin burned on his body, and he cried out as the pain filled his body.
Morro blinked. Life once again filling his senses as he stared at a smiling picture of himself. He remembered the day it was taken, sometimes after he met Koko and Sirius the two decided to take pictures of each other. Morro never took his copies, because they burned in the fire he started.
He turned, a boy with blond hair and bright green eyes was staring right at him. Morro remembered, he died, he wasn't alive anymore and with a single glance he realized he was a ghost.
"You." Came his quivering voice. The kid blinked, glancing over to somewhere behind Morro before looking back at him. "Oh... no way," He whispered as he stayed staring up at Morro.
"You!" And then their voice was a lot louder. The ceiling trembled and Morro could imagine hearing his voice echo.
"You disrupted my peace!" He was angry. He knew his face said it all, and he felt his form flicker and tremble as he spoke."I've been dead for decades, and some kid comes and bothers my home? My resting place!?" Morro took a breath in, even if he didn't need it anymore it allowed him to yell louder. "I was at peace!"
Morro lunged, pressing his ghostly hands against the kids shoulders and forcing him down onto the ground.
"I was in the realm of the dead, boy. Who are you to summon me." Morro was no longer yelling, but his voice had dropped to a whisper.
"I'm sorry, I didnt mean to disturb you! I-it felt like I was drawn. I'm sorry!" Morro glared at the boy, before he lifted off of the kid and moved away.
"You speak the truth. If you did not intend to summon me, then why am I here." Morro looked away. Something inside of him curled uncomfortably, the feeling of having a purpose echoed deep inside his chest and when he glanced back at the kid the boy had a dim outline of green.
Morro stared, he knew what it meant deep down... but at the same time he was confused.
'Thiskid isn't normal... do I have a purpose now?'
Morro never regretted allowing himself to tether to the boy. Not when he got to save him, and watch that dulling green aura grow stronger and brighter. The boy wouldn't be healed fully, but he helped give a push and that's all Morro had to do.
He served his purpose, his curse lifting off his shoulders as he accepted death, passing on even the cursed place he called peace.
Welcoming light filled his senses, and he smiled.
Morro rewrote his wrongs. And that's all that mattered.
Featuring a quote I never got to truly use. "This is why he held his head down for all those years, because he knew he'd be out of the way."