square pen

Sunrise lights it every morning. Up the hill, it stands alone with its stern walls. Several big logs are like in a stack with a little space in between them forming a square type hut with a grass roof at almost two persons high.  But what is distinct about it is that it has no door nor opening. Sunset means the start of darkness in this isolated place. 

Lien, 27, has been there for almost seven years now. He has braved seasons after seasons whether it's hot, cold, snowy, or stormy. He only has a wooden bed with a couple of thick fleece to survive time. Imagine him freezing like ice maybe during winter or melting like ice cream during summer. Lien seems not to bother any of these. His body hasn't changed- still as thick as the logs around him.

Chen, his father, visits him every other day. It has been his routine for several years. But there has never been a visit that he did not cry. Looking at some meters away from his son's cage, he begins to cry. He can't help it. 

Chen had had some difficult times taming Lien as he was growing up. At the age of 20, Lien's physical stature had begun to become strong and feral. Chen tried many times to tie him with a rope but Lien could still break the knot. Chen thought that Lien couldn't be controlled so he decided to bring him up the hill and built a special place for his son.

Schizophrenia has totally damaged Lien's life. Chen can't afford to take Lien to a specialist. Moreover, their village is quite far from the town and as far as medicine which costs an arm and a leg is concerned, there are just a few doctors that treat the case of Lien.  It breaks Chen's heart everyday thinking about the condition of his son. But he has no choice. He thinks that this is the safest thing for his son.

Chen has never thought that life is unfair. He doesn't think that he is old enough to hope that one day he could be with his son not up the hill but on his side like when Lien was still young. He dreams that one day he would not go into that square pen up the hill again.