Once upon a time, there was a snotty little brat, named Ethan Coleman. Ethan was a nasty child, spoiled rotten to the point that one could practically smell how horrid he was. He would smash plates and jars broken, stomp on the tails of cats and dogs alike, and even kick more than ten different shins of grown-ups and children of his own age in less than a week.
Things only got worse, as his father stayed up late one night with two of his friends inside the house. All of them were intoxicated in just an hour or so of playing cards, and they began to say the dandiest of things. Things that no little boy or girl of Ethan's age should hear or say. Yet Ethan did both…
After that night, Ethan started talking and shouting the words he had heard, and he would not stop using these vulgar expressions and phrases no matter how many times he was scolded or punished. At home, in school, and just about everywhere he had gone to, he kept saying these rude comments and statements. This made everyone hate him even more.
At a family dinner, he was forced to sit down on a table with his mother and father, his two aunties and uncles, and his grandmother, with her being right in front of him. And as they all finished praying and they started to pass the dishes they had prepared, Ethan did not hesitate. Every time he was asked what he wanted or how school was going, he would say what he had in mind with the use of these incredibly disrespectful words of dialogue. And he would not stop.
As time passed, his grandmother finally said, "Enough is enough!" and pointed a wrinkly finger in front of Ethan's face. "Mark my words, you rotten child, from this day on, you will see what happens to little boys who speak so vulgar such as yourself! Even if you are my grandchild, I curse you to be visited by the family of masks!" she exclaimed with a tone as angry as a mad crow.
Ethan did not know what she was talking about, but he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. Still, he resented with a few comments of his own, forcing his mother to take him to his room. "Beware young Ethan! Beware…!" he had heard his grandmother shout as he was taken upstairs.
After a long and angry talk with his mother, Ethan was locked inside his room, and promised to be grounded for the rest of the week. The boy became furious at this, but knew that he could always sneak out of his room when he wanted to…what his grandmother had said still chilled him to the bone.
The mentioning of "The Family of Masks" had started to repeat in his mind up until he laid his head down on his pillow, and tried to sleep. He tossed and turned just thinking about it.
When he woke up, he felt very uneasy. His body was drenched in sweat, and it almost felt like he escaped a nightmare that he cannot remember clearly. He turned to the window and saw that the sky was still dark, turning to the clock he saw that it was already 7am. He found this odd, but thought nothing of it and went downstairs for breakfast.
He began to call out to his mother, as rude as ever, and made his way to the kitchen. What he saw made his skin crawl…
On the stove, frying up what looked like eggs was his mother…but the mask stuck to her face told Ethan that it might not have been her. She immediately took notice of him, and politely greeted Ethan with a lot more enthusiasm. She began to talk about how lovely the day was looking and how the sizzling of the fried eggs had made her want to dance merrily to the coming of breakfast, somehow reminding Ethan of that one nanny who flew up and down with an umbrella.
All the while, Ethan was still creeped out by the mask she wore. A plain white mask with protruding glassy and empty spectacles where the eyes should be, and a cartoony smile painted on below similar to how a clown's makeup was done.
"What the hell is going on here?" he asked out loud, and immediately, he regretted it. As her mother suddenly snapped her gaze back to Ethan, her kind and polite aura snuffed out, replaced with an angry and malevolent vibe.
She came at him faster than any person should be able to and pinched the left side of Ethan's chin. "You watch your tone young man!" she said aloud, Ethan crying out from the pain of her red nails sinking into his face. "As you may have noticed, I am not your real mother, and you are not inside your real house. You are sent here for a reason, and as have we. You are here because of your own doing, the way you speak so vulgar that it could make any baby cry. And if you do not wish to stop any moment sooner…"
The monstrous double of his mother let go of Ethan's cheek and proceeded back to the stove. With her back to Ethan, she went on cooking again, but not before saying "Then we shall have no trouble eating the tongue of a rotten child, hehehe…". The sound of her laugh echoed in Ethan's brain, as he stifled a panic set of screams and started running to the living room.
There, he saw his father alongside his two aunties and uncles, each looking the same but with a different mask. His father bore a golden crow mask, a purple mesh of thick wires on the eye sockets. Two of his aunties had masks of a highly detailed Rhino head and a simple but eerie-looking gas mask, while his two uncles had shiny tungsten and purple masks with long and colorful feathers.
They greeted him with the same politeness his mother did, but he couldn't help but shout out another rude expression, which prompted his father's doppelgänger to scold him with immense anger. He ran off to the front door before any of them could grab him.
Reaching the entrance, he spotted the backside of his grandmother, barely seeing the edges of the clumps of fur of a mask she was wearing. He faintly heard the clicking of a lock as a key was turned, and Ethan nearly jumped up in fear as his grandmother turned around. The mask she was wearing was that of a cat; black and white fur with bright stains of red covering the corners of a wide toothy smile. The teeth looked sharp, and looked very real.
Ethan began to let out a flurry of curses, but soon found his mouth covered by a sickeningly rough and wrinkly hand. "Child, your family has told you hundreds of times, yet you still do not listen. If you wish to have them back, you must swear to never, EVER speak like that in a formal party ever again!" she had told him.
He swore--and not in the rude sense this time--that he wouldn't, that he would stop forever and ever. But his words could only go so far, as his fake grandmother told him that this was not enough, that he would have to prove it, by sitting down with them and having breakfast. To keep a formal sense of speech as they ate and chatted.
Moments later, Ethan found himself sitting with his family again. He knew it wasn't them, but the way they dressed, talked and even moved was similar. The things they chatted about did not make too much sense, his mother kept talking about how nice the weather was outside, despite it still being as dark as night outside the windows. His father kept talking of how the sport "U.N. Owen" had been inspiring him to do more with one of his uncles, who supported him with an overly-flattering tone. The rest talked with his granny about how their sudden new neighbors--the "Von Heartcraft's"--were keeping a great garden. They all spoke so kindly, so much so as it did not feel too real anymore. But Ethan kept remembering just how unreal everything was around him…
His stomach rumbled, but he dared not to ask for food. The food in question looked normal, but was too far away for him to reach. He had to ask for someone to get the dish for him.
Soon after, his mother next to him had asked if he wanted something, leaving Ethan no choice but to say something. He tried pointing at the dish of mashed potatoes at first, but soon received a heap of scolding from his father, saying that it was rude to point.
"…Can you…pass the mashed potatoes" he barely managed to say.
The rest of the family looked at him intently, suddenly silent. He felt incredibly uneasy. He wanted to go back home, to his real home, to his real family, to wake up from this nightmare. But he already knew what needed to be done for that to happen.
"What's the magic word sweetie-pie?" his mother asked him, head tilting to one side. Ethan's throat went dry. Just what had they wanted him to say?
"The magic word is really special Ethan, you have to say it, or else…" his auntie trailed off, soon giggling to herself, the rhino mask shaking as she did.
He began to recall whatever lessons his Values teacher had tried to teach him. It was all so fuzzy and hazy, and it was so hard not to utter a swear in his situation.
"What's the magic word, kid? Come on, they ain't teachin' ya right in school these days?" his uncle commented.
"Son, I know you know it, say it now, don't be shy!" his father told him.
He couldn't think of anything, and he was so afraid that he might say the wrong thing that he would end up living as a child without a tongue, if he could even live through this that is…
Say it, say it, say it, say it, say it…! They began chanting, getting louder and louder each time it was repeated.
Ethan felt his eyes well up in tears, the rest of his family still chanting. He tried to recall when and where he might have heard this supposed magic word in his life, but couldn't…
That is, until he remembered this one kiddie TV show his grandmother had made him watch when he was far younger. It was "Gregory Grizzly and the Magic Word" and he had hated every single moment of it…but there he remembered the magic word.
"P-Please…!!" he exclaimed, shutting his eyes and fearing the worst…
Nothing came at him, and when he opened his eyes, he could see that his family was back in their seats. They still were wearing the masks, but…he didn't feel their anger anymore. His mother passed him the mashed potatoes and eventually, took his helping.
And…as strange and frightening the masks had looked, he soon felt at ease. These doppelgängers suddenly started to sound like his family again, and they began to talk normally. Every time Ethan was asked for something, he replied to the question with a formal sense in mind, avoiding whatever swear-word or rude comment his mind had been conditioned to say.
They soon finished eating, and his fake mother was asked to tuck him in bed. Normally, he'd be against it, but did not want to push his limits. He was tucked in his bed by the fake mother, who strangely made Ethan more comfortable than usual.
"You did good little Ethan…I'm sure your family would be happy to see you back…" the other mother commented.
"I…I don't know if they would ever forgive me…" Ethan said, now feeling guilty for every rotten thing he had done.
She laughed a silly laugh and said "Do not worry child, we all make mistakes. And you still have a chance to fix yours" with that, she began to lean close, lifted her mask slightly and kissed Ethan on the forehead. It felt cold, but soothing.
She wished Ethan goodnight and headed outside. And soon enough, Ethan fell asleep…
The next day arrived, and he went downstairs to the kitchen. He saw his mother there, cooking, the whole scene eerily familiar…until his mother burned her hand and shouted something vulgar, similar to what Ethan used to say.
She took notice of him soon enough, and looked worried that Ethan might use what she had said in the future. But Ethan didn't care, he was so happy that his mother was not wearing that crude mask anymore that he hugged here right then and there. He began to cry and began to apologize for everything that he's done. And that he would never act like a rotten child again. That he would not make her angry again.
His real mother was confused, but let it subside, as he tried to comfort her son. She told him that it was going to be okay, and that she wasn't mad at him. She told him that she was also proud of him for saying that, but pleaded for Ethan to keep his word…and also promise to not use the word she had uttered earlier.
He promised, and as the days went on, he proved to both himself and to everyone that he could keep it. He no longer smashed plates or ruined the days of animals and people alike. And no longer did he utter another swear word again…for the rest of his childhood anyway.
But yes, Ethan was no longer a rotten child, and he never talked that way to his family or anyone ever again…
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