Mom and Pierce lived together. Pierce’s father died a long time ago. Mom married again but Pierce did not like his stepfather, Tom. Although Tom loved Pierce and showered him with gifts, but when he got angry, he would yell and scream loudly. He would throw things. All this was still fine for Pierce. But it was Tom’s face that scared him the most. Tom would become an ugly monster with sharp teeth and two curved horns sticking out of his head! When angry, Tom would make growling sounds and sometimes yell out a piercing loud howl like an angry wolf or a lion! Tom would catch hold of Pierce and shout at him, “You need to listen to what I say! Otherwise, this will become really bad for everyone, especially your Mom!”
This was what scared Pierce! He loved his mother dearly and the thought of her getting hurt terrified him. He had nightmares about Tom’s howling voice and monster face. He would see Tom in his monster form rushing intensely to hurt Mom! Very often, Pierce cried in his sleep. Sometimes he would cry during the day as well. And it was at these times that he would pick up his red clay and mould figures out of it. Pierce loved moulding figures out of his clay. Sometimes, it was his tears that would wet the clay and help mould it better. The figures that came out were very real and seemed life-like. One day, it became too much for Pierce, because Tom not only threw things in anger but also hurt Mom. Mom got a cut on her forehead and was crying bitterly. Pierce hugged her hard and cried. That day, while moulding his red clay, Pierce prayed that something should happen to make Tom leave him and his mother forever. He then cried and prayed. That night, when a drunken Tom was trying to get into his car to drive back home, suddenly he heard a gurgling sound, like an overflowing pipe. He looked up to see this huge clay-man rise out of the ground and grow larger like a mountain. The gurgling and frothing clay engulfed Tom in a deathly embrace. Next day, they found Tom’s dead body covered in red clay. However, interestingly, one of Pierce’s clay figures was missing from his collection of clay figurines!
