A Bully's Retribution

“You are ugly, fat and stupid,” screamed Sam as he stood over Martin on the school’s playground. Six other boys had formed a human barrier so that no one in the school complex behind them could see what Sam was doing. One of the boys had lured Martin to the farthest corner of the school. “Come I want to show you something interesting,” he had said. Only for Martin to find himself surrounded and being beaten by seven boys. Martin was scared. He was a tall gawky boy, quiet at most times. He seemed out of place with his age mates. An easy picking for bullies. 

Sam was the ringleader of a crew that terrorized kids in the community school. This time they had taken it too far. A teacher on duty noticed what was going on and came running while blowing his whistle. The boys scattered running away from the scene of crime.

Martin was crouched in the mud clenching his stomach. He was not injured, and the teacher made sure the nurse checked him over, but the boys had tipped him over a cliff into an abyss of depression. He did not say anything for the remainder of the day. Yet things moved very fast from that moment.

Two days later Sam and the other six boys were expelled from the school. The boys’ parents had been present, while Martin sat quietly, outside the principal’s office, alone. Some of the boys looked particularly remorseful. Sam who came with his mother, looked indignant, his mother was a quiet diminutive woman who stared at Martin for most of the time they were there. The principal’s word was final and the parents were handed the school’s decision.  

As Sam was leaving the principal’s office, he glared at Martin, “I will get you for this.” He said as he spat on the ground.

Martin sat on a bench outside the principal’s office as the other parents cleared with the principal and left the school. He was alone. Tears started streaming down his face.

He had just gone back to a memory he cherished.

Five years earlier, he was in a car with his parents and younger sister. They had come from a family function. The headlights shone brightly illuminating the road ahead. His father was laughing, sharing a joke, which his mother countered with another joke. His younger sister was strapped in her car seat and making cat noises, she was laughing hysterically.  He vividly remembered how happy the whole family was.  

It happened so quickly that in his mind it was incomprehensible. In an instance, a loud hoot, a blinding light, and then their car started flying. The laughter, the broad smiles were still there but now he could see terror begin to cloud into the car. His father tried to gain control of the car. In the process, he turned around to look into his son’s eyes. It was the last time Martin saw his father’s warm eyes. Time froze. The car landed and rolled severally and then there was silence.

When Martin came to, he was in a hospital and his uncle and aunt were standing beside his bed. “Where is daddy and mommy,” he asked, replaying the terrible incident in his mind. His heart was pounding. “Where are my parents,” he demanded hysterically. All his relatives could do was cry. “Your mom is fine, she had a concussion, but your father and sister are dead,” said his aunt as she held him close.

That was five years ago. Since then his mother had come out of hospital a changed woman. Gone was the joy of living, she lost a well-paying job and started drinking. She was addicted to opioids to numb the emotional pain she felt.

He was alone at the school that day. The principal’s office had reached out to his mother to come. Nevertheless, she was not there.

There were moments when he felt like he could end it all. They had become more frequent recently. He imagined walking home, and standing in front of a moving truck and meeting his father again.

Two days later as he was leaving school, hood over his head, listening to some music. He never noticed Sam and three other boys trailing him. On the way, he chose to take a short cut through the woods.

“Martin! Oh Martin! I told you I would get you,” shouted Sam as he reached up to Martin span him round and landed a punch in his stomach. Martin was shocked as his earphones flew out of his ears and into the mud as the boys rained blows. He was up and running for dear life. They caught up with him a few meters later. To the west was an opening into a field occupied by a church.

Martin was begging for mercy, crawling, screaming, but it only served as munition for more abuse. “Please! Leave me alone. I have never done anything to hurt you. Yet you treat me so badly.” Reasoned Martin. “You are everything I loathe,” retorted Sam with a fierceness that distorted his face.

“You must feel the pain I feel. Bring that rope,” demanded Sam. One boy pulled a rope he had been carrying. There was a moment of hesitation as the boys looked at each other. “You know we can tie him up and leave him naked and with markings on his body,” reasoned Chase. He was a new member of the gang. “Yes, let’s do that?” said Remmy nervously. He was thinking he needed to get home. This had been fun planning, but when it came to committing the ultimate deed. It was not in his palate.

Chase boldly took the rope and started tying Martin’s arms and legs, and then pushed him to the nearest tree. Remmy got in on it. Sam was still foaming, but helped the others kicking Martin in the meantime. They took turns marking him while laughing. “Let’s go,” Chase said. “Yes let’s go.” Sam countered trying to reassert his authority in the group. As the group crept out of the woods.

Martin was alone. He was naked, hungry and his body ached. “Why me!” he shouted looking towards the star lit sky. “Why me!”  

There was shuffling of feet in the grass as a figure rose before him blocking the moonlight.

A gasp came from Martin’s throat he was scared and tired. The figure drew nearer and become this burly man, with the warmest face he had ever seen.

“Young man let’s get you out of this,” the middle-aged man said. “My name is Robert, and I am the priest at the church overlooking that clearing. I was upstairs when I noticed the boys walking away. I rushed here immediately. Are you OK son?” All Martin could do was cry, and for the first time, he cried hysterically like the tears he had could undam something that was stuck in his soul.

Robert did not stop him. Rather he undid the rope and covered the naked boy with a blanket he had come with.

He walked the young boy back to his house, opposite the church, and gave him some clothes. He then placed a meal his wife had just prepared in front of Martin. “He is in deep trouble. I can see it in the way he looks. We need to give him shelter for the evening and call Mark as soon as possible,” Nancy, his wife said as they stood in the hallway watching Martin. Mark was a respected and well-loved police officer in the community. Mark agreed with Robert and Nancy to allow the young boy to stay for the night. He had known Martin’s family for a while.

“Come and sit here with me Martin,” Robert beaconed the following morning. “I have listened to your story from a couple of people, and I want to hear you?” There was silence as they looked into the woods that lay past the field.

“I don’t care much for life.” Martin began tears streaming down his eyes. “I would rather die than face another day of my mom’s drug abuse, of bullies like Sam, and all the troubles in this world”.

Robert listened and said nothing, he allowed Martin to speak words that had been kept down for years.

An hour passed by quickly. “I have a preposition.” Robert said lighting up. “I think you have the physical frame of a great athlete. I would like to introduce you to the gym I run. All I need you to do is come tomorrow early in the morning, 6 am with some gym clothes. I want to show you something that is going to change your life. Promise me you do not do something stupid before then! And I will show you how your life can become better.” Martin promised to think about it, and after a lovely breakfast from Nancy, walked home.

For the first time he felt like the most valued person in the world. He forgot all about Sam and his crew.

As he walked into their cramped littered apartment. Martin instinctively started cleaning up. His mother was in bed and he did not want to wake her up. She had withdrawn into another world. She rarely talked. Martin cleaned, washed and cooked.

The following morning Martin was at the gym. He found Robert waiting for him outside. They walked in and he was introduced to boxing.   

It took a while but Robert spent time rewiring Martin’s mind. He needed him to see possibility where there was none. To build the young man’s resilience and mental strength. He taught him how to defend and stand for himself. Taught him to be confident and eloquent. As Martin became a better boxer, he got into amateur fights locally and regionally, we won many and lost some. Eventually he became rooted in the right mindset.

“Knowing how to fight does not mean you use the training to go and beat up people. It means you learn to harness the power you have for good. It is easy and satisfying to respond evil with evil. Nevertheless, in the long term it is a vicious cycle. The greatest success you can have is to return good for evil. Learn to control and harness your emotions and turn the negative into positive.” Robert taught him.

Martin learned other forms of self-defense through his own initiative. As he became more confident, he found his voice and became the class president. He joined the debate club and became its president too. His mother, Mary, noticed the change. Nancy soon became a frequent visitor to their apartment, and Mary started on her own slow journey to recovery. Mary needed to heal the deep-seated wounds she had emotionally. She found support in Nancy and other women who came forth.

Mary went back to college and finished her master’s degree. She was able to take up a teaching job at a college nearby. This took her 6 years to do. By this time, Martin had graduated and gone on to one of the best universities in the country, by scholarship.

15 years went by quickly. All was forgotten about Sam the bully. Martin had started his law firm straight out of university and had grown it into one of the most respected and sought after practice in the city. He had started a family, and had two wonderful children.

He gave most of his free time and money to the foundation he had started to support Robert’s work. They specifically sought out children who were in bad situations at home and at school, bullied or otherwise and gave them a safe environment to rebuild their self-esteem and master skills and abilities that would make them successful in life.

It was one evening; he was just about to leave his office when his assistant forwarded a call from the state prison. The call was from a man called Sam Chesey. “Maggie I don’t have any contact by that name.” “The man insists that he knows you well and would like you to call collect,” Maggie responded. “Ok! Pass it on.” “Hello, Martin,” came the voice over the phone. A cold sweat broke from Martin’s brow. He knew who it was. There was no pride or hate in the voice. He sensed submission and dejection instead.

 “Hello Sam,” responded Martin. He had wondered what he would tell Sam when he met him years later. Back then, hate had filled his heart. However, after so many years with Robert his mind had shifted. All he felt now was peace.   

Sam sighed, “I need your help. My life has been turbulent over the last few years. I have done evil and some more. I need to ask for forgiveness. I have come to the end of my rope and I need someone to help me. I need a good lawyer and I have no one else to call. Please help me.” Martin went back to the last moment he saw Sam. The distorted face in the woods foaming with hate. He then remembered what Robert had taken so long to teach him. “I will help you Sam”. He said finally.

That evening Martin had a nightmare. A demon with Sam’s face was chasing him. He woke up in a cold sweat drank some water and went back to sleep. He had made the choice he would have to follow through.

The case against Sam was one of robbery with violence. He pleaded guilty and despite it being a capital offense, Martin helped to commute it to a lesser sentence. Sam went in for 7 years.

In prison, Sam kept in touch with Martin, and they started writing, then meeting and finally they became friends. The rehabilitation of Sam happened over his prison term, by the time he was leaving prison, he was a different man. Over the years, he became a major advocate for anti-bullying sharing his story and his transformation to all those who cared to listen. 

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