WebNovels

Chapter 2 - I hate my father

Omari slowed his steps, his ears caught by the storyteller's voice. The man's words carried a strange weight, like fragments of forgotten truth hidden in song. Omari was about to push through the crowd and listen when a pair of men nearby scoffed.

"That fellow spins fine tales," one muttered, "but who believes that nonsense? Cultivators vanished hundreds of thousands of years ago."

"Aye," the other snorted. "In this age, no man can touch the heavens. All that's left are old songs for children."

After hearing the two men,Omari thought it unnecessary to stand in a crowd of sweaty people listening to stories and songs that wouldn't help him in any way.

In a forest,Omari's father the village chief and his men were hunting. One of the hunters spoke,

"Chief,your son Omari has great potential to become a great warrior, why not let him.."

"I will not raise a lion that will later on turn around and eat its benefactor,I will do no such thing," the chief snapped.

As soon as Omari reached his village,he ran to the hut they lived in, excited to see the highlight of his day, his mother.

As soon as he entered the hut,he saw his mother cooking on a fire at the centre of the hut and immediately hugged her.

"Omari,you've returned, my handsome young man," she hugged him back, her hand ruffling his short locs.

Omari sat down on the couch and started telling his mom about his day.

After a while,he remembered to ask her a question that weighed on his mind.

"Mother,did immortal cultivators actually exist?"

She raised an eyebrow,"What brought about this question, Omari?" She let out a soft laugh, "Does my little man want to be a cultivator?"

"No,I saw an interesting storyteller on my way back from school, his stories felt so real and the way he told them with so much emotion made me curious."

She closed her pot and sat down,"From the stories I heard from my great grandfather, they did exist."

Omari's eyes lit up,"Really?"

She smiled,seeing how excited he got,

"He told me that they were strong,they could fly or flatten a mountain with a wave of their hand...."

She continued telling him stories she had heard from her great grandfather and some from her husband.

Omari was so absorbed in the stories that the whole world seemed to not matter to him;all he cared about in that moment was hearing more.

"What happened to them, mother?" he asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

She stood up and opened her pot and mixed the soup a bit before closing it again.

"It is said that they all vanished in one day,leaving this world to mortals," she answered.

"They vanished overnight?"Omari asked.

"Yes,some people say that mortals dirtied the world and the immortal cultivators left, ascending the heavens." She then stood up and removed her pot of soup and placed another pot filled with water atop the fire.

"Omari,how about you become a hunter like your father or join knighthood like your older brother?"

The smile on Omari's face vanished,"I would never want to be like father or follow in older brother's footsteps."

Omari's mother felt great hatred in his voice,"You know, deep down your father loves you, just give him time, okay?"

Omari looked down,"I don't need his love, your love is enough mother, I hate that man."

She froze for a few seconds,then sighed, "Well, whatever career path you choose, I will be there to support you all the way through."

Before Omari could say anything, Kael (his brother, third born) walked in from school.

"Ahhh,bad omen is in here," he groaned.

He continued,"I can't stand being in the same room as you."

Omari's right hand squeezed into a fist,getting ready to fight his brother.

"Hey,what did I say?" Their mother interrupted.

Kael sighed deeply,"Sorry mother, I promise to treat him better."

Out of respect for their mother,Omari held back. Kael gave Omari the side eye and quickly went to his room.

Later that night,the whole family was sitting together surrounding a fire; only the first born wasn't there. The familiar, comforting smells of woodsmoke, drying herbs, and Omari's mother's cooking washed over him. The central firepit glowed, its flames casting dancing shadows on the walls lined with his father's trophies: the skull of a great horned beast, spears with obsidian tips, and the massive pelt of the alpha white wolf. Omari's mother was serving food and the chief and his children eagerly waited.

While feasting on the beautifully cooked deer meat,the chief praised his sons except for the bad omen, Omari.

"Sekou(second born son), your hunting skills have improved; next time I'll let you hunt bigger fish," the chief spoke.

Sekou smiled,basking in the praise, "I've been practicing and sharpening my hunting skills just like you taught me, father."

The chief nodded with a smile,

"But father,the spear you gave me as a present seems to be missing," Sekou continued.

Kael instantly joined the conversation,"Father, I seem to recall Omari holding it; I saw him with it behind the huts. He was swinging it around."

Omari and their mother raised their heads.Ayake (the mother) was worried about what would come next.

Before she could speak,one lift of the chief's hand silenced her.

"Father,I didn't..."

Omari began,his voice tight. The chief's hand slammed flat on the eating mat, silencing the hut. All eyes were on him. He didn't even look at Omari, his gaze fixed on some middle distance as the divine doctor's secret warning echoed in his memory,"Do not ever let this child hold a weapon..."

"Silence",the chief said, the word low and final. He took a deep, steadying breath, as if preparing to pronounce a sentence.

"Do not dream of knighthood,or hunting, or anything beyond being a burden. You were not meant to build, only to bring ruin. That is all you'll ever be."

The chief continued to tear into his heart with his words,

"Your mother shields you like a treasure, but I know what you are. You will not bring glory to this family, Omari.....only graves."

Each of his father's words landed not like a slap,but like the crack of the whip he knew was coming.

Burden.Ruin. Graves. They echoed in his skull, drowning out the crackle of the fire. The savory taste of the meat turned to ash in his mouth. His fists clenched so tight his nails bit half-moons into his palms, the physical pain a welcome distraction from the searing heat building behind his eyes.

Omari stood up,dropping his plate, his breathing heavy, "I am what I am, father," he uttered, then he bolted out of the room going straight to where his and his brothers' room was.

His father was about to follow him for the disrespect and the audacity to drop food on the ground,but a soft hand landed on his forearm, "Please," Ayoka asked.

The chief took a deep breath and exhaled,"Just this once," then he continued his meal.

Later that night,Omari had trouble sleeping, his father's words ringing in his head. He was fuming with rage and all he could think about was the hate he had for his father. He stood up; next to him, his brothers were out cold in deep sleep.

He slowly walked out of the room and went to the room where all the equipment was.He took a small sword and slowly opened his father's bedroom door. The chief and his wife were sound asleep as Omari slowly walked towards them. The floor creaked with every step he took.

He lowered the blade to his father's neck,about to end him. The blade hovered a hair's breadth from his father's exposed throat.

Omari's breath hitched.One thrust. One quick, sharp push, and the voice that condemned him would be silenced forever. His muscles tensed. But then his gaze flickered to his mother's hand, curled tightly around his father's bicep even in sleep. A symbol of a bond he could never sever, a love that excluded him.

The rage in his chest warred with a sudden,gut-wrenching ache. He couldn't. He started to back away, the fire in him banked to smouldering coals...but a green glow awakened in his eyes,

"I'm no coward,"he spoke and slowly turned around. He took a step forward and the wood made a loud creak. His father snapped his eyes open, his eyes meeting Omari's. His eyes ran down across Omari's whole body and landed on the blade in Omari's hand.

His heart started racing;he knew what the look in Omari's eyes meant, "Murder".

Breathing heavily,he fell off the bed, grabbing his spear, but when he looked forward, Omari was gone.

Ayake woke up to see her husband on the floor.

"Husband,are you okay?"

The chief stood up,rage in his eyes, and stomped out of the room. He kicked the boys' room door down.

"Omari!!!!"he yelled.

The boys jumped out of bed in fear and stood at attention."What were you trying to do, Omari, answer me!!!"

"I was in here sleeping the whole time,father," Omari retorted.

Before he could finish speaking,his father's hand landed on his face hard, in a sharp slap that threw him to the ground.

A few minutes later,Omari was alone with his father in his room. His hands tied to the bed as his father whipped him. Omari only gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face but refusing to give his father the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. With every whip that landed on his back, Omari only tightened his grip on the bed, tears dripping on the bed one drop at a time.

His mother was outside banging on the door,crying and begging, "Please stop, he's had enough!"

The green glow came back to Omari's eyes,this time with more intensity as the chief whipped Omari five more times.

When he was done,he opened the door and Ayoka ran inside to untie her son. For Omari's brothers, this was a normal and fun thing to watch, but not for Ayake.

After untying him,his mother hugged him, but he moved away and rushed to the other room. He snatched the short sword from where it had fallen and bolted out of the house, leaving his mother crying.

In the woods behind the house,he cried in rage, slashing a tree with the short sword he had,

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE....DIE!!!" he cried, every slash filled with emotion and hate.

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