The kingdom was empty. No one to hear, no bakery to smell, nothing at all. I walk straight towards the center. Where I began. The castle, the largest of anything within the kingdom. A source of pride to the people of this land. Yet no one is here to be proud. I still remember these streets, where I and many ran around in. And in front of me, stands the doors to my previous home. As I enter, I am greeted by a throne, now solitary. A throne for only one.
"How have you been, Father?"
There was no reply.
I began to walk towards the throne. Reminiscing of the life I had.
From a young age, my father taught me to be a good person, to be kind, to be honest. Although he was king, and had duties to fulfill, he still had time to be a father. He taught me the importance of kindness when dealing with the kingdom, serving the people, not money. But my favorite lesson from him would have to be of dreams. It was the first time I have ever seen him glow with such radiance, with such happiness. He spoke of how he could help this kingdom, by learning from the past, and paving the future. How eyes are meant to see things, yet can be used to see things that go beyond the concept of "thing". I remember being confused as to what he meant, but smiled back as if I did. I know now what that dream was.
I remember stealing money from my mother, to go to the market and buy toys for myself. My father, with his keen eyes, caught me at the scene of the crime. He reprimanded me of course, yet he also apologized to mother. He always did. I did not know why at the time. I now know what that meant.
I remember when he had an important meeting with the elders of the village. I barged in, wishing to learn from them as well. Yet all I did was hinder their meeting, calling for my immediate exit. My father apologized as well, to the elders I understood, but to me I did not. I know now why he did.
I remember, very clearly, that time during a ceremony. The elders were all looking at me, eagerly. I did not know what the ceremony was for, but was still called. My father looked at me, with the same face he always did. A simple smile. When the ceremony began, I had accidentally tripped. Fell to the floor, suffering no injuries at all. Yet that was enough. I heard gasps. I saw eyes looking at me. No. They were not looking at me. They were looking at my father. He lost his smile, instead his teeth grinning. He was mad. I had made a mistake and for that he was angry. Without hesitation he berated me. Yelled at me. I had not known that I had made a mistake, let alone a grave one. I began to cry, as children would. It echoed. And there he stood, with an ice pick used to serve guests on hand, and with a swift motion, had plucked my eyes out. It hurt, it was painful, I was mad, I was angry, yet I was afraid. I stumbled away, trying to get away. Everyone was scared. Who wouldn't? Yet no one had the courage to go against the king. The king who had served them and treated them well. Who are they to judge how their king disciplines his own child? I heard my mother, crying, begging my father to stop and look at what he had done. He ignored her, and continued the ceremony. Soon after, my mother ran away to her home kingdom, bringing me along with her. Eventually, as I grew up, I heard news of the kingdom that used to be my home. Of how people had left, of how the population was aging, of how its king had gone mad. I remember hearing about it, but I never had the chance to process it, for I had been too busy. Contemplating my actions, my father's actions. What had happened, why it happen. That ceremony played and played and kept playing within my head. Reliving every moment and every second of it. Only then did I realize what it meant.
"Here you sit alone in your throne, the person I called my father, the person who took my sight."
I stood in front of him, he did not see me.
"Many years have already passed since the ceremony. Much time to think and rethink. Yet I find no reason to be angry."
Perhaps he was mad and was going insane. Perhaps he was controlled by the elders to do their bidding. So many possibilities.
"You have taught me many valuable lessons that I now carry throughout my journey. Yet that first lesson still shines the brightest among them all."
I found no reason to be mad, for I choose.
I choose to believe.
"I choose to believe that the person who gouged my eyes is the same as the one who taught me to be kind. And that that act of violence was the most loving thing they could have done."
"And for that, I must return the favor."
I brought out my blade and quickly stabbed the center of the throne.
He falls limp, with his eyes still open, yet the life in them fades.
I close his eyes with my hands and carry his body out of this castle.
"Perhaps if I never went blind, it would have been me sitting on that throne, suffering a fate worse than death."
He smiled one last time.
"Allow me to tell you of this journey I had gone on. Of people struggling, of people persevering, and of how I have learned to smile like you have."