The rejected son of Alfa

that paved its narrow paths. In the heart of this village stood a house made of dark timber, its walls weathered b

achine. His hands were thick with calluses, his eyes sharp like flint, and his words ra

was a man hollowed out by so

son,

s ago, and Alfa had no

-

d each other, the world had

nd dreamed beyond the fields of Nyanda. Where Alfa saw pride in labor, Kael saw a cage of dust and silence. He re

, the fi

nd, a crescent moon embroidered across the chest. He k

I've found truth in the teachings of the South. I b

ared at him

ant to live in a place where we speak with fist

oss the floor. "And what of our blood? What

h truth," Kael s

the tree where generations had been buried. H

d and final. "Go find your truth elsewhere

without lo

-

s pa

said he had become a wanderer, lost in foreign lands. Alfa said nothing. He worked the lan

nce grew lou

bed, she had asked,

forehead and whispere

he died with her hand reaching fo

-

otsteps that broke the

gold, a traveler arrived. He wore gray robes, his face hi

arpening a hoe. He loo

removed

a

ay, his eyes both fierce and weary. He had the ai

r," he

work. "I buried your

aid. "I came to

, the rhythm sharp and deliber

ars. I have stories. Pain. Joy. And questio

answers for

named

who honored his blood. That b

rejected you. But I never did. I

"Worshipping words over earth? You

ly. "Every week. You never

idn't

taught me to be strong, but strength isn't always fists. So

f soul-but you forget where yours was forged. Under my roof.

g here, Father. I wanted more than ange

breathe e

rage, you are still my father. And I still

tall grass. Birds stirred in the

d you," Alfa said coldly. "And now you

ck because I forgave you. And I wan

them. The hoe in Alfa's

red. "You think that's a

thing you've never all

toward the tree behind

e grave. A simple st

ed waiting for your voice. Every day, she stared

"I lit one for her in

rst time, his eyes showed more

ged," Alfa whispered. "I only knew how to mo

. "You don't have to understand ever

ke that for

een them had shifted-not fully

-

ed for th

e meals in silence. Alfa showed him the fields, where the soil still remembered Kael's small feet. They repa

he stood by the pa

he said. "Will you

en gave a small nod. B

d. "Goodby

ut-not loudly, but with a weight

r my name. Kae

d, tears i

l bear my hea