Change of a Lifetime
Don't forget to start at the beginning or read Part 4: True Sacrifice
The walk home was much longer than Ibrahim remembered. Perhaps it was from Luca stopping to ask questions; he'd never been outside of the woods so everything about the meadow and the village on the horizon were foreign. Luca marveled at the glowing flowers, stopping to pick a few for Ibrahim's mom. The child was, thankfully, unaware of the dire consequences of Ibrahim's and despite the sudden change seemed genuinely excited to be starting a new life.
"Does your mom like flowers?" Luca asked grabbing a handful. "Can we take these back to her?"
Ibrahim nodded solemnly. A weight he had not expected was pressing on his heart. The Abada had sacrificed his life so that Ibrahim didn't have to lose his mom, a woman the Abada didn't even know... He didn't feel worthy of such of a fate. Of course there was also the matter of Luca; he was becoming less and less sure of how to explain the sudden appearance of the boy.
"Ibrahim?" Luca called to him. "What's it like in the village?"
Ibrahim thought on the question; he'd never described living in society to someone who had never lived in society. "It's exciting" he finally concluded. "There are cars and more flowers and homes. The market has basket weavers and jewelry makers, blacksmiths and carpenters. You can watch people create something out of practically nothing, there."
Luca scrunched his nose. "I've never heard of these things."
Ibrahim was not surprise. "They're all quite fascinating. I'll take you there after we make sure my mom is alright."
The little boy squealed with delight.
When they arrived at the village gates, Luca marveled at the masonry of the city. The only building he'd ever seen was the lost palace. Although it was elegantly sculpted, it was more a statue or a piece of art, these building were homes, crafted to match personalities and budgets. Ibrahim's home was near a small stream, which pleased Luca more than the spaciousness of the home. Ibrahim decided the boy's strange fascination with watching the fish in the creek was perfect for the moment.
"Luca, stay here and watch the fish. I'm going to take this to my mother and explain everything. Then I'll introduce you."
Absent-mindedly, the boy nodded and waved Ibrahim off indifferently.
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| Image by JessicaDinh |
When Ibrahim reached this parent's room on the top floor the tower, his mother was asleep and father was sitting by the window.
"Where have you been!?" the older man exclaimed. Their matching green liquid beneath his skin was expanding, slow and stead between the older man's layers of dark and silvery skin. It was a sure sign of controlled anger. "I've lied to her constantly to avoid rousing her up! Now what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I got it." Ibrahim whispered, then excitedly. "I got it."
"Got what?"
"The antidote." Ibrahim displayed the shining, crystalline horn of the Abada and grinned. "The Abada are real."
"Ibrahim, this is no the time for fairy tales"
"But it's true!" Ibrahim protested. "If we feed her the horn--"
"We don't have time to argue!" his father interrupted.''
Ibrahim removed the horn from his bag and flashed the object before his father. He knew his father had never seen such a horn before. As the light from the window grazed the surface of the horn, Ibrahim saw the older man's eyes widen.
"Hurry, when she wakes we must feed it to her." Ibrahim filled the silence with clear logic.
While the two men ground the tip of the horn, mixing it into a pot of soup, Ibrahim began explain the adventure to his father. It was easier to tell him about Luca than the Abada, a boy wandering int he forest was not supernatural and his father could process the possibility. The idea of Ibrahim raising the boy due to an oath sworn to a dying Abada, however, was not something Ibrahim's father was willing to accept just yet.
"Just wait until you see the antidote work." Ibrahim said calmly.
His father nodded gruffly. "One week. If your mother isn't healthy again in one week, the boy goes to the orphanage and you stop all this nonsense."
It didn't take a week for Ibrahim's father to form a bond with Luca, nor did it take a week for Ibrahim's mother to regain her strength. In just three days they were fixing the spare room to suit Luca's fancy. Things could never be the same for them now, they all shared the burden of protecting Luca even when Ibrahim returned to his flat. They all knew the true awesomeness that existed in the nature of their planet, and while they may have finally understood Ibrahim's belief in the magical, they were all bound to keep the Abada secret.
Regardless of the secrets and struggles, they were a family and thanks to Ibrahim's determination and the Abada's sacrifice, they would continue to be a family for a long time to come.
