11. Growing Older
Myrina POV
Looking back I wish I could freeze time at the day in the ruins. It was such a fun day. The mystery of the ancient ruin and the stories my bother told us. Kat even swore she saw a sea monster. Our fun ended when my father showed up. Apparently he and mother had returned home quicker then we thought. He sent us all home, except Kale.
He and Kale had a very long talk. I asked him about it but he never told me. Kale did eventually tell Titus and Titus won’t tell me either. Which is completely unfair. Titus never kept secrets from me. Not even the monster that supposedly lived under his bed. He refused to tell me, all because it was apparently some secret guy thing.
When Kale and father did return, mother cornered Kale and lectured him. I could hear her telling him off from inside the main room. Kale was not allowed to take us away from this small village. Mother swears that there are horribly dangerous things lurking around the island. She told Kale he had to be more responsible. He did eventually become more responsible, after he got his tattoo that marked him a young adult.
Happily enough the days had cleared up enough for my mother and I to walk in the gardens.
“Myrina soon it will be your young adult birthday. You have been working very in your studies and I am very proud of you” she stated. The sound of old age was creeping into her voice. Even though she was getting old my mother was still a strong powerful warrior.
“Thank you mother” I hoped to one day be as strong as she was. Katsumi told me stories of my mother fighting monsters. When I had asked my mother about it she would not speak of it and only told me she preyed that I would be stronger and smarter then she was.
“Mother!” I could hear Kale’s cry from the gardens. We rushed to the main huts. Kale and Kat were standing with their backs turned.
“Kale?” my brother turned to face us, tears trailing down his face.
“Mother I am so sorry” he moved aside and we say what had caused the panic. My father was lying on the ground.
“Oh” a sob escaped my mother. “Oh Adonis no”
Why didn’t I feel upset. I found myself thinking as my family cried around me. Sure he was my father, he helped me grow up and I loved him dearly but I couldn’t feel sadness over losing him. It was more upsetting seeing my mother cry than anything else.
“Myrina” Kale had moved next to us. He was whispering urgently to me. “Myrina take mother to the burial ground. I will bring father” I opened my mouth to snap at him. How dare he try to tell me what to do but mother’s sob made me stop. This wasn’t about me. This was about mother.
“Come along mother, let’s go say goodbye” I took my mother’s arm and lead her out of the room. She pulled away and walked a head of me to the burial site.
“Your father and I joked about this” she stated. “He always said he would go first to make sure that my place in the afterlife was perfect. I forbid him from going before me” she broke off with a sob. I could barely make out the words “what am I going to do now”
Kale brought my father to the plot of land and laid him to rest. Titus helped him and then joined me next to mother. I heard him whispering encouragement to her.
I hated this. The look on Titus’s face told me how much he disliked what was happening as well. He had gotten out all of his tears. He had said his goodbyes as he helped out father. We needed help. There would usually be a shaman to conduct the rights. We had no one. No one but my brothers. Kat had mentioned wanting to go learn some herbalism but I was not about to send away my only friend. If we could get some teachers and workers I could rebuild this place from the ground up and make this place fit for a Creator. I will talk about this to mother after she grieved.
Isla Amazon Challenge 