15/08/2024
HEUS OF VIOLET
Part 7:
One night stood out more than the rest. Yahkhub was about ten years old, hiding behind the sofa, watching as his father yelled at his mother for a reason he could not make sense of. The argument escalated quickly, and before he could leave the scene, his father struck her so hard she fell to the ground, a red mark blooming on her cheek and across her left eye.
Yahkhub had felt something snap inside him that night. He ran to his mother, shielding her with his small body, glaring up at his father with all the hatred his young heart could muster. His father had just laughed, a cold, heartless sound that haunted Yahkhub's dreams. The morning after that incident, his mother was gone. She had left without a word, taking nothing but the clothes on her back. She must have had enough, or perhaps she just wanted to protect him from further torments. But what was there to protect, or how could this pass for protection? His young mind could not fathom the nick of it.
Yahkhub found himself alone with his father, the man who had become the embodiment of everything he despised. The abandonment cut deep, filling him with a mixture of sorrow and anger. The sorrow slowly morphed into a burning rage, a fury he could not contain. He promised himself he'd never be weak or a victim like his mother. But in trying to avoid her fate, he found himself emulating the very man he loathed. And as the years rolled by, it got worse though his father never raised his voice at him. Their house soon becomes a graveyard, now devoid of conflict but as much devoid of life.
In school, Yahkhubโs temper became his shield. He lashed out at anyone who crossed him, his fists doing the talking that his words could not. His anger was a beast, always lurking beneath the surface, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Except for Jardell, his only real friend. He never admitted it, but he knew why he had been drawn to him.
That day in the school hall, he had felt true peace radiating from the young lad seated at the far corner, well removed from everyone else. At first, he simply moved on impulse towards him but then he had taken the next steps decidedly. He wanted to know him. And know him he had. Jardell was an epitome of love and composure and over the years of their friendship he had come to realise why he liked him so muchโhe saw in him the kind of child he dearly wished he was. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฌ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐โ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ. ๐๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ฆโ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ค๐ถ๐ต? And Jardell had tried to steer him away from this destructive path. โYou've got to control it, man,โ Jardell would say, worry evident in his eyes. But Yahkhub, adorned with a beautiful smile which did just enough to silently cloak the rage that consumed him within, couldn't see past his pain. He always brushed it off as a thing of nought, but todayโs event had proven him wrong. He had become the very thing he hated most, a viciously temperamental boy, driven by a hatred he couldnโt escape.
Now, sitting outside the staff block, Yahkhub felt the full weight of his actions. He teetered on the precipice of a certain destruction. He had stared for too long into the abyss and now it stared back at him. The legacy of his father's anger had led him here, to this moment of reckoning. The realization that he was on the brink of following in his fatherโs footsteps filled him with a deep, gnawing fear. He couldn't let his fatherโs anger dictate his future. He had to find a way to break free and be better, for himself and those around him. The stakes were too high, and he couldn't afford to lose this fight. Perhaps it was too late to seek redemption.
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Abimbola Samuel
To be continued
