IKIGAI / Jake Sully

17 🍋

"I hope you're aware that you're just making her life harder"

Jake doesn't respond to Levy's mother. He just sit there watching as she talks to her friends.

"It's really a disappointment. Watching my child struggle because you choose to sink your teeth into her life. The least you could do is behave for her benefit but you are too selfish"

His eyes glued to the woman he loves tugged two ways.

"You could save her." Yurka continues "if you leave"

"If you love her you would set her free."

———————

Jake has been in a fight or flight mode for the past few months and he is starting to crack under the pressure.

He sits outside by himself all the time now.

It's hard to watch.

"Jake?" I call as he comes home one day. A bruise on his knuckles. He can't even look at me anymore. Jake just sighs and walks past me.

it's also harder because he keeps pushing me out.

"I know. I know. I'm sleeping outside." He says quickly just so I don't have time to tell him anything. Jake jumps into one of the higher branches and disappears in the upper trees.

When did we start locking each other out like this?

"He is not complicated" Mo'at tells me as I help her mix herbal medicine the next day "Just very stupid."

Mo'at grabs more spring water to mix it in into a paste as she thinks about the last few years with her adoptive son.

I guess she can see that we are fighting. Actually I wouldn't even call it fighting. Because to fight we would need to talk to each other and Jake refuses to talk to me.

"You need to make him listen" she says smearing the paste out onto leaves and handing them to me.

She says that like Jake is easily swayed...

"He needs to talk to me, to listen" I tell her folding the leaves into squares and trussing them.

"No talking. Just listen." Mo'at says wagging her finger at me. "He will listen"

How am I suppose to do that?

"Just slap him" Mo'at says crushing more spices for her next batch of medicine.

I just scoff getting caught off guard at her comment. "No, that's...."

"He. Will. Listen." She says sternly "My son is hardheaded and can be an idiot."

Mo'at glances up at me

"Sometimes he needs to snapped out of his own head. So slap him."

——————

The next time Jake has to appear for political relationships is at a charity event in the low forest, hosted by my mother.

Jake leans on the tree behind me crossing his arms. He spits out blood and I just let out a sigh. I can tell he picks up on just me breathing.

I held up the cup that was in my hands to him. He glances down and take it to rinse the iron from his mouth.

I bent my head backwards and he immediately turns his head away from me.

"Don't look at me like that." Jake says

"Like what..."

"Disappointed" he mumbles under his breath but when I try to reach for him, Jake walks off. I don't even think he realized he brushed me off but it still hurt.