•Where The Wind Flows•
December 25.
Nine Years Ago.
The whole family had gathered for Christmas. It was in his maternal grandparents home and all of his mother's relatives had been gathered for the festival. Uncles, aunts, cousins, granduncles and even people he never knew belonged to the family. Everyone had gathered on the large family compound.
Except for his mother.
He looked around, hoping to change the circumstance by desperation alone. From the moment the gathering had been announced, he had known that she would not show up due to her work but he had hoped that she would.
As it stood out, she had not made it.
The colourful flowers, cheerful faces and well-dressed family faded away to black and white figures. He could see his cousin William smiling with his mother and younger siblings Clinton and Catherine.
He had hoped that William would have been by his side as they both sought after their mothers but it looked as if he could not count on his cousin's company.
Everyone seemed happy with their loved ones as tales that only they knew were retold. His grandmother had all of her children - again, except his mother - keeping her happy and well entertained. His cousin chatted with his siblings excitedly which was very unusual. His grandfather, who was rarely home, had his brother to talk to.
Eyes roamed from the closest group to the furthest in order to determine who would be a good company. The sad thing was that he did not know a lot of the people available. He had heard of them, seen them but never had the choice of talking with them and knowing them on a personal level.
To his relief, William was with his siblings with no adult amongst them. He smiled in relief.
Slowly but with confidence, he walked towards William, Clinton and Cathy. As he drew near, William turned to face him, a sneer on his face.
"Well genius, where's your beloved mother?" He asked. "Looks like you are all alone."
Cathy and Clinton chuckled quietly, as if what their brother had said was a joke. Not only them, but everyone within earshot snickered. He looked around and he saw his Uncle Barack, his favourite uncle, laughing quietly.
His breathing picked up as William's words spread as a joke. Slowly the whole congregation of family members grew mirthful smiles and gave of laughter as they stared at him from the corner of their eyes.
They boy stepped back from his older cousin's company. He backtracked with wide eyes looking into his cousin's condescending eyes. He never saw a small rock until when he tripped and fell on his buttocks.
The final trigger it was and the people roared in laughter. The boy looked around and immediately regretted it. His grandmother and everyone he had crossed paths with... everyone he knew were laughing in mockery.
Laughing at him.
He stood up, the tears that had been building in his eyes ever since he acknowledged his mother's absence falling freely.
Without a word, he turned and ran away from the public humiliation, his tears blown away from his face by the wind. But no matter how far away Erkin was from them...
YOU ARE READING
Where The Wind Flows.
Adventure'The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. Furthermore, it's the stiffest tree that shatters under the wrath of the winds, while the bamboo and willows endure by bending towards where t...
