English Version: Sands & Sparrow

43

The Past of Aveline
Final Chapter

The rain fell mercilessly upon the city, landing on rooftops and transforming the streets into smooth stones and muddy waters. It was as if the world lamented with a million teardrops. Birds sought shelter from the woes of nature as the chilly haze of rain enveloped the cold afternoon.

Inside a vast warehouse, the clamor of battle echoed—a testament to the fight ahead. The relentless rain outside the glass window served as a silent observer to the fighter preparing for his significant battle. He launched a powerful kick into the air, struck a high rope, and jabbed a sandbag with a clenched fist. His resolve was firm; he harbored no fear of death. Streams of sweat flowed down his forehead, his muscular arms glistening with perspiration. Sharp grunts escaped him as he continued to unleash a flurry of punches.

Domeng wrapped the white bandage around his hand and delivered coordinated jabs into the air. "Adjust your footwork, Domeng. Practice the counter punch. Train your feet to evade the enemy," Tunying advised, clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction. Seated on the bench with a white towel around his neck and holding a stopwatch, his scrutinizing gaze followed every movement. Domeng nodded in acknowledgment, grunting with each forceful punch; he had been training for days. The thought of his daughter weighed heavily on him. Once a monster, a beast among hyenas, his brief taste of freedom had been a cruel twist of fate. With a heavy heart, he accepted his fate, resigned to carrying only fragments of memories.

Breathing heavily, Domeng persisted with his strikes. The continuous downpour outside, with raindrops trickling down the window, brought him a sense of calmness.

"That's enough!" Tunying's voice hardened as he spoke.

Domeng delivered a final blow. The bandages on his right hand loosened, his white shirt and black shorts soaked with sweat.

"Take a break!" Tunying tossed a white towel at him. "Get ready; tomorrow is your big fight." He sighed, his tone uncertain. He couldn't predict whether it would be Domeng's last fight. Today, he observed a different fighter, one that both scared and confounded him.

Left alone by Tunying, Domeng took a moment to rest on the bench and drank copiously from his water bottle. Lifting his gaze to the ceiling, he noticed pigeons perched in the corners. The corrugated roof, made of glass, allowed him to see the sky and hear the echo of rain inside the warehouse. It sounded like a symphony of a million drums, as if all the drummers in the world had convened for a concert atop the roof.

Noticing a leak in the ceiling, he extended his hand to catch the falling water, which felt like drops of tears. A smile crossed his face as he let the droplets fall silently into his palm. Standing up, he moved to the window to observe the world dissolving under the relentless rain.

"I miss you, papa," Aveline uttered in a hoarse whisper as she stared at the window. The rain slid on trees; the leaves hung limp while the world turned into tears. She fixed the white blanket embracing her body. Sitting on the floor, watching the rain from the window and forcing a smile amidst the chagrin of her sweet chocolate eyes.

Domeng looked at the glass window, the drizzling rain created fogginess on the surface He began to draw a face, a small circle with eyes and smiling lips on the window. When he was a child, he thought that the thunderstorm was like the raging sea when it was angry, it scared him. Right now, as he watched the sky, something about the sound soothed him, it gave him comfort and calmness to know that even nature needed to scream sometimes, needed to cry sometimes. He lightly touched the smiling face he drew on the window. "J-just s-smile. D-don't be s-sad. S-smile," he could only whisper his love through the storm.