Finding Contentus

Chapter 32: The R&R Tale (1)

He turned to face his niece with a look of heart stabbing sadness, and a smile that somehow managed to break her little heart when she couldn't remember anything after seeing such a smile.

For the last thing she heard that day was Renero's voice that managed to travel through the wind to reach her in whispering: "Fly high, my girl."

Amoar softly tapped his daughter's neck and knocked her out. He caught her falling body gently in his arms and passed her to some of the others to look after who already had tears in their eyes. Tears he was still holding in, having been tasked by Renero to inform all the tribes of his plan and having them swear absolute silence.

Everyone knew, except for one person.

"No. No. No. No. No. No."

If there was one thing in the entire world that Renero wished he could go back to and mend, it was Banti's broken heart and the sound of her broken voice that killed him a trillion times over. If there was one choice he found to be the most difficult to make in his entire life, it was leaving his wife and breaking their promise of absolute openness and trust.

The whole time Banti had her suspicions due to how absurdly low everyone's spirits seemed to be throughout their journey. And now her suspicions that she was desperately begging to be false were becoming true before her very eyes.

Widened eyes of shock, fear, horror and powerlessness that could only watch and do nothing.

"Reno—"

She started breathing heavily and was held back from sprinting towards Renero by Rasie and some of the members of their Babatu tribe who could no longer contain their tears as they wept.

"Forgive me sissie! Forgive me!" The turbulent tears gushed out of Rasie and she could do nothing to stop the discernible black tears of grief that stained her sister's face. The black tears she always hated to see, just like how she hated the forced duty she had to commit to.

Banti struggled viciously but simultaneously seemed to lose all non existent strength under the weight of what was happening and what the situation was telling her was about to happen.

That's when the repugnant screams and rumblings of the primals behind them signalled that they had no more time to waste, and could no longer turn back.

That's when Renero gave a nod of loving thanks and goodbye to his best friend, his mentor, his teacher and his brother Amoar, who nodded back at him with glossy eyes, now turning to face the rest of the Racaan people.

"Amandla!" Amoar said to them, voice breaking as he fought hard to hold true to the mantle on his shoulders now.

"Amandlaaa!" Everyone responded back. The women were ululating, struggling to add as much strength and resolve to do what they had to with tears in their eyes while the men roared to hide their pain.

Renero gave a loving wink to his sister in Rasie, who tried to wink back at him, but simply couldn't and resigned herself to nodding weakly, still holding her own sister back who had already lost all her strength and stopped fighting.

"Why Reno... why?" Banti's voice was beyond the point of shattered shambles the likes of which tore his entire being from the inside out and cracked every fiber of it until the pieces were too small to even be considered pieces.

Only disintegrated ash of lamenting sorrow and regret.

Why?

Oh why indeed.

Why did things have to be the way they were? Why did he choose to sacrifice himself that day? Why didn't he choose to just try his odds at living with her and everyone else? Why did life have to be so unfair? Why did he have to part from his people? Why did he have to part from his loved ones? Why did he have to part from his family? Why? Why? Why?