Two Worlds: Clash of the Guardians (Completed)

0 - A Backstreet Boy - Part II

Vadiraj

In the year of 8835 - 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC)

Vadiraj had lived through fifteen years of miserable childhood.

Even though his parents had never starved him, he didn't feel their love. He strove to be an obedient boy; he helped his father trim the garden, and tidied the house when his mother cooked them meals. But they had never smiled in front of him. Or his sister. Perhaps they are tired to try to make ends meet. Perhaps if I manage to get a job to help ease their burden... Perhaps if they threw him and his sister into the woods...

Ever since someone had overheard the oracle's prophecy and spread the word, all of Vadiraj's dreams burst like bubbles. After that fateful event, his happiness was being snatched away from him, and he couldn't remember the last time he had truly smiled. Wherever he went, the town people would look at him with disgust evident in their eyes, as though he was a dog full of fleas. Like a stray, he was being avoided and kicked at. No one had ever respected him or treated him like he was worthy. No one had given him a hug or sympathized with his situation.

However, all those pent-up anger, frustration, and hopelessness were gone, ever since he met Dominic. The boy, despite his weak physique, had a smart brain. Since Vadiraj couldn't tell his sister of the treatment he received every time he went to the market to sell his magic crafts so as to not sadden her, Dominic had become his close listener. Whenever Vadiraj told him of the inhumane treatments he experienced, Dominic would draw out a revenge plan for him.

"If they whip you and cause you pain, you have to make sure that they will receive sufferings which are ten times more," Dominic once told Vadiraj. "Never forgive those that have hurt you. Never forget the pain you've lived through, but never linger on that particular moment. Only when you've taken the first step out of your comfort zone that you will achieve your dreams." Five years of Dominic's teaching had shaped Vadiraj into a brand new person.

Today, Vadiraj woke up to a wonderful spring morning, feeling great. He had sold more than one hundred pieces of his magic crafts. He had expanded his cave and built a personal chamber for his sister. He had added some furniture to it.

There was, however, another reason for his real jubilance.

"You are up!" His sister walked out from behind the newly set-up stone partition, dressed elegantly in a black bare-neck satin gown. It was her most favourite gown which Dominic had bought for her a week ago. "Look what I've made for you!"

Her thin lips stretched to a smile as she handed over a black cloak to him. "Happy birthday!"

The cloak sank into Vadiraj's outstretched palms, almost snapping his wrists apart. Vadiraj couldn't help but smile as he flipped the cloak around, admiring his sister's craft. Skulls of wild hares, wolves, and even a baby buffalo adorned the material. Every time Vadiraj killed an animal, his sister would wash the skull and keep it. He always thought that she had an obsession with skulls. Now he understood why. She was helping him collect the trophies of his victory!

Joy glinted across her amber pupils as she pointed to the skulls. "Twenty of them in total. They will remind us that we've lived through twenty winters and still loving each other."

"Thank you." Grinning, Vadiraj waved his wand to make his cloak light. Then, he placed it on his wool mattress, before fishing out an indigo box from underneath his pillow. "Happy birthday to you too." He placed the box on his sister's palm.

Gingerly, his sister opened the lid. Tears welled up her eyes as she saw the silvery twist necklace with a crystal pendant. Her name was scribbled in a golden script on the pendant, while rose-beige gemstones were embedded into each thread of the necklace.