Beautiful Cries

Chapter Twenty-Three: Till Death Do Us Part

Rhadamanthus made no move to stop Damari as he moved closer to his father, doubt running through his mind as to whether this apparition before him was really his father or some type of cruel jest.

His strides grew longer until he crossed over into the grassy pasture that separated Leon's property from those of the other spirits that lived around his decadent estate.

The rays of sun that beat down on Damari's shoulders were nothing compared to the heat that boiled in his stomach at the sight of his father again, and he couldn't understand why he was finding it so difficult to approach the man quicker.

Alena stared incredulously at Rhadamanthus as she watched Damari's form advance on Leon's unsuspecting one.

"Why are you letting him do this?" she asked brokenly. "Don't you realize this is harming him more than helping him?"

The dark, peaceful looking eyes of Rhadamanthus fell on Alena with a pain-filled smile. "Sometimes we need to be broken before we can heal again."

Looking back to Damari, a thought struck her as he moved closer to the house, blindsiding her when she decided to turn to Rhadamanthus again, a question on the tip of her tongue.

While she leaned closer to his towering form and whispered her inquiry into his ear, Damari reached the thatched roof and boarded side of the cottage, his breathing coming in rapid bursts as he rounded the corner that separated him from the man who had once been his hero.

The sound of bovines' hooves clambering on the ground surrounded him when he caught sight of his father again, the same blonde hair that graced his head and blue eyes that gave him vision reflected in an almost mirror-like image in front of him.

Leon hadn't noticed Damari yet seeing as how he stood close to the side of the house; instead, he was looking up at the sky that promised another day of back breaking yet successful work.

He moved back to the steps of his house to retrieve a simple appearing straw hat when a shadow stood out from the corner of his eye.

Turning to look up, he came face to face with Damari standing only inches away from the first step, blue clashing with blue, lightning with thunder, the tension between the two nearly suffocating.

Leon's eyes widened in shock, taking in the tall and oppressing figure of his son that had long been trapped in his mind since the day he died.

Now that he saw him in the flesh, he was incapable of uttering a single word that he had thought of in passing in the years that he had been accepted into Elysium.

Staring, he caught his reflection in the iris of his son's eyes, seeing that he hadn't appeared to age whereas his son had left behind the measly years of childhood and a man had taken his place, one that he didn't even recognize.

Damari's hands remained fisted at his sides, shaking slightly as he stood in silence, imagining the cogs and gears in the back of his father's head working as he tried to think of something to say.

Deciding to say something rather than stand there and gawk like seagulls ogling fish at port, Damari opened his mouth cautiously.

"Father... I--" he started.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found!"

A childlike voice called out from the house, catching Damari unawares at the delicateness of a voice such as that.

Leon started at the voice, coming out of his daze as a bundle of fabric and brown hair sprang at him from the top step of the house at lightning speed.

"Daddy, I found Miss Marzipan! She was hiding where you told me she would be the entire time!" The little girl giggled, clutching a raggedy looking doll close to her chest. "I don't think Miss Marzipan likes playing with me though, she isn't very good at it."