The Reaper (Pt I)

Eleven years has passed since the sower abandoned the only place he called home. He did not write or seek his family out though occasionally, he rode by his old dwelling and spotted his children running like shadows in sunlight.

Years elapsed and days stretched long like the horizon. Yet, the memory of his father’s weary back, walking solemnly from his mother, burned like it was yesterday. Kadin blamed his mother for his father wandering into the abyss. His feelings were never verbalized but his mother sensed his anger from his quiet gaze.

He never spoke to his mother for he was an obedient and steadfast lad. He only shared his emotions with his sister Lilia. They lay stretched out on the earth with their feet pressed firmly together. A narrative floated to the heaven as each wondered aloud where there father could be.

It troubled their mother when her children sat lazily for hours at a time. She was also disturbed by the habits of their father rising up in them, especially in Kadin. Her son had taken a proclivity for digging and toiling in the sun; his hands absorbing the brown dirt. This was the love his father felt for earth, he imagined. This action made him closer to him. At times, he pictured his father stooping over him and directing his hands. Hold the soil this way, he said. Kiss the seeds and say a prayer. Kadin was astounded by his father’s wisdom. He was God’s gardener.

Something must be done, his mother thought lest her son bridle wild notions and seek out land to grow. She must save her son from such an unfortunate fate.