Reversal Page Drift

Page 17 : THE FOUND LIGHT

THE SUN WAS on its apex. It was the perfect time to rest inside the comfort of the home.

But, the fate was exactly opposite to some.

Several people, with only undergarments covering their thin and deprived bodies, continued to till and toil the land like those were the only things they were made to do.

They're bathing not only with sweat, but with perpetual agony and misery that they were prohibited to show.

Of course. Because if they did, a second or two, their backs will be lashed by a thorny whip, like lightning hitting the innocent ground.

All they could do were to scream, kneel, weep, and continue to labor still.

They labored the land nonstop, but the harvest was not for them. It was for their lords who just mercilessly gazed upon them on an abundant banquet, while they did the job for them under the piercing blades of the sun.

For slaves like them, hell was not found  on the afterlife, but on the present life instead - on the agonizing days they spent on the mortal realm.

But, it was different with Afnir, the only among them who was able to keep a good frame despite the deprivation of life.

He didn't mind the sun. He didn't mind the whip. He didn't mind his self.

Because once and for all, he found a reason to live for.

His little brother, a six year older child who spent his whole life under a secret basement of their tiny ancestral house.

Their parents, who passed away years ago, left that child to him.

That was the best moment of his life - to hold a very precious child on his ragged palms.

And that moment too, he made a decision that the child must not grow like them. He must not reach the age of six, already experiencing the hell.

No.

He wanted a different set of reality for his little brother.

And so, he let him stay on the basement, away from anyone's gaze. Therefore, not informing his Lords about the existence of this precious gem.

But, that was against the law.

The law that only favored those who were sitting on golden chairs. The law that became the life sentence of slaves like Afnir.

For a whole year round, he was able to raise the child beneath the threads secrecy.

But, in a given time, a secret will always be exposed no matter what.

And that time came.

Afnir walked to his house with a smile on his face, and a corn on his hand - a gift to his brother.

But it was the ground that first received it as it fell slowly from his trembling hands.

He was petrified.

No one would want to visit his wrecked house, he never had a visitor, until now.

On the entrance, he saw his Lord together with his right hand, both were smiling like the devils inside them.

And those devils... devoured the only light he had.

***

BIGLANG NAPABALIKWAS SI Afnir mula sa kanyang mahabang pagkakatulog. Kumalat ang sakit sa kanyang ulo dahil sa biglaang paggising.