He's Back

I didn't feel like leaving my bed the next day. Mother didn't force any training onto me, which was kind of her. She gave me space to reconcile with everything. "Anna. I'm almost done with dinner, come over and let's eat together", she called out in the afternoon. 'I'm not hungry, but…', I thought, yet still made my way to the kitchen. "I know, it's not easy, sweetie. This was necessary though, this experience will help you in the future", mother said. '... Mom's right. It's not like I did it for pleasure. Once I'm able to travel, hunting might be part of my life… Get a hold of yourself Anna, you are a grown up already', I thought.

"I know you are right, mom. I'm not going to beat myself around anymore. You wouldn't ask me to do something bad", I replied. Mother smiled at me, then continued cooking. 'I should get back to work on my Formations. There's loads of stuff to finish before Tara's next trip', I thought. "Pak! Pak..pak…", the sound of a dropped spoon disturbed my thoughts.

"What's wrong, mom?", I asked, confused. She didn't reply, instead just stood there frozen. 'Did she make the food too salty or something?', I asked myself before adding, "I'm sure it will be good, even if…". "..What the…?". Mother simply disappeared in front of my eyes. This never happened before, she never acted like that. I extinguished the stove, then ran outside in search of her. To my surprise, she was standing further away from the house, starring in the direction of the sea.

"M…", I was about to call out, but then noticed something moving towards us. 'What is that thing?', I asked myself while squinting my eyes. Only when that 'thing' got closer, did I realise it wasn't a thing, but a figure. Moreover, a figure of man. Mother acted really strangely. I had no clue who that man was, nor what he wanted from us. Assuming he was dangerous, I didn't get any closer. The man got closer and closer, allowing me to have a proper look at him.

He wore a long and tattered grey cloak, which hid most of his body. I caught a glimpse of an armour underneath that cloak, which seemed battered as well as old. There was a brown and faded bag on his shoulder, but the content was anyone's guess. His face was mostly covered by black hair and beard. I couldn't see his eyes at all, but he seemed to be Human or perhaps Eterian.

The man stopped in front of my mother, and simply stared at her. "Seventeen years… I've waited seventeen years for you", mother said suddenly. 'Seventeen years? No, it can't be!', I exclaimed in my mind. "It's been a long time, eh Fox?", the man replied in a warm voice. I didn't want to believe it, I refused to believe it. 'Is this my father? Is this the bastard who abandoned us?', I could feel some sort of anger awakening inside me. "Wearing that mask again?", he added while extending his arm. I couldn't see the mask, but wondered why she put it on in the first place. The man removed a strange mask from my mother's face, "... Don't cry, I'm back already". Mother hugged him, refusing to let go. "You became even more beautiful over that time… I missed those eyes, they really are the most beautiful", he added.

Mother hugged him even tighter before replying quietly, "You look like an old man… At least shave yourself once in a while… I missed you so much, you have no idea how difficult it was… You are not allowed to leave anymore". He kissed my mother, "I missed you too. I'm here to stay with you… I'm back home, Fox". The more I saw, the angrier my thoughts became. What gave him the right to simply walk back into our lives?

The man looked at me next, "Got yourself a student, Fox?". "Don't play with me like that. I'm sure you can see who that young lady is, right?", mother replied. "My daughter... She looks just like you", he confirmed it.

Mother released him from the hug, then both of them faced me. "Hey… I know this may seem a bit weird, but I'm your father… My name is Nex, what's yours?", he asked in an awkward way. "...My name?... You? My father?... That's all you have to say? You disappeared from our lives, and now you want to return? Just like that?... Go back where you came from bastard, we don't need you anymore!", I screamed as the rage inside me finally erupted. "Anna!", mother tried to calm me down, but there was no way I could stay calm.

The pent up anger, frustration and negative emotions towards my father escaped my body. The world in front of me began to change. The figure of my father became black, but defined quite well. Whereas everything else, even my mother became red in colour. My desire to kill that man in front of me, was stronger than any voice of reason I could muster. "Pak!... Swoosh!", something snapped inside my body, flooding my mind with even more anger.

"Anna… your eyes...", mother said quietly. I didn't care about my eyes, I only cared about killing the man in front of me. "Boom!", the ground underneath me caved in, as I rushed toward him. "Grrr….", a wild noise escaped my mouth while getting closer to him. That's when I noticed a smile on his face. "You dare mock me!? I will wipe that smile off your stupid face, bastard!", I screamed.

He didn't move at all, he just stood there with that stupid smile plastered on his face. "Raaah!", I exclaimed, punching him with as much strength as my body could muster. "Boom!", the punch was strong enough to make him fly away. He crashed into the ground, but no sounds escaped his mouth. That didn't stop me though. Before he could even try to pick himself up, I rushed at him once more. That's when I noticed his stupid smile again.

"Grrr...I will kill you!", I exclaimed before jumping into the air and slamming my leg into his chest. "Boom!", the force behind my strike cracked the ground beneath him. "Boom! Bam! Bam! Boom!....Ahahahaha!", I threw one punch at his face after the other. '...No… I don't want to kill!', I thought, but my arms moved by themselves. I couldn't control my body anymore, the anger and desire to kill him was controlling me.

Before more punches landed on his face, father extended his arms and hugged me. His strength was so great, I couldn't even move. "I could let you beat me up for a whole day, but we don't want you to be consumed by your own anger, right?", he said. I wanted to stop, but my body tried to free itself and kill him anyway. He suddenly touched my forehead, making all the anger, hatred and bad emotions simply vanish without a trace. "...Sniff… I didn't want that… I didn't want to kill…", I sobbed quietly, finally in control of my body. Father caressed my head, "Anna… Your mother gave you a great name. To think I had a daughter, and she grew up to be such a beautiful lady too".

I looked up to see him smiling. There were no injuries on his body at all, he was completely fine. "We will work on that rage inside you. After all, it's kind of my fault you have it", he added. "Everything's your fault! Why did you leave us?!", I asked with tears in my eyes. "Your mother didn't tell you?... Fox, aren't you a bit too cruel to your daughter?", he replied. My tears stopped, "Wha… What do you mean?". "I didn't know your mother would be having you. If I knew, I'd never leave her side. Your old man is not that type of person, you know?", he explained. "What?... Mom?", I questioned.

"It's true sweetie. Your father didn't know about you. If he knew, he would never leave", she replied. I felt betrayed, betrayed by my own mother no less. 'Turns out it wasn't my father who was at fault, but my mother!', I thought. "Pak!", "Ow!", father flicked my forehead. "You can hate me all you want, but not your mother. It was me who was selfish, not her. I wanted to explore my life no matter what. She knew that, she knew perfectly well... That's why she said nothing to me. Your mother took care of you for all those years. Never question her love, I never did", father said.

"That doesn't mean she can lie! Hide everything from me! She told me nothing about you! I know nothing about my father!", I retorted. Father glanced at mother, he wasn't happy with that either. "Don't look at me like that, I had my reasons…", she replied. Before I could say anything, father picked me and himself up. "Let's hear it then", he said. "...I didn't want our daughter to grow up like a princess. Treating others like worthless trash, especially after what you went through. I couldn't allow our daughter to become the exact thing you hate. I wanted her to grow up humble, and cheerful. Not hungry for power and resources… Though, this alone would be a lie, and you know that", she replied.

"Yea, I can guess that much. Alright, that is that", father said. "What? You forgive her? Just like that?", I asked, stunned. "Of course. I love your mother, no matter how bad she becomes. I can also understand why she did it. Besides, it's not like I can turn back time. Seems like she told you very little about the world we live in, or about me. Since I'm back, both of us can slowly learn about each other, right?", he replied. Mother walked over and hugged me, "Mother was not the best to you, but you grew up to be an upright and fine woman. Even if you end up hating me, I tried my best and don't regret raising you. Mommy will always love my little Anna, this will never change".

"I... I don't hate you, but I'm angry...", I replied. "I will try my best to make it up to you", she added. 'Mother took care of me my whole life. Although she's strict, she really cares about me… I didn't forgive her yet, but we will work it out. I'm sure', I thought. "Nex, where is Frosty?", mother asked out of nowhere. "Oh, he? He will be here soon, don't worry about that overgrown lizard", he replied. "Frosty? Overgrown lizard?", I asked, confused. "It's your father's pet… or something like that. I'm sure you will be surprised when you see him", mother explained. "Frosty… No wonder I named my Taurus Turry, this naming sense must be from father then", I said with a chuckle.

"By the way, why do you call mother Fox? Don't you know her name?", I asked. "Huh? Because she is a fox… or should I say a vixen?... Of course I know her name. Your mother is Sonia Clovergrowth and your father is Nex Wintersteed!", father replied. Mother berated him for calling her a vixen, but when I looked at both of my parents, I realised how much they loved each other. 'Although I met my father just now, I can feel that he is already treasuring me, hehe. He has the same look as aunt Lira when looking at Drak', I thought. This felt different than meeting my grandpa. This was my father, I finally had both parents in my life.