66 – Hearing the news of the son who became famous
“Isaac.”
The man tipped his glass once more.
When it comes to earning a living, part of it always comes down to cheap alcohol.
Alleviate guilt and punish the body.
“Isaac…”
He did not stop despite his wife’s words.
Because it was something I had always done.
Make money and return home.
I grab a bottle of alcohol and waste time meaninglessly.
Then at least I could not cry.
I was able to become free from terrible thoughts.
But what prevents us from doing so is,
Always feel the weight on your shoulders,
What reminds me once again of the sin that holds my feet –
“You know that doesn’t make what we did go away.”
This was the appearance of his wife, who had become sickly due to not being able to fall into a deep sleep.
He was the one who abandoned his child and his mother for that damn money.
His wife resented him every day.
“Dubel.”
But he had never used a sword with his hands.
He never swore.
I just stayed silent and let the hellish daily life repeat itself.
“Stop it.”
But I can’t help my selfish desire for the pain to ease,
He ran away with alcohol.
After drinking so much that I can’t control my body,
The next day came.
If you work, money comes in.
Now I have enough money to support my entire family.
But it was too late to go back,
The road I had to go back was very long.
“You know.
What decisions we made, what we did.”
Even at this moment, his wife had never touched alcohol.
However, one change was letting go of the hope that I had faintly held on to.
Even if the reality is falling horribly,
Change was change.
“Now I have to accept it.”
“…You can go back anytime.”
“It’s never happened like that.
We said we would go back again and again, just to save up enough money.
That’s how we fooled ourselves.
You know that.”
Passing the bitter drink down my throat,
The man quietly filled his empty glass and went out.
The alcohol was not sweetened at all.
“…They say that life is bitter and alcohol is sweet.”
He snorted at those words and broke his glass once more.
Although he had never said it out of his mouth, his hopes had already been dashed a long time ago.
“Now is the time to go.
Now… Even if I see something so terrible,
You know you have to go back.”
“…”
Instead of denying, the man responded with silence.
His answer was a cup being filled without a word.
It’s been a long time since I acknowledged it, but
He couldn’t bear to say that.
Because it was my last conscience.
Or, because I believed so.
“…Then you were here?
I will also return to my country.”
The woman made a decision.
Because I can’t bear the pain any longer.
The man caught her like that.
I don’t have the courage to do that.
“Look, look at this.
Look at these damn coins you and I earned through our hard work!!”
To her husband, Duvel threw away her money bag.
A heavy clanking sound stopped his hand.
“How much longer do we have to stay?”
How much richer do you have to be to bring those two in?
You could have just ordered someone to do it.
You could have sent a letter and brought him over…!
At least, no matter where we are!”
“…You mean you could have crossed those mountains?”
“At least there’s a village under the mountain…!
You can slowly come back from there – “
“…Is there money?”
“If you sent it by letter, okay?”
“…Are you sure that the person who brings you the letter will not open the heavy envelope?”
Duvel’s voice was becoming watery.
Isaac’s thirst was getting dry.
Before I wake up again,
Before the pain comes again,
Isaac tried to raise his glass.
“Even though I haven’t even tried it.”
The drinking glass I was holding was thrown to the floor.
Hands that are lukewarm yet cool,
And –
A glass that rolls noisily and hits the wall.
“Among the many methods I mentioned,
We haven’t done a single thing.
To bring Russell and his mother-in-law,
We didn’t make any effort. Know?”
The man did not respond to the woman’s screams.
I just slowly get up from my seat, shake off the glass and put it in the bucket.
I tried to reach for the almost empty bottle –
“…Dubel.”
“Ugh, drinking this and that, you…”
The ‘bee’ left in the bottle disappeared between my swollen lips.
The two had enough money.
Conserving what you eat and what you wear,
They were a couple who worked hard with the sole intention of living a better life someday.
However, their appearance did not represent the effort they made.
“But, I too… Doesn’t change the fact that I was a coward in the end.”
Thump.
Like that, the liquor bottle rang on the desk.
A worn-out tree makes a creaking sound,
I let out a small complaint.
“Isaac, we… What on earth did we do?
For all that time, what on earth have we been living for?
I threw away my son who told me I loved him and asked him to wait for me,
When I promised you that I would help you improve your health, it turned out to be a lie – “
“It’s not a lie, no.”
The man quietly muttered.
From Noble mtl dot com
Forcibly distracting the spirit that could not be drunk.
The sunken eyes were facing the ground.
“You can do it, anytime…
We can go back anytime.
But, I waited too long.
So, to meet those expectations – “
“Do you remember how many years have already passed since that day?
That child, in that shabby cabin,
Do you know how long I would have waited in that old house that couldn’t properly block the wind in the winter?
Now, that kid… Will have grown into a decent man…”
At those words, the man closed his mouth.
The woman sobbed at my words.
When they left, a young man with a great dream and a young woman who were both virgins.
Now they are starting to have wrinkles on their faces.
***
At the construction site, Isaac carried the luggage.
Continuously, without a single break.
He can sit down only when the foreman comes and stops him.
It happened this time too.
“I heard about your situation.
But I’ve told you time and again that that doesn’t mean you can put others in danger.
I know you are in good shape.
I already know that strength is a trade.
By the way, you know that it is a human body – “
“I understand.”
At one emotionless word, the middle-aged man standing in front of him sighs deeply –
In the end, he handed me a scroll from his arms.
“What is this…?”
“A certain knight order was looking for the parents of a certain child.
You said it was something related to a dragon that happened a few years ago?
I kept one with me just in case.
Is there anything you want to point out?”
The scroll was gently unraveled,
The boy’s face appeared along with the words “It was three years ago.”
…Something that resonates terribly with my heart.
“If just the face wasn’t enough, there would be a name written on it.
Well, what was it? Obviously, the guy who was giving it away was…”
Life returned to my blurry eyes.
The hand that did not tremble no matter how heavy the stone was, lost hold of the paper.
“Ah, yes. Russell…”
In the eyes of a man who never showed his emotions,
Tears flowed.
“Are you a child?”
The legs that had always kept me firmly on the ground and moving forward collapsed.
Without looking back, my body just stopped moving forward.
Tears soaked the paper on which my son’s face was drawn.
“Hey, hey, it’s troublesome to do this here.
There are many eyes to see. “I think you should try to get yourself together.”
“Russell, Russell…”
He was dead, that’s what he thought.
I can no longer go back,
I will no longer have the right to be called father,
Like that, he was beating himself.
I ignored my wife’s words to at least check,
Drinking alcohol and waiting for the day to die,
It was all for that.
But,
The child was alive.
Although it was a wanted flyer,
Nevertheless, he was alive and well.
After overcoming that cold winter.
“I’m sorry, Captain.
Today – “
“Yes, I should go.
…I’ll take care of things like documents and such.
Today’s daily wage is – “
Before he could finish his sentence, the man shook off the hand of the person holding him.
Instead, he put the wet flyer in his arms and immediately started running.
My body ached with muscle pain.
I started to feel dizzy from the intoxication.
Nevertheless, he tried to laugh.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh…!”
Painful moans,
And even if pitiful cries burst out,
He didn’t care.
Isaac ran eagerly to the house where his wife was waiting.
“Hey, be careful!”
“Wow, it’s dangerous to run like that on the street…”
He hit people and passed by.
I threw myself between the moving objects and narrowly escaped.
The pain of alcohol that I have never felt before comes,
The feelings that had been killed were revived in the name of his son,
Nevertheless, he did not stop.
“My son, my son, was alive…”
Where and what did you do?
Didn’t he hate himself?
What happened to my mother?
Are we even together?
There were so many things I had to ask.
I had to find it.
And, that is,
“Ah, Isaac.”
He had to be with his wife who had walked the same path as him.
“You saw it too. The leaflet.”
“…That’s right, ah.”
The two were out of breath.
The traces of tears that had been shed were still flowing down.
As a parent, I experienced the same pain.
As a couple, we carried the same feelings.
So, the two hugged each other.
“My son is alive, Isaac, Russell, my Russell…”
“Let’s find it. Let’s go find it… Let’s go, even right now.”
The two spoke differently, but
The behavior was the same.
The two couldn’t even muster the courage to go looking for them,
I gained energy from a piece of paper.
