Take Heed of the Western Wind [Hero/Villain]

Hero didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad cry, not even when his mom died. He was a hardened shell of a man with the same scraggly blonde hair as his son, and usually he had an air about him that spoke of the kind of anger people use to protect themselves. After all, tears and defensiveness don’t tend to get along well, and the man wasn’t known for his breadth of emotional expression.

When Hero’s dad walked into the room, the man was already a mess; his beard was soaked with tears, and he could hardly breathe through the sobs. Hero was leaning up against the windowsill, looking out at his District, and the noises coming from his father scared the living daylights out of him.

Still, his dad didn’t say anything. Hero figured the man didn’t know what to say; for awhile, they just sat together. The boy felt bad, feeling so bitter like he did, but he wanted his dad to be stronger than this. He didn’t want his dad to cry, because that meant there was something to cry about, and it would be comforting to live in a world that wasn’t falling apart. At least he could pretend for awhile, but those sobs brought him back to a reality he wasn’t willing to face.

The tears told Hero that he was going to die. Why else would his father cry so? He couldn’t see a future for his son that involved victory, and that was a devastating realization for a boy who, at the moment, wanted to live in a state of denial.

He wanted to go to the beach, to lay in the sand, to let the water rush over him like a blanket. He wanted to laugh with his best friend, to jump into the waves like a kid again. To live with reckless abandon.

To live.

His father’s own tears brought Hero out of his own crafted shell, and that’s about the time when he really broke down.

He could hardly breathe.

”Dad….” His breaths came in fast and short, and he felt like he was going to suffocate. ”Do you – “ Breath. ”Am I – “ He couldn’t get the words out; his body was betraying him, his chest contracting every time he thought the words.

Am I going to die?

He never got to ask; the door opened a moment later.

Finally, finally, he could let out a few mangled words, his throat raspy.

”Goodbye, Dad.”

The Peacekeeper ushered his father out of the room, and Hero was left alone, struggling to breathe.