Chapter 164: Everyone But Me
A sad smile spread across his face. Kazi kneeled down to her. Her cheeks were without wrinkles and her complexion was dark and healthy. "You look...so young."
Maa didn’t answer, simply focusing her efforts on breathing. She wasn’t looking at him. Did she not see him? He was right here.
Kazi caressed his mother’s cheek, only to feel nothing. "So this is a memory..." he muttered. "I knew it. But it couldn’t be when—"
"Kazi..."
He froze. There was no way. His presence was invisible to her. Maa didn’t know her adult son was here. No, her love was for the baby growing inside her. She was pregnant...with him. She looked so tired and everything was so miserable yet she managed to look happy anyway. Her hair was a mess and sweat dripped down her face. It was a post-term pregnancy and her body was doing everything it could to protect...him.
"Just die already..." he muttered, fingers curling into a fist. "You should have just died here, Kazi."
The doors blew right off its hinges, causing his mother to scream as it skidded across the ground. The wind blew in and she covered her ears, the sound of lightning and harsh winds terrifying her. Running in like a hero was a scarred young man full of smiles, dirt, trousers stained up to the knees, and hope.
"Baba..."
The muscles and the youth in his expression was something he recalled from his youth. To see it again in the flesh oozed his heart. To see him smiling was a memory he would hold onto dearly.
He heaved the door up and put it back where it was. The winds were strong and he nearly fell over trying to carry it. However, Baba did not give up. The door hit his face as the wind persisted yet he did everything he could to glue it together.
Cracccck! KA-DUUUM!