Eighteen years later
The trees and plants of the forest hide my position, where I watch and listen from a distance to the bustling sounds of Longsang. Pain lances my heart, and anger holds my body in a vice as I observe the nagata going about their day, smiling and laughing, completely unincumbered. The sounds of their joy pierce my soul, taunting me as the haunting words of my father’s rejection echo through my mind.
“You are nothing but an abomination. Your mother should have disposed of you when she had the chance.”
Even now, I hear those words as if they were spoken just moments ago. He didn’t look at me and see a daughter, he saw a plight on his bloodline; a stain against his name. He thought I was weak…but he couldn’t have been more wrong. He robbed me of a family and sense of com
