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The sound of drums seemed to shake the very foundation of the vacation house. Nae looked innocently up the set of winding stairs that led to Jr’s room with her large, childish eyes.

“Da, why is Junior trying to bring the house down with his drums?” Nahim gathered up his little girl in his arms, twirling one of her many black ringlets around his finger.

“He’s hurting, Nae, he lost Emmie and he refuses to cope.”

“Were did she go, Da? How could he loose her when he was going to give her that pretty ring? Did she run away? Was she…kidnapped?”

“No, she died. Emmie went to Caelawond.” Nora put a hand on her husband’s shoulder, whispering in his ear above the racket of the drum set upstairs.

“Nar’s worried he might be somewhat broken mentally over her death.”

“Are you saying Junior is mad, Ma?”

“No, my girl.” Nora kissed Nae’s forehead. “He’s just a little broken inside right now, it should go away. Come, my little Laughter, you must test taste some cookie batter with me in the kitchen!” Nae clappedher hands and practically jumped into her mother’s arms. As the two left for the kitchen, Nahim ascended the stairs.

Turning to the left, he opened his adopted son’s door. The sound of drums was now deafening, as in front of him, with back turned to the door, and drumsticks moving at a hundred miles per hour was Jr. His room was dark, save a reddish hued light.

“Junior, you down have to make the house fall down, you know?” Nahim cracked a smile.

Jr stopped, turning and looking into his father’s face, just like his own.

“Did your Nora ever die before you could propose?”

“No, but my family did. You know that, I loved my mother dear, and the rest no less. Losing them shattered my life. But through it all, I learned anger and revenge never heals wounds, it only makes them deeper.”

“How do you know I’m angry?”

“You don’t usually play like you want to destroy your drums, or our ears. We can hear you clear downstairs.” Jr set aside his drumsticks, and stood, walking over to his wardrobe and gently bringing down a picture of Emmie.

“What does heal wounds?”

“Not time, not anger, not forgetting about it. The first two deepen wounds, the latter is either impossible, or just makes wounds stagnant. For over five years I searched for a cure, and it wasn’t friends, it wasn’t falling in love, it was the before mentioned three, it was Ehyeh. He alone can heal wounds.”

“And He’s the one who took Emmie in the first place! No, He caused those wounds.”

“Junior, Ehyeh took my family too. Why? To teach me that I can turn to Him, always. And to take them away was nothing cruel, they stand in His presence now, singing in Caelawond, in Paradise.”

“There.’s a big difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge, Da.”

“Yes, one you know and one you believe. And that heart knowledge, it’s something I can never give, but Ehyeh can, if you ask.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk to Him right now.” Jr’s voice cracked, and he replaced the picture to it’s place. His eyes clouded with water, but he held it back. Crying is a weakness to a warrior. Grief is too.

It was here Nahim left his son, knowing he could only guide, but not change him. Oh, he wished he could! How could he let his son go down the same road he did? That road that left Nahim never better, only worse.

The next morning, the drums didn’t play, and no Jr sat at breakfast. Jr had gone, disappeared to who knew where in the Galaxy.

Ehyeh, guid him, care for my son