Chapter 7: Danos una oportunidad

Three years later

Do sits on the couch with a bottle of beer and glances at Rene as she plays Jenga alone. She is already thirteen years old but has not made friends with anyone at school. She does not go to visit and does not invite anyone to her place. All-day long, she either does her homework, reads books, or plays Jenga. Inna is setting the table in the kitchen when her cell phone rings. Twenty minutes later, a tear-stained Inna enters the living room and wipes her eyes with the jacket. Do jumps up and runs up to her.

"What happened?" The man asks worriedly.

"Father called," Inna sinks into a chair.

"Has something happened to him?"

"No, I was just moved," the woman soothes her husband. "Rene, go eat."

Rene, whose tower has collapsed, trudges into the kitchen.

"For the first time in so many years, he called me," Inna says. "It's incredible. I can't find words. He said he missed, that he wanted to see his granddaughter."

"My doors are always open for him," Do sits back on the sofa.

"He invites us to stay with him. Me and Rene."

"Inna, let him come here himself," Do says, frowning.

"What's wrong with the fact that we go to him and stay there for a couple of days?" Inna does not understand. "Rene will finally see normal conditions, live in a nice house, and get to know her grandfather again."

"We parted badly with your father. Nebo and I have problems now. I don't want to let you go there. Not now, at least," Do says firmly. "Rene lives well here too."

"You used to live like this from birth!" says the woman angrily. "But I saw another life, and I want my girl to see it too! I'll go anyway," Inna gets to her feet.

"Until our relations with Nebo normalize, you will not go anywhere. Sorry," Do answers calmly and reaches for the remote control.

***

When Axel comes to his room, Rene is already sitting on the bed with a bowl of fruit and leafing through a book.

"I was waiting for you," the girl declares, watching brother take off his leather jacket.

"Something happened?" Axel approaches the bed and, bending down, kisses her forehead.

"Grandpa called."

Axel looks at Rene in confusion.

"I have a grandfather, whom I hardly remember, and he called and invited to visit. Mum says we'll go visit," Rene says.

"In Nebo?" Axel can feel the Spirit roaring inside and almost joins it himself.

"Well, yes."

"Father will not allow this," he sits on the bed.

"I thought to share the joy, but for some reason, you are angry," Rene puts the bowl aside and creeps up to Axel.

"What the heck is joy?" Axel jumps to his feet, pounding at the thought that Rene might go somewhere.

"Don't swear," Rene mutters, hugging the pillow.

"I will not let you to Nebo, even for a few days," Axel says firmly, nodding to himself.

"But I'll be back ..."

"I won't let you go!" Axel boils over again, wondering how much he turns out to be dependent on the presence of this young woman in his life. Otherwise, explain this anger that awakened in him. Should Rene open a conversation about leaving?

"I've never been anywhere," Rene says quietly and slides out of bed, intending to go to her room.

"I'll show you the whole world," Axel intercepts her and puts her on the bed.

"Why don't you let me go?" Rene looks at the brother sitting on the floor by the bed.

"Because I can't live a day without you," Axel puts his head on her lap. "I have to see you once a day. If I don't see you, it's as if the day had never happened."

"Okay, I'm not leaving," Rene says after a moment of pause and moves so that the elder one lies next to her.

In the morning, Rene wakes up to his father's voice hanging over her head and sees Axel arguing with him.

"You finally woke up; run to your room," Do snarls to the sleepy girl. "More so that I do not see that you are sleeping here."

"Father, leave her alone," Axel growls, holding Rene in his embrace.

"You should have forbidden her to come!" Do yells as Rene crawls out of her brother's arms and slides off the bed onto the floor. "She is a growing woman, you are a man, and you are no longer children to sleep in the same bed!"

"She is my sister!" Axel jumps to his feet. His father's Spirit presses on his will, tries to keep the guy from flying off the coils, and Axel lets go of his, forcing Do to stagger back in surprise.

"The siblings sleep separately; she has her room," the man says more calmly, seeing his son's eyes fill with blood.

"You can't forbid me to be with her," Axel advances, feeling the buzzing in his ears. For the first time in nineteen years, his Spirit rages so severely; he barely restrains himself so as not to pounce on a man.

It's impossible to take Rene away from him. And it's at this moment, feeling his bones flex and taste his boiling blood on his tongue, that Axel realizes it. He is distracted from the defense and, grabbing his head with his hands, settles on the floor. Do immediately stops pressing and, just in case, moves to the door. Only now, for the first time in his life, Axel hears its voice in his head, hears four letters forming into one single word, ringing his temples. Rene, who remained at the door, paralyzed by the power of his brother's Spirit, not letting her out of the room, with his lips alone, begs Axel to let her go.

"Axel," Do gently walks over to him and sits down beside him. "She will grow up and turn into a woman, a real woman. You will get attracted, and you will forget that she is your sister. You are an adult, and you already had a lot of women. Do I have to explain this to you?" Axel looks up to the slam of the door and sees that the place where Rene stood before is empty.

The young girl runs downstairs to the bathroom, locks the door from the inside, opens the water, and bursts into sobs. Inna pounds the door, demanding her daughter to open it, but Rene doesn't even move. Rene has been secretly in love with Axel for three years now, and only a thick notebook covered with his name in a dresser knows about it. She pastes it with shiny hearts and writes in it every day about the time spent with Axel. Rene knows that she can't fall in love with him, and no one will understand her, not even Axel. But her feelings for Axel only grow every day, and the young girl does not have enough strength to fight them. It hurts to think that she was forbidden to be beside the one with whom she has the sweetest dreams. But what hurts the most is that Axel had women. Rene, at thirteen, wouldn't even think of that. Axel never brought anyone, never used anyone's name, and Rene didn't know it would hit her so hard. There, beyond the threshold of the house, her brother has his own life, and someday the day will come when he brings a woman into this house. But if Rene hurts by just the mention of others, what will happen then?

She continues to sob, choking on tears and wrong feelings. Rene is confused; she feels terrible, her Spirit lifts its head for the first time and, whining, huddles in a corner, just as lost and misunderstood by anyone, not even its owner.

Crackling, the door flies to the side. Inna knocks the stool to the floor and pulls Rene towards her.

"No need to cry; it will pass," she strokes her daughter's head.

"Did you do that?" Rene looks up at the mother. "Did you send father?"

"I think about you and your future," Inna wipes away her tears. "I want all the best for you. You can hate me now. You will thank me later."

"And if I don't?" Rene pushes her away. "You can't take Axel from me. No one can take Axel away from me."

Leaning on the tub, the girl stands on her feet and, wiping away her tears, goes to the exit. Moving down the hallway, she sees Axel standing at the door to the living room but silently walks to her room. Axel follows her.

"Rene, please don't cry." Axel leans his forehead against her door. "I swear to you that even if the united army of all territories goes against me, no one will take you away from me. I will never give you to anybody. Even Death. Do you remember that?"

Axel hears a click and realizes that Rene locked the door. Like a beast loose from the chain, rushing down the corridor, Axel goes to the car. Rene still sits on the floor, leaning on the door, hugging her knees, and with her lips, only repeats Axel's vow.

***

Nura, who just turned eleven, hasn't left the house for almost a week. Returning home from school, the girl noticed that she was being followed and told Mina about it. Mina knew this day would come because Nura already attracts unnecessary attention with her appearance despite such an early age. She collects her guts to ask her gang for a tag that she managed to get, ignoring the fact that she's just a tiny part of it. Sadly but logically, they reject. And Nura is being left with a feeling that she misses school, especially interacting with Avi.

Avi is also bored, worried that the girl is sick, but he cannot persuade Aken to visit her. When Mina fails with the tag after a week, unable to withstand imprisonment, Nura runs to school after her sister's departure to work. The girl missed her friend a lot and could not stand the more walls pressing on her. There is no limit to Avi's happiness, but he gets distraught upon learning about the mark. Avi asks Nura not to come to school, promises that he will try to visit her himself, and decides to talk to his brother.

"Why did you hang your nose? Your Nunu didn't come to school again?" Aken puts food on the plate for his sad brother.

"She came," the younger does not even reach for the devices.

"That's great, rejoice," Aken doesn't understand.

"But she won't come again."

"Why?" The man himself sits down at the table.

"Nunu is wonderful," the boy mutters. Aken stops eating and looks away. "They'll sell her?" Avi looks at brother. Aken nods silently. "She is my friend. When I grow up, I will marry her."

"You're too young to think about that," the elder losses his appetite and pushes the plate away from him.

"Can you help her?" Avi moves closer.

"I have to ask for it, and it's not a fact that they won't refuse me," Aken, unable to sit across from the child who thinks that his brother can do anything, decides to wash the dishes.

"Please, she has no one but her sister, but she cannot help with anything," the younger does not give up.

"Avi, we cannot help all the women of this city," the man stands with his back to him and is glad that his brother does not see the rage that distorted his face.

Avi is eleven years old. His friend is the same age. But only the fact that she is a female, who has no protection, can turn this child into a living commodity on the market. Aken, who should have long been accustomed to such an outcome for most of Vita's women, every time gets angry again, and this anger is mostly at his helplessness.

"But this is not just a woman; she is my friend!" Avi runs up to him. "I promise I'll never ask you for anything; please let Nunu have a mark."

"I need to talk to Chan and then with your Nunu's sister. You should have dinner and go to sleep," Aken throws aside the napkin and almost falls off his feet because of the happy boy jumping on him.

Aken is ready for anything for Avi's sake, but this is not the main reason why he, disregarding all the conditions, went to Chan to ask for a stranger's protection. Aken has never saved anyone, and this is the first time he has a chance to help any woman. Aken tries to think that helping one person is a big deal. He has to lie to Chan that Nura is a family member, albeit a future one. Chan, oddly enough, agrees immediately. He doesn't want to lose a good employee in whom he sees great potential and does the man a favor. Aken meets with Mina at their house, Nura never leaves her room. Nura receives the tag the next morning and returns to class with big thanks to Avi.

***

After midnight, Aken returns home and looks in surprise at his mother lying on the couch with Avi sleeping in her arms. Carefully so as not to wake them up, he goes to the kitchen and, having drunk some water, looks for a blanket to cover the sleeping ones. When Aken returns to the living room, Avi stretches sleepily and looks at his brother sitting on the couch.

"Mum came in the evening," the boy gets to his feet, "said she would stay and fell asleep. I'm hungry." Avi plops into the kitchen barefoot while Aken frowns at the sleeping woman.

As soon as the boy leaves the room, Aken sits down in his place and, approaching his mum's face, frowns even more. The man checks her pulse and confirms his suspicions. She is dead.

Someone who did not appear at home during her life decided to die among her family. Aken, suppressing a sob that almost burst out of awareness, covers his face with his hands and does not react to his returning brother.

"Something happened?" The boy asks, frightened.

"Mum's dead," the grown-in-a-second man says quietly and reaches for his cell phone to call Lea. The woman's heart, exhausted by drugs and alcohol, could not stand it.

The mother of two is buried on a cloudy morning in the city cemetery a couple of meters from her deceased husband. Aken covers her grave with flowers and doesn't keep his word to the woman. The man cries silently at the tomb surrounded by friends, and Lea takes Avi to her place for a couple of days.

"I thought I hated her," Aken says to friends sitting around in the dewy grass by the grave. "I don't love her. But I wanted her to live normally. I wanted to achieve so much, put her in treatment, and show that it is possible in a different way."

"Does it hurt?" Dev asks him carefully.

"No, I'm feeling sorry for her life. And it's scary" Aken scratches his face irritably, trying to drive away tears. "It's a shame that everything could have been different, but it's scary that suddenly we will end up like this. Suddenly, one day I wake up, realizing the futility of my struggle, and give up, find comfort in alcohol or cocaine, and so I'll die quietly on the couch in the hole I call home."

"It's all up to us," Axel hugs him by the shoulders. "I don't think she chose this life. It chose her." With a cracked smile, he looks at Aken.

"We will be strong for the sake of those who remain. As long as at least one of us and our families walk on this earth, we have someone to fight for. We won't give up," Leo tries to cheer him up.

"I'm tired of being kind and helping everyone. I'm tired because I get only evil in return," Aken rises to his feet. "The day before yesterday, I helped a stranger, a girl, whom I'll hardly ever see, and today I am burying a loved one whom I didn't save. Where's the justice? Why are such scum like Chan, who deprive parents of their children, live happily ever after, and I, who is ready to give the last piece of bread to the crook, always getting slapped by the fate?"

"Aken ..." Axel squeezes tightly on his forearm. "Maybe that's how you should live? Maybe we should be like Chan?" looks intently into the eyes of a friend.

The guys silently lower their eyes, staring at the fresh earth that covered the deceased. Each new death, any incident, leaves a deep typo not only in thoughts but also changes character, undermines, makes you rethink priorities, and determine the future. Only one thing does not change: they laughed together last night; they cry together today, and as long as it remains unchanged, they have a chance…

* The title of the chapter is "Give us a chance" (Spanish: Danos una oportunidad.)