Family feud

We didn't take long to arrive at Law's post, where he was guarding the gate. Laws inquired as to the condition of Sylphiette's coat, "Joel was picking on you again, wasn't he?" Sylphiette responded, "yes Dad him and the other boys were throwing mud and rocks at me but then Ryan saved me" Sylphiette's arms started flailing around as she retold the story of how I stopped those bullies. After a while, Laws looks at me and says, "Thank you so much for assisting my daughter; I'm so glad you're her friend."

I give him a heartfelt grin and tell him, "I'm lucky to have her as a friend."

"I'll have a talk with him and his mother Lydia," Laws sighed, and I said, "isn't Lydia a woman with brown hair and a bunch of freckles on her face and the huge plots of land?" Laws nodded and said, "yeah, that would be her, I'm surprised you know her."

"She comes around the house quite frequently to flirt with my dad," I remarked, shaking my head in disdain. "That doesn't surprise me at all," Laws remarked with a knowing nod. As Sylphiette grew antsy, we said our goodbyes to Laws and set off to find a place to practice magic.

We discover a private spot on a hill with a tree. From here, you have a magnificent perspective of the village and can nearly see everything that is going on. This is where we decided this would be our permanent location. Rudy and I start teaching Sylphiette magic. We decided that we would have her start with incantations and then progress to incantation list magic as her mana increased. Sylphiette listened to our magic beginners course lecture and was eager to attempt it herself. She stood there, hands raised, casting the incantation for the water ball spell.

Sylphiette easily pulls it off, much to Rudy's amazement. She started leaping up and down, exclaiming, "I did it, I really did it, please tell me you guys saw it," which makes me grin as I add, "yes, I did see it, you did an amazing job." "How do you feel do you feel exhausted like you're just really tired and you don't know why?" I pause for a bit before continuing. If you do, you must stop immediately; if you continue to push yourself, you may pass out or worse." "I feel a little tired, but I think I can do one more water ball," Sylphiette stated.

I nod my head and say "all right I guess you can give it another go" with my permission Sylphiette starts muttering the water ball spell incantation and manages to fire off another successful water ball spell. After that I gave her some pointers on some exercises to help her build a little strength so I can begin teaching her swordsmanship. Because she is a child and not a reincarnated person like me and Rudy are I decided to make some games to help our swordsmanship and magic training. We spend the rest of the day playing and after the sun was looking like it was about to start setting we walked Sylphiette home and after we did that we went home ourselves.

As we were traveling home, Rudy began a conversation by saying, "I'm surprised Sylphiette was able to cast the water ball spell on her first try, she's quite amazing isn't she?" I said, "I agree with you, she appears to have a great talent for magic." I hope we can develop that talent because if she gets good enough at it, she will be able to earn a decent-paying career. Rudy answers, "That's right," and we continue walking home as the sky darkens and night falls over the area. When we finally get within our gate, I notice Dad leaning against the house, unhappy. "Any idea why I'm upset?" Dad asks as I go closer.

As I rummaged through my memories of the day, I realized Joel and his mother Lydia had to have come over to complain. "Is this about Joel?" I inquire.

My father nods and says, "Yes, this is about Joel. You see, his mother Lydia came by today to tell me that you beat up her son and then buried him up to his mouth in the dirt." My father stands there, arms crossed in an angry gaze, attempting to look intimidating. "I can explain what happened," I reply, but before I could finish, my father cuts me off, stating, "no excuses, when you do something wrong, you're supposed to apologize."

I try to speak out again, saying "look what happened," but Dad cuts me off again, saying "Ryan." I told you no excuses, I expect an apology, and you will apologize to Joel!" Now I'm enraged and exclaim, "So what now you're not even going to listen to my side of the story!" "I said I didn't want to hear any excuses!" Father screams at me. And I'm not letting you back in until you apologize!" I'm so enraged that if I don't leave the situation, things will explode. Rudy is stunned by the confrontation in front of him.

I just answer "fine," turn around, and start walking away from the home. My father yells at me, "Where the hell do you think you're going?" I retort, "away from you because you'd rather listen to and believe a woman you flirt with without mom's knowledge with over me." And as I continue walking, night has entirely descended. I return to the tree where Rudy, Sylphiette, and I liked to play. I sit down and lean against the tree, my stomach groaning with hunger. I begin to wonder why father would not listen to me.

As the minutes pass, I'm overcome with loneliness. An hour passes, and I'm under the tree, my hands wrapped over my knees, tears streaming down my cheeks. When I hear footsteps, I look up to see who it is. To discover that it was Mom. Mom asks, "what are you doing?" I reply with a sniffle, "just sitting here" mom asks, "do you mind if I sit next to you?" I reply, "go ahead" mom takes the seat next to me and puts her arm around me and says, "I heard your dad's side of the story, and I've heard Rudy's side, but I want to hear your side of the story."

So I told Mom everything that had transpired, including Father flirting with Lydia. Mom's expression darkened as she heard that portion. Mom added, "I'll talk to Paul about it." Seeing mom's look and the way she phrased it, I'm almost concerned about father. I believe whatever he gets, he deserves. Mom stands up and grabs my hand, saying, "Come on Ryan, let's go home so you can eat." Okay, Mom, I said, and we walked back to the house together. When we returned, Dad bowed his head and apologized, saying, "I'm really sorry for not listening to you; I will try to do better next time."

I take a big breath and add, "That's all we can do when we make a mistake: try to learn from it and then use it to make ourselves better." My father gazed at me blankly, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Oh how I see," dad says, and I continue, "but you have other people you'll need to apologize to." I stare at Mom and then hastily eat my food before Rudy and I go to bed. The next day, I would learn what Dad's punishment was. He must go two months without having intercourse or sleeping in his bedroom. One month for apparently not listening to my side of the story and the second month for flirting with Lydia apparently he had no idea how she found out and was surprised to hear that I was the one that caught him. I've been enjoying this life of mine I enjoy the calm and quiet I hope to experience this piece for many more years little than I know that this piece would one day be shattered.