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The Omnicient Eye

Hierboa was a small village away from the city. Herding and gardens full of harvesting were everywhere. The peasants would harvest and load the products on donkeys to carry them to the village market. The montains were full of green meadows that would blossom during the spring when its perfumes could be appreciated. The houses were made of old stones, some with stone partitions and thatched roofs. In the highest of the slope there was an antique castle next to an old, solitary and silent cementery. From the top of the castle all the beauty of the village could be contemplated the trees and pines around it the dirt roads where donkeys went by loaded with goods. ! rainbow in the sky called the attention of all the people that stopped to watch, and filled them with serenity and quiteness. The clouds, so white, looked like cotton floating in the air. !t night the silence invaded the roads, the tired donkeys slept to get ready to confront another day of work. In the summer, children would go out and play their happy laughter, the voices and the noises of their singing could be heard until dusk. In the village there lived a young and humble family. "onathan #the father$s name# was a hardworking man that woke up early and came back home at dusk. He was always busy. He was a humble and decent man that en%oyed things properly done and meant to move foward with his family despite dificulties. &aria, his wife, was a young woman her beauty would impress wherever she went her hair, so long and silky, would shine under the sun. They had a humble and cheerful son that had inherited her mother$s ways of wearing, he hardly used any clothes sometimes, and used to say he would like to be like his father and would dress like him sometimes. 'oor &aria used to spoil her only son. &aria, who came from a humble family, cleaned up and straightened up the house for the next day after that went to the yard, with her son in her arms, and helped her husband to load the harvest on the donkeys (fruit and vegetables) that would be carried to the market where &aria and her son would sell the goods. !fter dropping &aria at the market, "onathan would go to the corral to milk the goats, sheeps and cows and collect the eggs lain by the hens. He left everything cleaned and ordered for the next day. &ar*a would keep selling in the market with her son Harton, which was his name+, both of them had friendly smiles and their charm brought more success in the sale. Their harvest was the best because of its %uices and freshness it was of great quality and was always fresher than the other seller$s thanks to "onathan who would pick them up hours

before taking them there and in an estimate quantity according to what &aria was used to sell. The remaining was preserved in crystal %ugs. "onathan, at dusk, left the feeders and troughs filled for the rest of the day and went back to the market to pick up his family. !t home, after chatting for a while, they went to rest to face another day of labour the following day. The years went by quickly and Harton grew up. He grew into a beautiful boy, light hair and blue eyes his face was so beautiful and sweet that &aria used to compare it to the beauty of the spring in blossom. His charm was such that he bewitched everyone wherever he went. Harton was a humble and honest boy, everyone admired him. He was the pride of this kind#full village.

Marias kept secret !s the years went by, &aria started to change she was feeling sad, distressed and isolated. ,omething was disturbing her. ,he always wanted to be with her son, she wanted to take care of him and observe him without him noticing. ,he used to watch him while he helped his father, who was always busy with the animals. In the yard Harton gathered the vegetables and fruits for her mother, who took them home and made mashed vegetables as Harton liked. He also took green apples from the trees so that &aria could prepare a delicious pie as his father loved. "onathan said that it was the best pie from the village, &aria laughed at it while preparing it. &aria went silent for a moment, all of a sudden, she was sad, remembering what had happened years ago. Her husband was unaware of all that had happened in the past and she was worried about how to tell him, how to explain something like it. Five month before Harton$s birthday &aria did not look delighted, she was rather depressed and upset, she had a hidden secret that, sooner or later, should be disclosed but she did not know how. -ays and nights went by fast. &aria was so anguished trying to make up her mind to tell her husband, that he thought she was sick and took her to the village$s folk healer who said she had nothing serious it was due to labour and heat. "onathan felt calmer with the folk healer$s answer and adviced his wife to get more rest. .ne day Harton and &aria went for a walk to the green gardens that had already blossomed in the meadows. Harton ran and played from one side to the other, everywhere, drawing circles, en%oying. &aria sat on a rock to watch him and en%oy the perfumes from the meadows. Harton started to gather flowers, one of each colour, then got close to his mother and said to her with a wide smile/

0These flowers are for the best mom in the world 1Harton said as he gave them to her. &aria started to cry and hugged her beloved son as hard that Harton had to tell her/ 0&om 0Harton complained 02hat$s happening3 4ou are hurting me5 0.h dear5 0&aria answered 0I am sorry I was hurting you, I did not mean it. 0It doesn$t matter mom, it is not so bad. I am strong, don$t you see3 0,aid Harton showing off her child muscles0&om, tell me why are you always watching me3 6ately, you have been odd and sad you are always looking after me+ 1Harton remarked and made a pause# It doesn$t matter where I am, you are always there, why mom30Harton continued0Tell me, what is happening3 2hy are you worried3 -o you think I will get lost3 .r that I cannot take care of myself3 Tell me, what is going on3 0Harton asked. 07o, honey, I do that without noticing because I love you more than I could ever love anyone in this world 0&aria answered, lying a little while her eyes flooded with tears. &aria knew the truth that made her watch him, it was the fear of someone coming to take him away. ,he was afraid of losing him and being unable to overcome the lost. ,he could not picture that everything would end some day that her son would go away. 7oone was aware of the secret that had been tormenting her during all these years the secret that had made her live everyday closer to her son. .nly she knew the fate they were going to face and she did not know if it were forever or for some years. &uch before Harton$s birthday, &aria could no longer hide this secret, sooner or later she had to disclose it to her husband it was not fair to hide it any longer. !t a calm dusk, &aria decided to explain it to her husband so he could understand what had happened. ,he hoped "onathan, as a good husband he was, would comprehend everything. ,he also knew he could not have handled the truth when Harton was a new born. &aria had felt obliged to keep the most painful secret so that "onhathan would not undergo the suffering and anguish she had had to bear all these years of silence. The sun had already gone, the village was quite and lonely, there were no sounds. &aria was in front of the corral$s gate "onathan came close to her as he saw her absent and talked to her about their son to get her attention/ 0.ur beloved son has gone to sleep, he was exhausted and I gave him my permission to go and rest 0"onathan informed. &aria hardly heard her husband she continued staring, with an absent look in her eyes. Her husband, worried at her state, kept talking to her/ 0I have noticed you have been sad and absent for months, you are not the same you used to be and you cannot keep it from me because I know you, my love, better than you think. 2hat is disturbing you3 I no longer see light in your beautiful face, it doesn$t glow with happiness. Tell me. 0"onathan said.

&aria could not hold her tears, left them roll down her rosy cheeks and said/ 0I have to reveal a secret that I have been hiding for fifteen years. 0&aria declared. "onathan did not ask any question and let her words flow from her. 04ears ago, when we were teenagers and dreamt of having a family, I reali8ed I could not give you any children. I could not believe what was happening to me, I wouldn$t let you know, I did not want to banish your illusions of being a father. I was distraught. The only thing I was clear about was that I did not want to disappoint you, and I did not. I went with my pain and anguish to the top of the castle and I fell asleep under a tree after thinking about it, after imploring to find a way to explain it to you. I had not the courage to undisclose it and destroy your illusions. 2hen I woke up it was night time and a void had took control of me, I was wondering why that was happening to me. 2hy me3 !nd then I started to talk to the gods. I implored. It was my only hope. I told them my sorrow. I could not control myself, the despair overwhelmed me+ +!t that moment I started to %udge them unstoppably, I blamed them, the silence invaded me, I was weak#willed and breathless, I could no longer beg and blame. 2hen I disposed to go away back home to tell you the truth that I would never be able to give you a child a yellow light , as bright that it blinded me, came from the sky with the form of a shining star, iluminated the tree where I was sitting and spoke to me. The light said/ 9-o not be afraid, do not panic. I have heard your pleas and the pain you carry within you. I could hear the talk you kept with the gods. 6et me introduce myself, I am king &orvan, I have come from my world to help you, I can beget you a child if you wish+: +I did not understand anything, &orvan continued talking to me/ 94ou will breed him together with your husband. ;veryone must ignore you are sterile and that you will never be able to give him a child. I will beget you a son, you should make of him a humble and simple man, able to distinguish right from wrong. 2hen he becomes fifteen I will take him with me to my world+: +-espite his explanations I could not get it. I thought I was delirious, going cra8y. Then I asked/ 9why are you going to take away from me someone I will love, someone I will teach to differ right from wrong, to be humble and simple as my husband and I are3 I do not understand why you are going to take him away once I love him+ +That is when he explained to me that the world he inhabited needed a future protector for the universe+ without an heir he was vulnerable and that was why he had decided to fulfill my pleas. #&aria declared. Her husband was horrified at his wife$s explanations. 0Is it so hard to understand3 His wishes were our wishes 1&aria maintained while her husband was filling with anger. 07o, it cannot be true I think you are going cra8y, it is %ust impossible5 1"onathan answered he was disturbed and unhappy at his wife$s comments.

-espite his wife$s confusing words he remained firm, litening to her. He could not believe there was a world between the sky and the darkness that fought in order to save the world. He was clear that, to him, the real world was the one he inhabited the rest was a fantasy in his wife$s mind. 0I have kept this secret during all these years I have lived through anguish, pain and bitterness I had never imagined. I knew some day you would have the right to know the truth. I wanted to make of you a happy and fulfilled man, a family man, the man you are now, a man with a granted wish with a wonderfull son full of love to give. To Harton you are his father, the father he knows, respects and admires, the father that has taught him to be kind and hopeful noone could ever change that. "onathan could no hold the tears in his eyes any longer and started to cry as a child, inconsolably. 0There is something I need to reveal to you 1&aria said. "onathan did no longer know what to expect, he had already heard the worst part nothing could hurt more than knowing he was going to lose his son. &aria continued talking looking into his eyes, her tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. 0&orvan left me a dark oak chest, he asked me to bury it, hide it, where noone could find it and told me I should unbury it the night when Harton turned fifteen, his birthday$s night and wait until he fell asleep. &y duty is to open it over him. I wanted to know what was in it and he answered 9It contains magic powders that will erase his memories and he will come to my world that will avoid him suffering due to his past:. "onathan went cra8y in the stable. He threw away all he could find in his way. He threw the rake, the pasture and the eggs that were in the basket, the fruits and vegetables that he had collected some moments before from the yard. 2hen he could not take any longer he fell on his knees, screaming, angry, asking lots of questions among his suffering. 02hy3 2hy my god3 2hat have I done to deserve this3 2hy3 1"onathan stammered, angrily. &eanwhile &aria said to confort him/ 0I want him as much as you do. I would give my life for him. I understand your pain he is a part of me as well. It is the same pain I had to endure all these years in silence. That pain is consuming me. I took an oath, I gave my word and he gave me his. 2e own him our son, he gave as a charming son, a son I could have never had. 1&aria said. 07o5 It is not fair5 I do not own him anything. <an$t you see3 He used us for his own benefit. Is that you are so blind to see that3 1"onathan refuted. 04es, you own him, you own him all these wonderful years you spent beside your son. I could not have given you such bliss if it were not for him. 1&aria assured. .ut of control and filled with rage "onathan came closer to &aria and grabed her neck.

0Is that what you call pain3 'ain is what I am feeling right now, what runs though my veins. 4ou knew it all and hided it from me. I have lived all these years in lies being unaware Harton is the creation of a king I do not know. 'ain, what do you know about pain3 'ain is what is in my soul, that runs thorough my body, it is consuming me. I curse you &aria+ 1"onathan refuted among shouts, spitting saliva due to the anger. &aria was breathless, she could hardly breathe her husband$s hands hold her neck tight she was seconds away from passing away. Then "onathan loosened her neck and took his hands away her gentle throat. &aria fell on the ground coughing, gasping for air. "onathan looked at her with scorn and anger. 07o, no5 1&aria raised her voice when she managed to fill his lungs with air# 4ou did not live in lies, I kept silence so you did not have to suffer as I did. I took the burden of anguish and pain, I protected you from all the sorrow I did not want you to go through what I was suffering. ;verything that happened is so real you have a wonderfull son that loves you, you have him at home, waiting for you in his bedroom to say goodnight as you do all days at dusk. 1&aria said tearfully. "onathan whispered to her while he was going out from the stable/ 0It is not possible, how could you do this to me3 1"onathan complained. &aria stayed in the stable alone, picking the fruits and vegetables up from the ground those that her husband had thrown away in anger. 2hile &aria was ordering the pasture she said to herself/ 0I did the right thing to do I gave you what you wished for to protect you from suffering. 1 &aria said in a lower voice, downhearted. 2hen she finished putting the things "onathan had thrown into order she closed the stable gate and went home, in silence, really upset. The silence prevailed through the dark roads. The howling of animals and the whistling of wind sounded furious &aria$s pain was shown in her face that was dirty from cleaning the stable. 2hen she opened the old wooden door of the house she noticed "onathan was not waiting for her sitting in the old wooden chair in front of the kitchen$s table as he used to do after a quarrel. That night was different he had gone to bed as he no longer cared about anything else but himself, but his pain. ,he knew at that moment she did not want to share the bed with her husband that night, she feared his re%ection after pondering she stood from the kitchen$s chair and went to her son$s bedroom opened the door and observed him for an instant.

Harton was sleeping heavily he sighed and turned to his right side. &aria closed the door silently, so as not to wake him up and walked stealthy towards the bedroom where her husband was the door was closed and &aria did not dare to open it, she placed her hand on the handle but she did not turn it. ,he went downstairs and then to the basement, grabbed a blanket from an old chest and took it with her to the old and shattered armchair of the living room. ,he managed to sleep, not without difficulty. The night went thourgh quickly. &aria felt someone was watching her, and, with a sigh, open her eyes to find her husband standing in front of her. 0I am sorry for what is happening. 1&aria said anguised and half#asleep. 0I am sure of that. 1"onathan stated coldly as he nodded# The only thing I do not comprehend is why you have hidden me all this. 2hy3 2hy you kept to yourself all this pain3 I am supposed to be your husband, I have the right to know what is happening I am the one that watches over the family. 4our duty was telling me the truth even though it had tormented my spirit. &y duty as man and husband is to bear all the sorrow with you+ 1,aid "onathan, dissapointed. &aria$s tears fell incessantly, her face showed an inmense sadness and great guilt. "onathan continued talking without allowing her to say a word/ 0The only conclusion I have reached, the only answer I have+ 1,aid "onathan making a pause 0 Is that I am not sure I will be able to let him go in front of me. He is all we have the only thing we can call ours, the most important for both of us. !t that moment &aria felt the urge to hug him and look for confort in his arms, but she did not, she held her pain alone once more.

Harton dreams of an unknown world

0&om5 1! trembling voice calling his mom was heard from Harton$s bedroom# &om, mom5 1 7o pauses, every time with more intensity, it was Harton$s, calling her mother with despair. &aira rushed drying her tears with the rim of her long dress, went upstairs, opened her son$s bedroom$s door and found him sitting on the bed, sweating. 02hat is wrong son3 1&aria asked as she got closer to him and got confortable by his side on the bed.