The frightened boy tried to keep his distance from the others in front of him. He held his school bag tightly to his chest and took small steps, one at a time. His older brothers avoided walking in his company, they were ashamed of him. As a result, he felt even more vulnerable. He had no friends, which intensified his loneliness.

Distracted, he bumped into someone. He fell on his butt. His briefcase opened and his school materials fell to the ground, absorbing the dust from the street.

“Hey, watch where you're going, kid!”

The boy on the ground squinted his eyes. A bead of sweat ran from his forehead to his cheek. He was paralyzed. He had just bumped into the school bully. He tried to run, but his legs weakened. The bully and his gang surrounded him.

“Well, if it isn't the illustrious son of the Sage of Force. You don't strike me as intimidating.”

“I... I apologize. No... it was because I wanted to.”

“Ah! You've soiled my uniform, dwarf.”

Before the boy could apologize again, he was kicked in the stomach. With his short stature, he became even smaller. He curled up like a caterpillar and threw up his breakfast. The bully's shoes got dirty. The bully was so angry that he continued to kick and stomp on the boy. Without reacting, he just shielded his face with the palms of his hands.

“It's not going to stay that way, you freak! Nanico, you'll never grow up, you know that? Hahahaha, lick my shoes!”

The boy, sobbing, his face bloodied, grimaced. Before he could get his tongue on his shoe, a group of adults began to notice. The bully's colleagues grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. The boy struggled to get up.

An elderly woman and a man passing by tried to help him, but he refused. He threw his school supplies into his backpack and limped off in the opposite direction to the school. As he walked, people laughed at him. They called him ugly names and ridiculed the fact that the son of the Sage of the Force was so weak.

He skipped class and spent the whole time on an abandoned pier. A place that few dared to go to because of the risk of collapse, it became his refuge. The building stretched like a wooden backbone, a meter and a half above the sea. The blackened wood and rusty iron beams showed how abandoned it was. At the end, there was a bandstand with a dry straw roof.

There, the boy lay in a fetal position and clenched his fists. The tears fell in sobs, the cry stuck in his throat. He tried hard not to cry, but he couldn't. He burst into tears. He burst into tears. Only the waves and the chirping of the seagulls were louder than his crying.

⸎

The boy walked into the house, making sure not to attract attention. He was ashamed of his condition, there were bruises all over his body and wounds that had not yet healed. Lunch had already been taken from the kitchen. The young man went to the pots and pans and checked what was left. His older brothers had eaten their share. He would have to make do with some rice and beans without meat.

Before he could put down his portion, a voice thundered behind him, causing him to drop his plate.

“Jabir!”

The dishes fell to the floor and shattered with a crash. The little brown pieces were scattered all over the kitchen. Behind young Jabir, sitting on a cushion, legs and arms crossed. was his father. A big, burly man, he was well over middle-aged. He was a chubby medium, but he retained a lot of physical strength.

He had a stern look on his face. Jabir hated the way his father looked at him, always from above, proud of his position. He couldn't face him back. He lowered his eyes and began to touch the tips of his fingers to his chest. Talking to his father gave him anxiety.

“Your brothers told me you didn't go to school today. Your mother was worried that you didn't show up for lunch.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I... had an accident.”

“You must be the unluckiest child in the world. You have an accident every day.”

Jabir bit his lips. He swallowed his saliva with a loud glup! He remained paralyzed, not knowing what to say or do.

“You don't have to lie to me, my son. I know everything that's going on with you.”

For the first time, Jabir faced him. He came out of his defensive posture. He tapped his foot on the floor and, angry as ever, thought of something very rude to say to his father. He couldn't, he was his father and a member of the Circle of Sages. He took a step back. Despite his fear, he dared to ask:

“If you know everything, why haven't you done anything?”

“I'm not like your mother, I can't overprotect you. If I do, I'll be turning you into a slacker.”

“Dad, I know you're ashamed of me. I'll never grow up, the neighbors, at school, even my older brothers laugh at me. Dad, tell me, do you think so too?”

“I'm not ashamed of you for suffering from dwarfism. That would be like blaming a wheelchair user for depending on a wheelchair. What I am ashamed of is your cowardice, my son.”

“I'm not as strong as you. If you went to school, they'd stop beating me, you'd...”

His father slapped him across the face. The blow echoed through the kitchen and made Jabir's ears buzz like a beehive.

“I won't do that, Jabir. You must face your fears and your enemies with your own strength. I can't use my strength to intimidate little boys who still go to school. Some use force to hurt, others to protect. If you want to resolve this, use your strength to protect yourself.”

The man loomed over little Jabir. He walked towards the couple's bedroom. Jabir wiped away the tears that insisted on falling. He now knew what he had to do. He went to his father's tool bag and took out a saw.

⸎

The bully and his gang were walking towards the school when a bladder full of fetid water hit them. His entire uniform got wet with the foul water. The students started laughing at him. Aggressively, he pushed some students and kicked others. He sniffed his shirt and grimaced in disgust.

“What the fuck! It's urine.”

“Hey, up here.”

The group looked up, and another bladder hit the side of his face. Everyone looked up. Jabir was standing on a slab with several bladders in his hand. He threw them all at the boys around the school bully.

“You're toast, Jabir. Get him.”

Jabir had calculated the best route to the old pier. The group of attackers came after him. They didn't seem to want to give up the chase. They reached the port area. The son of the Sage of Force ran towards the old building.

Out of fear, some gave up chasing him. But the leader of the group wanted revenge. Jabir fled across the wooden bridge with the teenager eager to grab him. In the middle of the bridge, Jabir picked up momentum and made a long leap. The pursuer stepped on the planks that the boy had clenched earlier and fell into the water.

Jabir put his head through the opening and saw his assailant being whipped by the waves. The boy burst out laughing. The other boy, however, was not amused at all. He couldn't swim and was drowning. His friends had run away for fear that he would be swallowed up by the sea.

“Help! Help me, I can't swim. Bluo! Please help me, bluo.”

“You're just pretending.”

“No, ask for help. Bluo, I can't swim.”

Jabir watched the teenager sink like a stone into the sea. The boy took off his shirt and dived into the water. After a few seconds, he emerged with the bully at the edge of the beach. The aggressor was struggling between bouts of coughing. The son of the Sage of Force stayed by his side until he caught his breath.

After that, he faced Jabir and started crying and sobbing like a baby. The young medium turned away from him. Without understanding anything, he thought he had overdone the punishment.

“You really can't swim?”

“No, I don't. I apologize, snif-snif, for what I did. I'm not going to hit you anymore, snif, or chase you around school. I swear! But please don't tell anyone.”

“On one condition...”

“What?”

“Don't make fun of people or ridicule them, otherwise I'll tell them you cried like a little girl after drowning at the pier.”

“All right, snif-snif, I swear, I won't do it anymore.”

⸎

How funny, after that day we became friends.

Akachi set the old medium down carefully. Jabir's face was serene, he would be asleep for a few hours. His wounds weren't mortal, but he needed to rest to recharge his strength. Adisa's son tried to close his eyes, but he grabbed his opponent's wrist and said:

“Only close the eyes of the dead, boy. I'm still very much alive.”

“Sorry, now rest.”

Akachi left him behind and ran up the stairs. Jabir put his hands on his stomach. The sky was pitch black with furious lightning flashing across its cloudy canvas. The drops fell on his body, giving him a strange tickling sensation. He felt so old. Suddenly, he felt a strange presence.

“You've been there all this time to attack us from behind, haven't you? Why don't you wait to get mine back...”

Before he could complete his sentence, splish! He was struck by the dark figure. The bloody blade was removed from Jabir's chest. The old man spasmed twice and died with a smile on his face. His eyes were open and opaque, but they hadn't stopped staring at his enemy.

The figure searched Jabir's pockets and took out the Spiritual Key of Strength. He activated his communicator:

“General Luena, this is Nebula No. 3. I managed to get the key from the Sage of the Force.”

“Good, Nebula No. 3. Come back to us.”

“Understood, ma'am.”

The military woman placed her hands on Jabir's eyes and gently closed them.