Fury of the Forgotten

Kadmiel meets his kids

The middle-aged couple’s hands were raised, ready to strike down the defenceless twins.

   The little boy, heart pounding in his chest, instinctively stepped in front of his sister, in a bid to protect her from the coming slap or blows. 

   His small arms spread wide, his voice trembling but defiant. “Whatever you do, please do not touch her! Hit me instead,please!” he shouted, his body tensing, ready to take whatever blow would come.

  Just as the couple's hands hovered in the air, a commanding voice sliced through the tension. “Hey! That is Enough!”  

   Kadmiel’s voice was deep, carrying an authority that demanded obedience. He stepped forward with long, purposeful steps, his eyes narrowing at the middle-aged couple.

    His presence alone made the couple freeze in place, their hands suspended mid-air, like children caught in the act. They were a bit scared but did not want to show it. 

  The twins looked up, wide-eyed, at the towering figure of Kadmiel. Relief washed over them, but the tension was still evident. 

   The couple quickly snapped out of their momentary shock and turned to face Kadmiel.

  “This has nothing to do with you!” the man snapped, his face beaming with arrogance.

   "Mind your own business."Kadmiel, unfazed, ignored their words, he kept moving forward. His gaze softened as he looked at the children, his chest tightening with a sense of familiarity, he felt a great sense of responsibility toward them. They were his after all, but he was not sure they knew. 

    The twins also felt that little familiar spark in them, but they could not tell what it was or why it was there. 

   “Are you two alright?” he asked gently. Before the twins could answer, the middle-aged woman stepped forward, her face twisting with disgust.

   “These little brats owe us! Their negligence damaged our car! We demand compensation. $200,000, or we will break the boy’s leg to the extent that it would be irreparable. 

  Let us see how much he enjoys playing the hero then.” The little boy’s face grew pale, and his sister clung to him, trembling.

   Kadmiel’s eyes darkened at the audacity of the woman's words. “You would harm a child over an accident?” he growled, his voice low but filled with unspoken danger.

   The couple stood their ground, thinking they could still intimidate Kadmiel. “These kids have to learn their place,” the man thundered. “Either pay up, or we will teach them a lesson they will never forget.”

   Kadmiel’s muscles tensed, his mind racing. He knelt beside the little boy, his voice calm but urgent. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

   The boy’s eyes filled up with tears, but he spoke bravely. “They hit us… It was not my fault. I could not get out of the way fast enough.” 

   He pointed at a small cut on his arm. “I even bled.”

   Kadmiel’s jaw clenched as the truth settled in. He slowly stood, turning his full attention back to the couple.

   “So, it was you who hit them?” His tone was laced with menace now. “Does it matter?” the woman snapped, her false courage falling apart. 

   “They were in our way!”

   “That’s a lie!” Kadmiel roared, his voice like thunder. Without warning, he moved. 

   Faster than the couple could react, Kadmiel grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him off his feet. The man gasped, his hands clawing at Kadmiel’s iron grip.“You think you can bully children?” Kadmiel’s voice was a low snarl. 

   The man’s feet dangled inches above the ground as Kadmiel’s knuckles whitened with fury. “You dare threaten them in front of me, and even lie against them in my very before, you have got audacity?”

   “Kadmiel, stop!” The sudden voice of his sister, Kelita, cut through the air, her presence barely registering in Kadmiel’s rage-filled mind. 

   She approached quickly, her eyes wide with alarm. “Not in front of the children.” Kelita’s words brought Kadmiel back from the edge.

    He glanced at the terrified expressions of the twins, their wide eyes filled with fear. Slowly, with a grunt of disgust, Kadmiel released the man, who stumbled back, gasping for air. 

    The woman rushed to her partner’s side, her face pale.“You are lucky my sister stopped me,” Kadmiel said coldly, his eyes still burning with rage. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

    The couple did not need to be told twice. With shaking limbs, they scrambled to their feet and fled, stumbling over themselves in their panic.

   The moment they were gone, Kadmiel knelt back down in front of the twins. “It is okay now,” he murmured, his voice softening. “They will not hurt you anymore.”

   The little girl wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked up at him with gratitude. “Thank you, sir,” she whispered, her small voice barely audible.

    But the boy, he was not that quick to trust. His guarded expression told Kadmiel everything. The boy had seen too much, endured too much, to trust so easily.

   The silence stretched until the boy spoke, his voice quiet but steady. “My Mom… sometimes, she takes out a picture of someone,” he said slowly, watching Kadmiel with cautious eyes.

   “She cries when she looks at it. I think… I think it is our dad.” His small hand trembled as he clutched his sister’s. “She says he’s a hero.”

   Kadmiel’s heart twisted painfully in his chest. A hero? He had been anything but that. He had been absent. He had been ignorant.

   He had failed everyone, especially them. But before he could speak, before he could find the right words to explain, a striking figure appeared in the distance.

    A woman.Her movements were hurried, and as she came closer, Kadmiel’s breath caught in his throat.

   It was Leah.But she was a shadow of the woman he remembered. Her hair, once vibrant, hung limply around her face. 

    There were dark circles under her eyes, and the weight of the world seemed to rest on her shoulders. She looked worn, exhausted, like someone who had been fighting battles alone for too long.

    “Where are they?!” Leah’s voice broke the silence as she rushed toward the twins. Her eyes were wild with fear, searching desperately until they landed on her children.

    “Mama!” the little girl cried, running to her mother’s loving arms. Leah dropped to her knees, pulling both children close to her chest, her entire body shaking with relief.

    Kadmiel stood there, frozen. His mind raced, trying to recognize the woman before him with the woman he had known. 

    How had things gotten so bad? How had she ended up like this?And then Leah looked up. Her eyes met Kadmiel’s, and for a moment, everything stood still.

    Recognition flickered in her gaze, followed by something darker. Something deeper. Resentment.

   Without warning, Leah stood, crossing the distance between them in a few quick steps. And before Kadmiel could even process what was happening, her hand came down hard across his face.

   The sound of the slap echoed in the air.“You,” she spat, her voice trembling with rage. 

   “How dare you show your face after all this time?”Kadmiel’s face stung from the blow, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest. 

    He did not move, neither did he flinch. He simply stood there, taking her anger, knowing that he deserved every ounce of it.

    “I did not know,” he said quietly. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried all the weight of his regret. “I swear I did not know about them, Leah. If I had known,”

   “You did not know?” Leah’s voice was bitter, filled with years of pent-up hurt.

     “You did not know because you did not care. One night. That’s all we had, and then you disappeared, I regret not getting that compensation, I regret knowing you Kadmiel.” Her words cut deep.

     Kadmiel opened his mouth to respond, but the words caught in his throat. 

   What could he possibly say to make this right?Leah pulled the twins closer, shielding them with her body, as if Kadmiel were the enemy.

    “You want to make up for it now? After all these years? Do you have any idea what I have been through? Everything I have suffered, the pain, the torture and the humiliation?” she scoffed, her eyes flashing with anger.

     “Well, it’s too late. They do not need you. We do not need you.”

   “I want to be part of their lives,” Kadmiel said, his voice shaking slightly with the weight of his guilt. “I want to make things right.”

   But Leah’s response was swift, and final.“No,” she said firmly. 

   “You do not get to walk back into our lives just because you feel guilty now. Stay away from us, Kadmiel.”

   And with that, Leah turned, taking the twins with her. Kadmiel stood there, watching as they walked away, his heart heavy with the knowledge that he might have just lost the only family he had left.