Indigo under the Spring Sun

A Story by Thalassa

Will he become one of them?

The home that he once sought daylight from was now ablaze. The soil crumbled in turmoil and ashes as the combustion slowly seeped in the roots of the plants. Every branch from trees that he used to sing hymns to, corroded in its brittleness. The grass transformed into powder that emitted soot and contributed to the surrounding smoke that concealed the purity the forest had. Particles of ember remained from the rapid spreading of heat that he felt under the soles of his feet. Trunks met with a violent fall, leaves burned within half a second, and he was too paralyzed to move. His eyes reflected the horror of the fire as he heard the crackling sounds that grew deafening. As he sat down on the ground and put his hands over his chest, he whispered “I am not home.” He continued to do so until the roof of the hut fell upon him that bolstered his spiralled thoughts back from the spring of 1500.

The spring sun radiated the allure of the forest. The birds and crickets chirped in chorus along the river banks as Indigo basked by the maidenhair tree that he found solace from. With each flick of his quill on the vellum that he collected from the day before, his jagged writing emanated his thoughts.

“What are you doing out here? Father needs you by the farm.” A voice of brusque manner rang in Indigo’s ears. It was Soesh, his older brother. Soesh embodied strong features and always carried an axe with him as he was tasked along with other men to chop the trunks of trees for hardwood and sustenance of materials for architecture.

Indigo clumsily hid the vellum beneath the pile of leaves that he prepared earlier that day, along with the quill that he used for writing.

“Sorry, I was just admiring the river.” He stood up from the position that he took by the maidenhair tree and approached Soesh.

“Work harder, less admiring. Can you do that?” Soesh clicked his tongue and hit the nape of Indigo. “This is why father is very disappointed in you.” He went ahead of Indigo and disappeared deeper into the forest. Indigo followed the trail back to the village.

The village of Sionvi was filled to the brim with multiple sources of livelihood such as agriculture, fishing, and hunting. Since the village was situated in a certain area of the forest, everyone knew each other’s family histories and even secrets. They lived under the belief of the prophecies which they were faithful to. Each family had their own prophecy and destiny to meet. Aside from this, they are all related through the bond of distant relatives because they knew that they must rely on each other in order to birth the continuous existence of their tribe. Aside from the unique basis of marriage and apparent familial ties between one another, another fascinating aspect of the village was its system of politics. Ever since the early years of the village formation, there has only been one family that ruled the community. This was the Lide family. According to the oral tradition and stories of the oldest people of the village, they were the chosen ones who were given the responsibility to look after the forest. It is through this that Orocc Lide, the eldest grandson of Chief Lide, was prophesied to gain dominion over everyone. Every other family was to be unspoken of. In Indigo’s case, his family was known to be the best of farmers. It was through agriculture that the Flauto clan became recognized. Amidst this, their family earned the least of funds from their crops due to their struggle within the oligopoly of the village. Their neighbors feasted on their regression which attracted abuse and oppression from other people; namely, the Lide clan. Indigo was taught to bow his head whenever he walked past the Lides, and he was taught to follow the orders of other people; in fear of being left out. His father could not bear to see his children under this kind of circumstance but one day, he knew that they would have their opportunity to control.

Indigo arrived at their hut and approached his mother who was hanging clothes and drying collected vellium.

“Your father is waiting for you by the barley.” His mother informed him.

“Mother..have you ever thought of leaving the village?” Indigo whispered.

She stopped in her tracks of transferring clothes from baskets and veered away from the clothesline.

“Are you thinking of leaving the village?” She asked him even though she knew his answer already.

“I just feel like this village isn’t my home. I can never call it a home.” He spoke gently.

“I just want to live my life without having to follow people or even sell myself to them as if I was a leaf.” His eyes welled up as he looked away from his mother.

His mother slowly walked towards him and gently rubbed his back.

“Indigo, you know that the prophecy must be fulfilled. We were meant to live like this.” His mother hushed him down.

“If this is what living is like, then I don’t want to live anymore.” He walked away from his mother and proceeded on the trail towards the land of barley that his father tilled.

Indigo believed that life was full of reflections. He saw himself in each person that he met, no matter how much he despised them. What he found fascinating was that no matter how much he tried to look away, he always saw himself in front of himself.

“Deep in thought?” The infamous Orocc Lide approached him.

“Oh hey, I thought you were at the assembly hut of the leaders?” Indigo asked with the least of enthusiasm.

“Our meeting was postponed. The fishermen had to pull the leaders towards the river because they found something.” Orocc stared at his feet.

“Anyway, you told me you would read your proverb to me.” Orocc pouted.

“I honestly don’t know if you truly are a Lide.” Indigo looked at him in disbelief.

Orocc shrugged it off and continued saying, “Can you not consider me as my father’s son for even just a second?”

“I can’t. Even though you’re the only one who understands me, I can’t just not look at you without disdain.” Indigo sped in walking, and left Orocc behind.

The sun began to set and the crops prepared themselves for slumber. Jean Flauto, Indigo’s father, sat in solitude as he observed his crops. Fatigue was evident in his stature as he nudged his head towards the pillar of the fence and continued whispering inaudibly.

“Father.” Indigo bent down to meet his father’s cheek and kissed it.

“What took you long son?” He adjusted his position to his comfort.

“I just had a talk with mother.” Indigo noticed that the crops were already tilled and that the lawn was cleanly mowed.

“Indigo, look at me.” His father held his cheek and caressed it.

Indigo’s eyes reflected nothingness and the death of his soul that his father long knew extinguished.

“I know what you’ve been doing with the vellium. I know why you go to the river banks each day.” He sternly stated.

“Son, you are a Flauto. You are the son of agricultural gods, and descent of the farmers that reaped the very soil that you’re standing on.” He justified.

“You are not what you put on those stupid velliums that don’t even fulfill the prophecy given to us. You are a shame to this family.” He violently removed his hand from his cheek and stood up from his position to look at him properly.

“What prophecy do I have to fulfill? Being tied to this destiny? Being tied to following orders all the time and not being able to stand up for myself? What are the odds that the gods approve my suffering? I thought they were supposed to aid what I want and not what hurts me.” Indigo emoted his open wounds of hurt to his father.

“You are not my son.” His father looked him in the eye and slowly walked towards their hut.

Indigo ran faster than his legs could carry him. He became one with the wind as each plant bowed towards his presence in each step. He gazed at the sky and followed the stars leading him north, not noticing the whispers and condemnatory eyes that chased him. He didn’t care whether the whole village saw that he was in pain because he knew that they wouldn’t figure him out.

He bumped into someone as he couldn’t see the shadow amidst his blurred vision because of his tears.

“Slow down what’s chasing you?” A low voice soothed Indigo’s quick breathing.

Indigo wiped his eyes with his sleeves and swallowed his saliva. He breathed deeply and opened his refreshed eyes.

“Life.” He blatantly replied.

“Let me guess. No one knows you?” He lit the torch that revealed the magnificent view of the river bank. Indigo wasn’t aware that his legs brought him back to the river.

“That you explained yourself but then you were rejected? Don’t worry bud, it happens all the time.” He fastened the thatches of his boat and rubbed his hands together to generate heat.

When he noticed that Indigo wasn’t saying anything, he turned to introduce himself.

“I’m Dwil by the way. Dwil Oarb.” He gestured his hand towards Indigo’s as a sign of camaraderie.

The Oarbs were the nomads of the village. They would sweep their boats from left to right of the river banks, and would come home with piles of fish to distribute within the village. Their prophecy was that their family would never stop moving between places, and so Dwil uses his boat to sail across the rivers in hopes of finding something that would make it worthwhile to live.

“Oarb? You’re part of the nomad tribe?” Indigo asked in curiosity.

“Yes. If you think that being a nomad will help you escape places, you’re far from the truth. I’ve never felt more trapped than ever.” Dwil laughed.

“But you get to transfer from place to place. Why isn’t there escape in that?” He began to become interested.

“I do get to transfer from one place to another, but the water always haunts me.” He proceeded to kneel and bend over to cup water in his hands and poured it on his face.

“How? It’s one of the best things in this world. I can’t imagine the world without water.” Indigo kneeled as well beside Dwill.

“You know the feeling of something following you? Something that can swallow you whole in any minute? You may feel that with love or any emotion, but I feel that with water.” Dwil stood up and sat down on his boat.

“That’s because you reflect what you fear whenever you look at water. The reason why it’s transparent is because it was made to project yourself in a perspective of the below.” Indigo changed from his kneeling position to a sitting one.

Dwil looked at Indigo in a way that was too mesmerized to even process a response back.

“You’re real. That’s why they don’t understand you.” Dwil stared at Indigo.

The journey back to the village was tiresome to say the least. Indigo was mentally drained with all the prophecies, truth, history, family, and seeking identity. He was unsure of what to do next and where to go next, but he was hopeful of life ever since he met Dwil.

“This is my hut. I better get inside the house of foreigners.” Indigo bantered.

“Well, you know where to find me.” Dwil waved and walked away from the hut.

As soon as Indigo got inside the hut, he didn’t know how to react when he saw Orocc with his family. They were seated in the middle of the hut, while his father stayed silent. His mother smiled at him and gestured for Indigo to take a seat beside him. Soesh was not with them.

“Come here my son.” His mother embraced him tightly.

“What’s all this about? What are you doing here?” He scowled at Orocc.

“Don’t worry. He’s here to actually help you out on farming!” She squealed.

“Shouldn’t I be bothered with that?” He frowned.

“I realized that you my friend, are too intelligent for your own good. So, I figured that you could be part of the leaders here in the village.” Orocc smiled.

Indigo knew that this was just nonsense.

“And you just come here saying that at such a random time? Why do you suddenly blurt that out?” He started becoming suspicious.

Orocc approached Indigo and patted him on the back while saying, “You have inspired me to create a welcoming village for us all. You start becoming a leader tomorrow.” He rose from his sitting position.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Orocc flashed a grin and left the hut.

“Isn’t that great son? You’ll become a leader!” His mother clapped.

Indigo knew that he wasn’t for leading at all.

The spring sun rose again as the clouds spread themselves across the sky. The birds chirped once again and the insects chirped along in chorus. It was a day of rebirth for Indigo.

Indigo walked towards the assembly hut in hopes of talking out of the responsibility that Orocc appointed him to.

The assembly hut was spacious. Different straws and hardwood were used for the structure of the hut that gave it a minimalistic yet raw design. The ground was covered with hardwood as well, making it a smooth surface to walk on. He never went inside the assembly hut for once in his life, so the opportunity that was given to him was truly memorable yet eerie for him. No one was in the assembly hut yet.

“You’re early.” Orocc suddenly emerged from one of the pillars of the hut.

“Look, Orocc. I don’t want to accept your offer. Pick someone else, I’ve got my hands full.” Indigo became uneasy.

“Hands full with what? Proverbs?” Orocc wiped the speck of dust from the pillar on which he leant on.

“No but�"”

“Your velliums disappeared. This morning, I walked towards the river bank and saw them gone.” Orocc looked at the ground.

“How did you know that I had my velliums by the river bank?” Indigo was confused.

“Remember when I told you that the fishermen spotted something by the river? They spotted the velliums with your writing.” He pursed his lips.

“Do you know what happens to people who are too intelligent for their own liking?” He slowly walked towards Indigo.

“You know, I’ve been observing you for months now. You keep continuing this damn facade of writing�"”

“It’s not a facade, it’s what I truly love. This prophecy of being abused is not where I want to end up in.” Indigo’s voice grew stronger.

“How can we deny fate? It’s what the gods have destined for you. Too bad they had a favorite.” Orocc pulled a knife from his pocket.

Indigo was aghast when he saw the knife that Orocc held and stepped backwards until his back met another person’s chest. As he turned his head, he saw the person he least expected to hit him with a hardwood; Dwil Oarb.

Indigo’s hands and feet were tied. His head was bleeding from the impact of the hardwood. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were plump. He didn’t know where he was and he didn’t know whom to call for. Being betrayed and beaten up several times were excruciation not only on the physical body, but on the mind as well. Several men came into the hut and beat him up again and again, without leaving mercy upon him. His teeth cracked, his eyes were beaten black and blue, his arms were close to tearing themselves off because of the impact of the wood and kicks, and his feet were bleeding from continuous stomping. He was nearly dead.

His clothes were tattered and he was losing his life, but as he tried focusing in the place he was in, he realized that he was at the supplies hut, near the assembly hut. Through the blood across his eyes, he tried looking for the oil and as soon as he spotted the lightweight pots, he crawled towards them. With the last ounce of energy that he had, he weakly nudged the pots using his knees. As the oil poured onto the ground, Dwil entered the hut.

“I’m surprised you still had the strength to push these pots.” He crouched down as his feet felt the viscous liquid.

“I’m surprised you betrayed me.” Indigo muffled but Dwil understood anyway.

“It’s all blind loyalty here Indigo. You need to serve in order to survive. My loyalty belongs to Orocc.” Dwil smiled.

He approached one of the pots by the door of the hut, grabbing two sticks.

“I’m doing both of us a favor. I believe that you can’t create fire for yourself, seeing your state right now.” He crouched again and began rubbing the sticks together.

“Here’s to you, the burnt out indigo.” He placed the sticks with fire on the ground and the whole hut began to turn in flames. Dwil stood up and took one last look at Indigo, and disappeared in the flames. Indigo choked on his own blood and as the flames continue to consume him, he was paralyzed in silence and happiness.

As he sat down on the ground and put his hands over his chest, he whispered “I am not home.” He continued to do so until the roof of the hut fell upon him, and upon his cracked skull, he finally understood his prophecy that he needed to die in order to understand the meaning of living.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think about it. I've always written stories with political nature, so it was fun for me to twist some words to create many symbolism like for example in their names.

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Reviews

Wathanya.5KY3

I love this little piece! Putting aside dialogue punctuation (which I've noticed that many people struggle with), everything was tantalizing, and the ending was superb.

It's rare that short stories evoke such intense emotions in people, but that's what yours did. Though I wasn't surprised that Dwil betrayed Indigo, the last paragraph gave me goosebumps.

Keep on writing; your stories are amazing.