Chapter 22

Julian gazed at the house in front of him. The very house which he grew in. The very house that held memories. Some good and mostly bad. It hadn't undergone much changes. There were lots of leaves gathered in the front porch. The window on the upper left had tiny cracks. The painting had peeled off and the wooden door had some holes. As he walked towards the door, he hoped at least the doorbell was still functioning. As he pressed it and heard a ringing sound within the house, he sighed in relief. Five minutes later, the door was still unanswered. Julian groaned in anger and pressed the doorbell again. The ringing sound was heard again within the house. "Hold on, I'm coming." A gruff voice was heard within. Seconds later, Julian heard shuffling of feet and then the door was opened by a man with a grumpy appearance. Julian scowled in return. The man was about few inches shorter than him. He had black hair with the sides of it showing grey. He had dark facial hair and his dull green eyes contrasted with Julian's sharp ones. His tank top revealed stocky hairy arms and hugged his barely large gut. On seeing Julian, a look of surprise appeared on the man's face. "Julian?" He voiced out. "Hello, Father." Julian muttered. Without a further word, he walked into the house past his father who was still in surprise. Julian raised his eyebrows at the state of the living room. It was in disarray. There were bottles lying around. Lots of papers were scattered across the living room. His father closed the door and faced him. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Julian gazed at him with a hardened expression. Seeing his father again was not what he could count as the greatest moments of his life. "I came for the sword," He replied. "Is it still in the basement?" Sergio Fernandez stared at his son in utter disbelief. "Are you insane?!" He roared. "After ten years of no contact, this is what you ask? How dare you?" Julian scoffed. That confirmed the answer. The sword was still in the basement. He shook his head and began to walk away. "I don't have time for this." He muttered under his breath. "Don't you dare walk away from me, young man!" His father bellowed behind him. "I'm getting the sword." Julian replied without turning around. "Don't you dare disobey me," Sergio warned. "I forbade you-" "You forbade me from a lot of things!" Julian roared, turning around. Sergio was taking aback by the look of pure rage on his son's face. For a moment, the young man standing in front of him was a complete stranger. "You forbade me from having a life," Julian growled. He walked slowly towards his father. Sergio took some steps back. Julian stopped few inches away from him "You turned me into a social misfit. You forbade me from ever having fun," Julian continued. " You forbade me from ever having happiness. You forbade me from having someone I could truly call a father!" Sergio became sullen as his son's words cut deep into his heart. They stung him severely. He stared at the floor,avoiding his son's eyes. "And all because you blamed me for causing my mother's death," Julian said. "A mother I never even knew. You always forced it into my memory. Claiming my birth was the cause of her death. Then what happens next? You take me to her grave every year on the anniversary of her death and put me on a guilt trip. You made me stare at her gravestone by force. Because of that, I had nightmares. Nightmares that haunted me for fifteen years. And now I've lost the only two people who ever cared about me. One is dead and the other is in danger. I could list the other damages you caused in my life.I could stay here all day and bicker with you. But not anymore. Never again. I'm not that Julian anymore.There are more important things at stake." Sergio opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. "Of course," Julian replied. "What was I expecting?" Julian snorted in disgust and made his way out of the living room, down to the basement. The large wooden box stood by the corner. Julian marvelled at the sight of it. It had been like that when he left the house years ago. And now, he still met it in the same spot. It had accumulated a lot of dust over the years. Julian opened it. The sword lay inside. Taking it out of the box, he examined it. Aside from a few specks of dust,It looked brand new. On getting to the living room, Julian met his father seated with a sullen expression on his face. Sergio turned to him and their eyes met. One reflecting regret and the other reflecting anger. Sergio opened his mouth to talk again but no words could still come out. Julian shook his head. "Goodbye, Father." He muttered as he walked briskly out of the house. Outside the house, Julian gripped the sword tightly by the handle and a very angry look appeared on his face. This was time for battle. A fight to the death. $Chapter