129 A much needed apology
However, I shook my head and responded, “I am heading to the village chief’s compound to ask about my gift, so I can’t wait here much longer.”
“Please…” He suddenly added, his eyes wide and desperate, his voice laced with desperation as saliva went down his throat.
Suddenly, the winds around me picked up and I looked upwards to see Ursa rising into the sky with a smile towards me. “I’ll give you guys some space. Besides, I don’t think I can trek home today after that intense fight,” she said, looking at us both with a calm expression on her face. She then flicked her hand forward, and shot forward with incredible speed, leaving behind a gust of wind that stung my eyes and ruffled my hair.
“Great,” I muttered under my breath in disappointment. I had planned to escort Ursa home after visiting the village chief, but now it seemed like that plan was in jeopardy. Nevertheless, since Gorg wanted to talk to me privately, I hoped that it would be worth the delay. I looked up at him and asked, “What is it that you want to talk about?”. He gestured for us to continue walking forward before responding, “It’s about the truth concerning your incident that I told you last time.” We walked shoulder to shoulder, and he continued, “You see, I decided to tell my parents everything, and they confronted my sister about it.” He let out a tired sigh. “Although they were angry with me too, they couldn’t report the matter to the village chief and risk her getting severe punished. So they decided to punish her themselves with me too.”
As I listened to him speak, I couldn’t help but nod my head in understanding, since this was a good way of showing his sincerity to the former Orion who had passed away. However, despite his efforts, I knew deep down that my indifference was palpable. As long as he stayed out of my affairs, I couldn’t care less about his.
“I think it’s good that you are taking responsibility for your actions,” I said flatly, trying to mask my lack of interest. “But I can’t help but wonder, why are you telling me all this?”
A sense of defeat seemed to wash over him as his shoulders slumped and he responded with a deflated tone. “It’s because my mother and father want to visit your family and offer an apology,” he explained. “Once they learned the truth of what happened, their guilt became even more worst and they want to make things right.”
Turning to face me, he continued, “They’ve asked me to inform you that they’ll be coming to your hut by the end of the week.”
After I listened to Gorg’s words, I couldn’t help but be impressed by his family’s willingness to resolve the issue and prevent any unnecessary conflicts. After all, I had half-expected them to brush the matter under the rug and pretend as though nothing had ever happened. But to my surprise, they were taking a proactive approach to the situation.
However, there were still so many people who were unaware of what had really happened, including my own family, especially my mother. I knew all too well how hot-headed she could be, and just the thought of telling her the truth made my head ache.
So, despite his eagerness for a response, I paused before speaking. “Although I have already put everything behind me and do not hold anyone else responsible but myself,” I began. He attempted to interrupt, but I quickly cut him off and continued, “That doesn’t mean my family, especially my mother, will feel the same way when I inform her of the reason for your visit.”
Gorg let out a loud, exasperated sigh before he spoke. “My mother anticipated that, which is why she’s preparing some gifts for your family as a peace offering,” he explained. “My sister and I will be covering most of the expenses, considering the situation could have taken a turn for the worse and resulted in you losing your life.”
Gorg’s words left me lost in thought, a pensive expression clouding my face. My gut told me that he was speaking the truth – there was no need for him to lie, unless he was looking to stir up more trouble. Also, I saw no reason to reject their apology, especially if they were bringing gifts as a gesture of sincerity.
“Okay, I’ll consider it,” I said, “but you need to understand that there’s a high chance that things may not go as planned, and the situation might even worsen.”
Gorg’s face drained of colour, and he swallowed hard before responding with feigned confidence, “We understand, and we’re prepared to face the consequences.”
I would have given him a quick once-over if it weren’t for the fact he was standing there completely naked. Instead, I settled for nodding in response and saying, “I’ll let you know how everything turns out.”
ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm
With that out of the way, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of curiosity about the gift he had awakened. “Anyway,” I said, my voice laced with curiosity, “what kind of gift did you awaken?” I still wasn’t entirely sure what his gift was capable of, other than stripping our tulgas of their threads.
Gorg suddenly spoke up with more energy than before. “I’m not sure, but I think my gift has something to do with making threads and fabrics,” he said.
“Threads and fabrics,” I repeated, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
Gorg nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I feel like I can control the tulga you’re wearing. Which means that my gift should be related to making or controlling fabrics, but I’m not certain. I’ll conduct some tests today and tell you what I discover tomorrow.”
“Alright,” I replied, intrigued by the possibilities of his gift.
But before I could ask him any more questions, Gorg turned the conversation back to me. He asked what I had been up to since regaining my memories and delved into various other topics. I answered his questions as best I could, but left out certain details—especially those about my recent sexual adventures, which I preferred to keep to myself.