The Donor (One-short)

“Desire, isn’t it the most dangerous thing in the world? For desires, wars occur. Because of him, marital conflicts, and stealings ensue. Saying about desire, Edward, haven’t you got pretty much troubles after hanging around with two girlfriends?”

After William’s words, the mendicants burst into laughter. The person, Edward, minded not and joined the laughing assembly. This even put a smile on Jacob, the child of William. Jacob’s twin sister, Dahlia, was still in her sleep. William continued by saying,

“All of our everyday conflicts arise from desire. So, to reduce desire, let us meditate,”

Jacob’s manners once again turned back to boredom. All of his father’s words reached this destination in the end. How boring? Jacob began hating meditation.

William Darrok was a prominent meditation couch. After learning philosophy and Gandhari acts at Himalyans, he founded meditation centers around the United States and preached his Dharma, his philosophy. With a handsome look and Charisma, and by the blessings of his deep and strong voice, it wasn’t hard for him to attract people to his Dharma. Unlike old and boring gurus, William also possessed a sense of humor. His voice and speech allured the masses to his lectures.

People of all ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic statuses joined his Dharma communities. Most of them were the hopeless or the ones who had experienced loss in their lives. They said William’s preachings became their hope and guided them to accept the loss. He was, indeed, a Guru for them. William called his group as rehabilitation. Most of the time, William listened to his people, allowing them to talk about their losses. And he later counseled them. This made him a “good speaker,” even though he spoke less and listened more.

Most of Willaim’s preaching centered on reducing the desire. He encouraged his attendees to become the desireless ones. By letting all the passion out, one can become the most revered, he preached.

As per his words, William, too, tried to live with lesser desires. He had been in a marriage before. After the birth of twin children, Jacob and Dahlia, his wife had an affair with another person. William forgave the unfaithful companion, allowed her to get a divorce, and even helped her to marry the cheater.

For his attendees at the meditation center, he was a guru but for the family members of the attendees, William was a dangerous person. William’s mendicants began having low desires and interacted less with their families. They gave their possessions away to charities without hesitation. These actions dreadfully impacted their business and the families who relied on them. The participants emptied their wallets by donating/supporting William’s centers. The relatives of William’s attendees prosecuted him and his center as being a cult.

When the authorities searched the centers, they could find neither the participants nor William. William and his faithful attendees had secretly moved to a thick forest. There, they coexisted with nature and reduced more desires.

Jacob felt a sense of boredom for living with his Guru father. Unlike normal children, he and Dahlia knew nothing about games or school, spending their lives sleeping, eating, and meditating with the white robe wearers. How dull? Every day seemed the same, in a repeating circle of boredom, lacking varieties. He was only seven when he arrived at this forest of misery. It had been ten years of living there. Jacob only had Dahlia as a playmate. The others from the camp were reluctant to talk about the outside world. They said that the outside of the compound was a miserable place filled with desires. Due to the lack of education, Jacob and Dahlia could neither write nor read, having zero knowledge about real life.

Once, the twins brought up a hungry cat as a pet, feeding it regularly and taking solicitous of it. One day, that cat had gone missing and the sibling went panicking. Upon reaching their father, they witnessed a gut-wrenching scenario.

William was feeding the cat to the owls. The scene stunned Jacob and made Dahlia collapse to the ground. Utterly, he screamed,

“Dad… Our cat,”

Calmingly, William spoke, “Oh, the owls wanted it as a pray, so I gave them the cat,” How could he be pacific at this gorey scene?

“But we had been keeping it,”

“Silence! Have I not told you to live without attachments and desires? You have been clinging to the creature, so I gave it away. If the cat was a filling meal for the owls, would it be my donation? You should be thankful for my deed,”

Jacob could not understand his father anymore. There were tons of meat in the storage house. He could have donated them if he wanted. Undeniably, William did this on purpose. His father’s action had shaken Jacob to the bones. How did he consider them? Had he regarded them as a donation, too?

A month later,

Heavy-minded Danial Darrock drove his car fast. He was worried about the twin nephew and niece. William and Danial were siblings. Being audacious youths, the duo journeyed to the Himalayas, taking photographs of the snowy Alps. It wasn't until they got lost that they met with a group of Gandhari yogis. The brother lived with them for three months and learned the Gandhari acts from the ascetics.

When they finally arrived back in the United States, Danial, the younger, lived a bohemian life by showing off the photos he shot at art galleries and taking part in a circus as a magician, using his Gandhari magics. Meanwhile, his brother was opening meditation centers. Daniel dissented from William’s Dharma but didn’t stop him. Later, when he tried to persuade William as he had turned extreme, it was too late.

Knowing his brother had fled to a forest, he searched him at his might. It was due to the safety of the twins rather than his brotherhood bond that encouraged Daniel to search for William. Now, he had known the precise location of William and his cult, so he was on his way to take the twins with him. Coincidentally, that day was also the twins’ birthday.

William’s dwelling was a giant camp in a forest built for easy relocation. At the camp, every member wore white clothes and had a smiling face. But when Daniel’s Vehicle approached, their expression shifted. They seemed to be unwelcome towards a forty-year-old, Jeap-driving driving stranger. Disregarding their disapproval, Daniel shouted,

“Where’s that a**hole William?”

Hearing a rude calling to their Guru, the member's expressions swapped into anger. Calmly, William came out and said,

“That’s my brother, Daniel. We need some personal talks. Please, back off,” So, the member reluctantly departed. When Willaim asked, “What’s the matter of you coming here?” Daniel answered,

“William, whether you wanted to be like Jim Jones or a cultist, Please keep the children away from your craps. Allow me to take the custody of Jacob and Dahlia. I can provide them with a better education and an academic future in Newyork,”

“Silent! I raised my children not to take them to your miserable realm of humans,”

“How funny is to see a non-attaching guru attaching his children,”

“My Children are my own. It is I who will decide what they will become,”

“You deserve no nice talk,”

Daniel invoked a binding mantra, and iron chains appeared around William. William snapped, and the chains were transported back to Daniel, binding him. The bounds became hotter.

“Daniel… Daniel, you used the act of Gandharis only for entertainment in circuses. Remember this. The lesser my desire, the more powerful I become. With no desire nor attachment, I will be the most revered,” William said and released Daniel from the chains.

With his might, Daniel stood up and attacked William using his geokinesis (earth-controlling) power. But William covered with his hand and sent a wave back to Daniel. Both Daniel and the ground above him were knocked out by the striking waves. Knowing he could not win his brother, Daniel got up quickly, ran inside his car, and drove fast. William stopped his furious disciples from trying to stop the jeep and allowed Daniel to go.

Jacob saw this event till the end. Adding to his prior fright of his father, this made him view William as an evil mage. So, he decided to run away that night.

…

During his father Dharma’s lecture that night, Jacob grabbed his sister’s hand and went outside the camp quietly. Dahlia was a bit hesitant, not knowing what was happening.

“Father is an evil wizard. I’ve seen him fighting a man,” Jacob briefly explained, but Dahlia was still frightened. Jacob added,

“Didn’t you see what he had done to our cat? What if he was thinking to do us the same, to donate?” His words softened Dahlia’s heart to leave.

Unbeknownst to where to go, they ran aimlessly into the woods. The moonless night was dark. The hounds and wolves were howling. A group of ravens seemed to be chasing the twins. Croaks and caws irritated their hearings.

“Where do we go now?” Dahlia asked dauntingly.

“We have an uncle named Daniel in New York. We shall go to him,” Jacob said to relieve Dahlia. But in fact, he didn’t know where Daniel lived or what even was “New York” he meant,”

The woods went deeper, and the cawing became noisier. Amidst the cawing, Jacob heard the sounds of boots. He told his sister to hide behind the bushes but was too late. Jacob felt like his head had burnt, and everything turned into darkness.

…

William dragged the unconscious children to a vast field. How could so many obstacles come on the day of his great plan? What a bummer. First, William appeared, then, the children tried to escape. How bustling? No, No. The donations must be started. The acceptor has to be invited.

“Valravn, valravn. It is time now!”

The croaks and caws got louder, and the wind blew faster. A raven on a branch landed lower. After his descent, the raven form disappeared, turning into a humanoid feathered being with sharp claws and a raven’s beak. He stood more than 7 feet high on the ground. Valravn, he was. The slayer raven, the cursed one.

“William, thou art the most vulnerable donor, the dared desireless, the one who abandoned thy children,” Valravn’s voice echoed repeatedly.

“My children are my possessions. That’s why I have decided to donate them to you since the day you asked for nine years ago. May this be a support on my path to becoming the unattached one,”

“So shall it be, William Darrock. I will help ye to attain enlightenment and accept thy offering,”

Slowly, Valravn approached, holding his claws upright. Jacob was drowsy but awakened at that time. He had heard his father’s words. Jacob disgusted his father for using them for his own so-called “Enlightenment” thing. He made no struggle as the bird demon approached for he thought that his life was better to be ended, feeling sorry for her sister.

“Shree…”

A miracle had occurred. Between the children and the demon, a portal appeared. Adorned in golden armor and a red cape, a twelve-year-old boy came out of the portal and abruptly struck forth Valravn with the sword he held. Adorned in a halo, the boy had a divine presence, For it was sudden, and the slayer demon could resist not a bit. And the valiant boy sword’s cut the hellbound’s head from its neck. The demon fell and ended at the spot.

“You, obstacle! You had destroyed my offering!” William shouted derangedly with visible veins on his face.

“Have you gone insane? Valravn is a demon desiring to eat children’s hearts to break his curse. How could you hand your children to this hellbound? Do you not know that he would be more destructive if the curse was lifted?” The boy replied in a loud yet overwhelming voice.

William was outraged and began attacking the boy with his sorcery. But, the boy cared not the moderate mage for he could destroy William’s runes in one swing of the sword.

“For enlightenment, I will renounce my children to become the great don…”

William could not end his words as the boy’s sword pierced his throat. As the boy pulled his sword up, William’s head was halved.

“You menaced your children for your enlightenment. How selfish? After getting it, How would you save the world if you could not save your own offspring? How will you end other’s suffering?” The boy said and kicked William’s body into a cliff.

He turned back to the children. His golden armor and sword disappeared and changed his ornaments black.

“I know you are awake. Please, get up,” He called Jacob, and Jacob hugged the boy’s leg.

“Thank you for that,” The boy had been sorrowed as he had killed Jacob’s father but Jacob’s sudden thank made him feel more sad.

“No need. Now, get up,” he said and helped Jacob to stand.

“Has not your sister awakened, right?”

“Yes,”

“Come, let us pull her up. I will take you two to your uncle,”

And thus, the children walked under the morning sunshine.

.........

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