Chapter 80
Rain tapped softly against the wooden roof.
Steady.
Unending.
Like time itself refusing to move forward.
---
Inside the small house, a bowl of cold food sat untouched near the wall.
Steam long gone.
Life unchanged.
---
Tayo sat by the window.
Same place.
Same silence.
Same empty gaze fixed outside.
A child laughed somewhere far away.
It felt like it belonged to another world.
---
His mother stood near the doorway, watching him.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Like approaching something that might break.
She took a breath.
Then stepped inside.
---
Mother: "Tayo…"
No response.
Not even a flicker.
---
She walked closer and gently placed a bowl beside him.
Softly.
Mother: "Eat something."
Clink.
The spoon touched the bowl—too loud in the silence.
Tayo didn't move.
---
A long pause.
Only the rain answered.
---
Mother lowered herself beside him, not forcing, just staying close.
Mother: "It's been a month."
Silence.
---
Mother: "You haven't said a single word to me."
Still nothing.
But she kept watching.
His eyes were open.
Yet not alive.
Just present.
---
Mother: "Tayo…"
A small change.
His fingers tightened slightly in his sleeve.
She noticed immediately.
---
Mother: "What are you thinking?"
Silence stretched again.
Heavy. Thick.
---
Tayo finally spoke.
Low.
Flat.
Tayo: "…I don't want to."
His mother blinked.
Mother: "Don't say that."
---
He slowly turned his head.
Not fully.
Just enough to look at her.
Tayo: "I don't want to talk to you."
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Mother: "…What?"
---
Tayo: "I don't want to stay here."
Her breath caught.
Mother: "Tayo, listen—"
---
Tayo: "I said I don't want to stay with you."
That line hit harder than anything before it.
Not anger.
Not rebellion.
Something breaking cleanly.
---
Mother: "You don't mean that."
Tayo: "I do."
Silence.
---
Then his voice sharpened.
Tayo: "You could have saved him."
Her eyes widened.
Mother: "…No."
Tayo: "You can heal people. You're strong."
His voice rose.
Tayo: "You're a Justice Worshipper!"
---
He stood slightly.
Hands trembling.
Tayo: "So why didn't you save him?!"
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Silence cracked open between them.
---
Mother: "It wasn't possible!"
Her voice rose too.
Mother: "That thing was beyond anything we could handle!"
---
Tayo: "Liar!"
---
Tayo stepped forward.
Trembling.
Tayo: "He was still fighting!"
Mother: "He was going to die!"
---
Tayo: "SO WHAT?!"
His voice broke.
Tayo: "You let him die!"
---
Silence fell again.
Heavy. Crushing.
---
Mother stepped closer, shaking.
Mother: "I didn't let him die…"
Her voice cracked.
Mother: "I chose to save YOU."
---
That stopped him for a moment.
But grief twisted quickly into rage again.
---
Tayo: "Then you chose wrong."
---
Silence shattered completely.
Her breathing turned uneven.
Mother: "…Stop saying that."
---
Tayo: "It's true."
---
Mother: "STOP."
Her voice filled the room.
---
Tayo didn't move.
Just stared at her.
Then quietly:
Tayo: "…If you were so strong…"
A pause.
Tayo: "…you could have done both."
---
That broke something inside her.
---
Mother: "No…"
Her voice dropped.
Mother: "No, Tayo."
She stepped closer.
---
Mother: "Strength doesn't work like that."
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Tayo: "Stop lying!"
Tears finally forming in his eyes.
Tayo: "You killed my dad!"
---
Silence.
---
Her hands trembled violently.
Then softly:
Mother: "I tried to save everyone…"
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Tayo: "You didn't try hard enough."
---
Something inside her snapped.
Her hand moved before she fully realized it.
SLAP—
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The sound echoed through the house.
---
Silence froze.
---
Tayo's head turned slightly from the impact.
But not in pain.
Not in shock.
Just emptiness widening further.
---
His mother froze instantly.
Her hand still raised.
Trembling.
Mother: "…Tayo…"
---
Mother: "…I'm sorry."
---
Tayo slowly turned back toward her.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just hollow stillness.
---
Tayo: "…You hit me."
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Mother: "I didn't mean—"
Tayo: "You did."
---
A pause.
His shoulders slowly dropped.
Like something inside him stopped resisting.
---
Tayo: "…You're just like the rest of them."
---
That shattered her completely.
Mother: "No…"
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He turned away again.
Walking back to the window.
---
Tayo: "Leave me alone."
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Silence.
---
She stood there, frozen.
Then slowly sat down again.
Not leaving.
Just breaking quietly beside him.
---
Minutes passed.
Only the rain moved.
---
Then softly:
Mother: "…I'm sorry."
No answer.
---
Mother: "…I wanted to save him too."
Silence.
---
Mother: "I couldn't."
---
Tayo's fingers tightened slightly.
But he didn't turn.
---
Mother exhaled shakily.
Then added:
Mother: "…I'm sorry, Tayo."
---
Silence stretched.
Not healed.
Just exhausted.
---
Tayo's eyes finally filled with tears.
They fell silently.
No sound.
No movement.
Just grief spilling out in silence.
---
Then, carefully…
His mother moved closer and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
---
She didn't fix anything.
She didn't explain anything.
She just stayed.
Trembling.
Crying.
---
Mother: "…I'm sorry…"
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And for the first time in a month—
the silence between them finally broke.
Not with answers.
But with shared pain.
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CHAPTER 80ENDS...