Chapter 3 A LIABILITY!

ASHINA'S POV

“What's going on darling?”  A raspy, gravelly, panting baritone voice, called out from the entrance of my room. His voice was a voice that spoke of countless battles, a voice that had seen too much and lived to tell the tale. His words were usually heavy with experience, each syllable tinged with a gruffness that belies a life spent in conflict. There was usually a world-weariness in his tone, a deep-seated resignation that comes from having seen the worst that life had to offer. His voice was a faded echo of the young man he once was, but it still carried a strength and presence that commands respect and attention.

That was my dad!

he came into my room, panting with his right hand placed on his chest as if he was trying to catch his breath.

My dad was the first to run to my rescue, he has always been the first to save me from troubles. Maybe because he was a werewolf warrior or maybe because I was his only child.

“Dad I can't seem to move my legs,and they look weak” I winced, my hands still holding on to my legs.

Before I could blink,my dad was already by my side,he looked worried, worried than I was.

My dad was my superhero, he was always available whenever I needed him, always right on time.

As I said earlier, maybe because he had fought so many battles that was why he  always stayed alert.

As he got close to where I sat, he tapped my legs with his palm and asked if I felt anything, I said no because I didn't. He increased the pressure, yet I felt nothing.

I watched my dad drop my legs, he was in pain and he couldn't hide it. His expression told me that all wasn't well.

He moved to where I laid my head, he sat there and placed my head on his thighs as he rubbed my hair.

I knew my dad had a lot to say but didn't know where to start from.

“Dad, am I okay?” My voice was cracky and tears had clouded my eyes.

At age Five, I didn't know what could be the worst thing that would happen to me, I was still a naive little she-wolf that needed her parents by her side at all times.

But one thing I knew I did love most, was to go out and play with my friends,and I do this everyday.

“You are fine baby”  Mmmm… my dad …. My dad wrapped his hands around me and cuddled me. His grip was strong and I realized he found it difficult to complete a single sentence, when he tried speaking.

With the way my dad was reacting, I didn't want any soothsayer to tell me something was wrong, because I felt it. I knew all wasn't well. Dad’s body language said it all. But then I didn't suspect a thing, I didn't know exactly what was wrong.

“What's going on here? Baby I heard you call me. I'm sorry I was trying to wrap up what I was doing”

That voice came from the door, so  I tilted my head to the direction of the door,adjusting it from my dad's cuddle, to see who it was.

I watched her walk in, in her usual carefree manner. I watched her curved slender frame, as she walked into the room, those curves were in the right places. My friend usually says I look exactly like her, but I didn't believe that because she has icy blue eyes while I don't.

Her skin is fair and luminous, like porcelain,touched with the faintest blush of pink. Her eyes were bright and clear as a mountain stream and they danced with a mischievous sparkle that hints at her playful nature.

My mom's presence radiates a sense of energy and Vitality,she usually moves with a symphony of grace and fluidity. Her smile is usually bright and genuine, her laugh like the tinkling of bells.

“What's going on?” She questioned again because no one gave her an answer when she asked initially.

Surprisingly she didn't look worried or shocked, she wore this beaming smile on her face, that back then I thought it was just her usual look and she acted that way because she didn't know what was going on at the time.

“Phoebe, Ashina won't be able to walk again” my dad wailed.

His cries alone, pierced through my skin, his declaration hits like a dagger in my bones. My hands trembled, I couldn't lift them.

No they didn't get paralyzed, the reaction was just as a result of my fears. Everything that happened that morning destabilized me.

“Wha …. Wha…. Dad, what do you mean?”

The pains I felt that day were sharp, it had this shooting sensation that stabbed through my body and it was burning in me too.

Looking back on that time, I remember how much the pain lingered and wouldn't go away, a pain that still makes me cry today.

It was a burden, that I knew won't be lifted anytime soon.

“Hey shuush …… honey you will be fine, please ignore your dad okay? …..  I'm sure it's just your bone trying to get used to carrying your body, it's part of growth dear. Don't worry with time, you'll be able to walk again”

Mom's encouraging words were like water poured on the back of a chicken. None of it had any impact on me.

I knew my mom, she doesn't take things seriously, believing in negativity was one thing I knew she never did.

Even if something really bad was proudly glittering in front of her and glaring straight into her eyes, she would always end it with this phrase. ‘it's nothing serious’.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't have hope that I would be alright in the long run.

Remember my mom said It was just a matter of time. I just wasn't sure that time would come soon.

I couldn't believe that I won't be able to go out and join my friends again, I won't be able to leave the house generally because I would be embarrassed and my parents would be too, especially my mom.

My life changed at that instant, right in front of me. That moment I knew I won't be the carefree, lively, playful werewolf I used to be.

Just like the flash of light, everything about me turned around, it turned for the worse.

Hahaha …… It hurt so much,that for a few  “periods of time” as my mom claimed, which back then I found it difficult to believe her.

I would become a liability!