Fahg the Headman stood up and announced in a loud voice:
Fahg: "The judgment is over, everyone get back to work!"
Then, turning to Neim and Duis, he commanded:
Fahg: "Wait here."
With that, he began walking toward the administration house.
Immediately after, Neim's family approached with disgust, while Duis's mother, her face full of sorrow, came to the seated children. Gelan, coming to stand beside her son, who sat in the right chair, spoke in a sad and worried tone:
Gelan: "I'm sorry they treat you like this, my son."
Duis quickly stood up from his seat and grasped his mother's hand—he had always felt sorrow for her. After his father's death, she had struggled under the weight of life, all while trying to console a son who was constantly ostracized. Dark circles marked her eyes, and her brown gaze was filled with affection because her son was the only thing she had. Her black hair, loosely braided, made it clear that she didn't care much about herself. If it weren't for the new dress her son had bought her, she would still be wearing torn clothes. It pained her to see her son working so hard for her, yet she was grateful that Neim was his only brother.
Neim and Duis were like two halves of a whole. Neim was good at speaking, always handling conversations on Duis's behalf, negotiating deals, and trying his best to teach Duis what to do when he wasn't around. But Duis always faltered. However, Duis could answer every thought that passed through Neim's mind without fail, helping Neim grow in his own way. Even so, Gelan wished Duis cared for himself as much as he cared for Neim and her, but it was in vain. Duis saw everything he did as repaying a debt to his mother. In her eyes, he was a child who, instead of saying thank you, expressed his gratitude through his actions.
Holding his mother's hand, Duis spoke firmly and in a low voice:
Duis: "You have no fault in this. Their crime is not thinking."
Gelan glanced at the burn scar on her son's right hand and gently brushed it with her thumb. Then, she smiled at him as if to say thank you. Mother and son then embraced tightly.
Just as Gelan arrived, Neim's family approached him, who sat in the left chair. His mother was the first to come.
She was somewhat plump, with blonde hair and green eyes. Neim's own eyes must have resembled hers. She looked at her son in such a way that Neim felt like filth. Her clothes were, of course, far finer than his.
As soon as she reached him, she pulled his right ear.
Neim's Mother: "You humiliated us in front of the entire village! Are you happy now? We feed you so much, but you do nothing! You're just a waste of food!"
She shouted into his ear before letting go and storming off in anger.
Next came his older brother.
His brother had black hair and was about the same height as Duis, with brown eyes that always held a disdainful gaze. He didn't see Neim as a person, only as an object to take his frustration out on. His clothes were the finest in the family because he was courting the daughter of the best red potato farmer in the village. If he succeeded, their family's standing would improve, and naturally, he saw himself as the most valuable person in the household.
As soon as he arrived, he spat in Neim's face and, with a look of contempt, sneered:
Neim's Brother: "When will you finally wise up, you useless filth?"
Laughing, he walked away.
Finally, his father arrived. Neim wondered to himself, Why are they coming one by one?
His father was thin compared to his wife, bald, with a long mustache that gave him a comical appearance. But despite his looks, he was a man who boiled with rage. His gaze was always one of contempt, and he would throw fits over the smallest mistakes. To him, Neim was nothing more than a worthless, useless disgrace. Whenever he was angry, he took it out on his son. If his plans worked out and his eldest son married that girl, he intended to kick Neim out of the house.
His father approached and, with his left hand, delivered a full-force slap to Neim's right cheek before walking away.
The slap hurt so much that Neim sometimes couldn't hold back his tears. Unfortunately, this was one of those times. His eyes welled up, and he quickly rubbed them against his right sleeve to wipe away the tears. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the sky.
Then, he turned his gaze to his right and saw Aunt Gelan with Duis.
"At least his mother doesn't spit in his face for every mistake. She doesn't pull his ear, flick his head, or judge him constantly. Duis deserves this. Someone like me doesn't deserve a mother like her, but Duis does. Be happy for me too, brother. You deserve it."
Neim looked back up at the sky.