Title: My Growing Son
Fandom: Xiaolin Showdown
Characters: Rai, Kim, Rai's mom (my oc), Rai's dad (my oc)
Prompt: 028:Children
Word Count: 2,000
Rating: PG
Summary: My son is growing up, and I couldn't be prouder.
Author's Note: Not to sound conceited, but I love this one to death.
I love all my children. All eight are very special to me in their own way. But, if I had to choose, the most intriguing of them all would have to be my middle son, Raimundo. I knew since the day he was born that he was something of wonder. When he opened his eyes for the first time, my husband and I were surprised to find them green. His older brothers and sisters all had brown, like mine. So you can see why we were surprised.
But the strange thing was as he was growing older, my husband distant himself from him. As a result, Raimundo always spent his time with my oldest daughter. I try to get him to spend time with his son but they always end terribly. No matter how alike they are, they could never be in the same room without arguing. They would even get out of control.
I was getting worried. So, when he turned nine years old, I signed him up to capoeira. A style of fighting that originated here in Brazil. Soon after, he fell in love with it and it came in handy as he performed in the circus a couple of years later. When he turned ten, he was baptized into the art and swore his life to it. He was awarded with the nickname Vento. Wind.
I've always been proud of him. His accomplishments were something that would make any parent proud. But his father was different. All the while he was learning to fight, my husband would not take interest. According to him, it was a way of getting Raimundo out of the house. Sometimes, I wonder if he ever cared about him. Let alone love. And to a mother, it just breaks my heart. He took interest in his older and younger siblings, but not once with him.
One day, when Raimundo was fourteen, an elderly man went to our doorstep. He told us he taught a school in China that would help Raimundo develop his skills. Learn the ways of Tai Chi and work together with others. My husband denied it straight away and Raimundo became furious with him. He was yelling at him about never respecting him and how much he preferred his son out of his sight. They fought for hours on end. I apologized to the old man and he said that it was not a problem. He also said that it was the father's fault for keeping a strained relationship with his son. But in the end, he finally agreed to let Raimundo study there. Just before he left, he promised me that he would write everyday.
Soon after, his first letter came and I opened it with trembling hands. I read his messy handwriting over and over again. He was saying how beautiful it was and the temple was bigger then he expected. He told me about his fellow students. But one in particular intrigued me the most. He said her name was Kimiko and she was this rich Japanese girl that was heavily into her technology. I became worried that he might fall in love with her and would end up with his heart broken. But, as I read on, there was this line that seemed to stick out to me the most. It read: And you know what else? I'm the Dragon of the Wind. Funny huh? To me, that wasn't a surprise. He was always fond of the wind. It was even his first word. And, according to his capoeira master, he was always swift like the wind. That's why he gave him that name.
Soon after, his letters came once every couple of weeks. Talking about his training and his new friends. But, there was a time I didn't receive anything from him for a couple of months. That was when the sky turned black and life seemed to have disappeared. I became worried and wondered if my little boy was safe. My husband said that it was Raimundo's fault. I asked him what made him say that and he said he could feel it. But the darkness had lifted and the sun was shining again. Nobody knew what had happened during that time, but we were all just happy that it ended. That is, until I received a letter from Raimundo. The first line alone was etched into my head. It read: Mom, I made a terrible mistake.
He told me what had happened. How he tried to save his teacher and failed. How he didn't move up to the next level like his friends and was persuaded into joining the dark side. All the while I was reading, my eyes welled up. I couldn't believe my husband had been right. And, I'll admit, I was angry at him. But, as I got towards the end, he made the right decision and trapped that witch from once she came. He was accepted back into the temple. And, for that, I let on a smile. He was not my little boy anymore. He was a man now.
His letters still kept coming. And just by reading them, I can see how much he has changed. When I told my husband on these changes, he didn't believe me. He also added that Raimundo is always going to be that bratty little boy. I chose to ignore.
Some years have passed and he was still sending his letters. One in particular said that he was now dating Kimiko. After that, he described how much he loved her and how crazy he went just because she was hurt. I feared this would come. He described in one letter that he might had a crush on her and soon escalated into this. Another one mentioned her father and how he didn't like my son. After thinking for awhile, I would say that I saw the same thing. Raimundo always lived in poverty and Kimiko was as rich as they come. But, he did say in his letter that they didn't care on that difference. They were only happy when they were in each others embrace.
I saw this first hand when he decided to come home one day with her. She seemed like a nice girl. And the look that he gave her reminded me of his father when we first started dating. I knew then he had fallen for her. But, sometimes, happiness didn't last long. That was when his father came in. The yelling had started and I took Kimiko away into another room. She asked me if they were always like this, and with a heavy sigh, I told her yes. Then we heard something fall down. We raced into the landing and I found my husband on the ground with a black eye. I looked up at Raimundo and he was breathing heavily. He said he called Kimiko a tramp. Disbelief spread to my face. I didn't know who to be angry at. Raimundo for hitting his father or my husband for calling a horrid name to such a wonderful person. Then Kimiko spoke up and said it's all her fault, she never should have convinced him to come. She raced out the door and Raimundo followed her. My husband got up and said that he's never allowed to come home. I glared at him and for once in my life, I started yelling. I yelled at how he had treated Raimundo like he was nothing. A tiny little insect that met the end of his shoe. I didn't look at him all the while I was yelling. Only because I was tired of sitting aside and allowed this to happen. When I was done, I was breathing heavily and my head started pounding. I finally looked at him and he was staring at the ground. He had that look that he had before Raimundo was born. He looked at me and sighed. He told me the reason he did what did was because he knew Raimundo was special too. He was afraid that his gifts would someday cause harm to him and his family. He didn't know how to treat the situation so he did what he thought was best. I looked at him with a saddened look. All this time, he was afraid. Then, I went into our room, went into the closet and took out a shoe box that had every single letter Raimundo ever wrote. I showed them to my husband. He was confused at first but I told him to read every single one of them.
As he did, I went outside and saw Raimundo comforting Kimiko. She was crying into his shirt and he buried his faced into her hair. My eyes started to well up as I saw this scene unfolding before me. He really was in love with her. It makes me think of what these two have been through together. I went over to them and placed my hand on her shoulder. She turned to me and I pulled her into a hug. As if she were like a daughter. I told Raimundo that his father is reading his letters right now. He looked at me with confusion etched into him. He asked me why did it and I told him his father needed to see the real you. He still looked confused but understood none the less. Then we heard Raimundo's name being called out. We turned and saw his father at the doorway. He beckoned his son to come in. Raimundo hesitated at first but stepped in the threshold anyway. It was just myself and the tearful girl in my arms. She asked me how I could be so nice to her when my husband had been so cruel. I said to her, unlike my husband, I know you from Raimundo's letters. She smiled at me and I hugged her again. And I also said that I saw how much my son loves her and that I would love to have her as my daughter. She smiled of course and she told me that she loved to have me as her mother. Since she didn't have one since she was only two years old.
Then we heard the door open and we saw the two men come out and for the first time in twenty years, I saw my son and my husband smile together. Tears welled up in my eyes and I raced over to them and wrapped my arms around my husband's neck. I told him how much I loved him at that moment and he thanked me for showing him the letters. He now sees the man in Raimundo that he neglected to see while he was growing up. We turned and saw Raimundo and Kimiko hug as well and when they pulled apart, they gave each other a deep kiss.
I sat on my son's side and let the tears flowed. It was absolutely beautiful. The flowers pouring in like milk and clapping was audible in every part of the temple grounds. To me, it seemed like I was clapping the hardest. I watched as he pulled away from her kiss and picked her up and raced down the aisle. I heard laughter in some parts. I felt an arm around my shoulders and I looked up at my husband's smiling face.
The reception was beautiful. I watched my son and my new daughter dance together. Then I got up and dragged my husband to the floor. I tapped Raimundo's shoulder and he got the signal and kissed his new wife on the cheek and turned to me and we started dancing while Kimiko danced with my husband. I could see he was apologizing for his behavior with her. I saw that she said don't worry about it. I couldn't help but feel happy at the moment. I told Raimundo that I was proud of him. He said "I know, mom."