~ Part 18 ~ | Acid & Emerald

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** Just Around the Riverbend (Pocahontas) **

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"What I love most about rivers is
You can't step in the same river twice
The water's always changing, always flowing
But people, I guess, can't live like that
We all must pay a price
To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing
What's around the riverbend
Waiting just around the riverbend"

~ Judy Kuhn

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This chapter is dedicated to Kilo for his patience when listening to my writing rants and rambles at 12:00 am

Sorry this chapter is so dialogue heavy 😂

(comment or PM if you'd like a shoutout!)

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"Morro was my everything," A sad smile graced the headmaster's lips. "He was my heart and soul." The students were silent. All eyes were locked on their teacher as they waited patiently for him to continue.

"I found him when I was much younger," Wu began, he peeled open the tabs of the box so he could look inside. "My life was very busy then. I was balancing jobs while also being heavily involved with a justice movement. I was working when he appeared. I don't even remember what I had been working on, only that I decided to finish it outside since it was a nice summer day. Morro had appeared from the garbage cans on the front lawn. He'd been so skinny then and scared... he'd been scavenging through my trash for food."

Wu gently pulled something out of the box. It looked worn, the fabric was a blotchy brown colour and a large clump of dust slid off of it back into the box. Once Wu shook the object to get all the excess dirt off, revealing it to be a kite. The usual diamond shape was a little bent from being stored in a box but it was obvious that the toy had been well-loved.

"This was my old kite from when I was a boy. I had been cleaning my house out. I find the kite and threw it into the trash without a second thought. But when Morro found it his eyes lit up like starlight." Wu murmured. His thumb brushed lovingly over the diamond-shaped object.

Wu remembered that day like it was yesterday. The skinny child picking through the bins. The look of delight when he found the kite. The fear when he realized Wu was watching. Morro had dropped the kite and ran off in his panic. While Master Wu was never one to turn away from a child in need there was something special about Morro that made him all the more intrigued. For the next month, he waited for Morro to come back. He put meals out on his front path like one would for a lost cat. He fixed up the kite as best he could with his limited kite-mending skills. At last, Morro returned, poking through the plate of pork buns Wu had left out for him. He only got more curious when he saw the gift lying beneath the meal. The kite was newly cleaned, the toy shining brighter than it had ever before. Patches of fabric had been sewn over the holes and a brand new string was tied onto the bottom. Morro was never one to smile. So the slight tilt of the lips the boy gave was his equivalent to the grin of the Cheshire Cat.

"Would you like to fly it?" Wu had said.

The headmaster shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. Misako gently squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, urging him on.

"I took Morro in and he became a part of the family. Since I was a very active protestor at the time he naturally showed interest in the justice movements I was a part of. He had this beautiful hunger, a drive to make a stand and become someone that truly made a difference. If I'm being perfectly honest, he reminded me of myself." Master Wu admitted. "He was... amazing. He was so determined, so ready- so eager. I loved that about him." His voice sounded far away.

"What... what happened to him?" Lloyd spoke tentatively. "Why did we not know about him?"

Wu pressed his lips together. He inhaled slowly and then he exhaled. One breath. Then another. And then another. This was it. Time had caught up with him. Wu had spent so much time dodging questions and avoiding the subject. There had been so many times and opportunities that he could've told them about Morro. He could've filled Lloyd's head with fond memories of his cousin. Instead, he let the boy be forgotten. Now Lloyd stood in front of him, wearing the same green sweater that had haunted his days until he finally shoved it into a box and stashed it away. It was as if Morro was pulling the strings, making himself heard even when he couldn't speak. Just as he said he would.

"We had worked for years on trying to encourage the government into various things. They were all various laws and legalizations for rights and freedoms we believed were important. One of Morro's biggest projects was getting the government to offer more support to the homeless. This included tax breaks for landlords, better access to drug and alcohol rehab services, and funding for local community services." The old man let out a long, sad breath. "I suppose it was his way of fighting against the hopelessness he had felt when he was a child. I think he wanted to make sure he and no one else would ever feel the same way he had."

"That's amazing," Nya spoke for the first time since she'd entered the room. "Morro sounds like he is- um, was a pretty great person."

Wu smiled. "He was." The smile faded a little and his voice became a little wistful. "I thought he was going to change the world."

"Was he unable to convince the government?" Zane asked, catching on. Wu nodded sombrely.

"The defeat broke him. He saw it as a failure," The man reached into the box and began pulling things it. It took the group a moment to realize the odd shapes were shattered pieces of porcelain. The ceramic was warm brown with figures carved into them. It was impossible to read them when they were split into separate parts.

"You said he was determined. Why did he let one loss screw him up?" Kai questioned, a tad blunter than Nya would tolerate as she promptly elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

Wu didn't seem offended. "Morro was determined." The man said with a strange mix of pride and sorrow. "He kept on climbing no matter how tall the mountain. But even the strongest mountain climber can slip when they find an obstruction in their path. The more determined you are the higher you'll climb. The higher you climb the harder you'll fall."

His students watched him with careful eyes. They were free of judgement, free of anger, now it was simple concern in their gaze as they all gathered closer to them. Their interest caught like a fish on a hook.

"He began... to have a more extreme viewpoint. I've always believed that we need to set boundaries for ourselves when protesting. It must stay peaceful. But Morro had decided the only way for people to listen to you was to make them listen by force." Wu closed his eyes, pain etched on his features. "It terrified me. The look in his eyes. How much it reminded me of Garmadon. How much it reminded me... of myself. Those moments when I was so close to doing something I'd regret. So I pushed him away, I told him he couldn't be a part of the movement anymore. And then..."

A shatter echoed in his head.

"How can I live with someone like that?"

Master Wu felt a small tear form in the corner of his eye. It fell past his eyelid and slipped down his cheek. "Then he left."

Nya gasped, her hands flying over her mouth as Wu covered his face with his hands, shoulders shaking.

"He left," Wu whispered through his fingers. "And I didn't stop him. And now... he's gone."

"Gone?" Jay echoed. "W-what do you mean? You can still talk to him! It's never too late!"

"No." Wu shook his head. "It is too late. I let him go. He did his protests, just as he said. Things got bad and he was in the middle of it. A car must've tried to drive through and then..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence. His voice broke before he could. Misako rubbed his back soothingly as a heavy silence hung in the air.

"Goodbye, Dad."

"The day of Lloyd's speech... was that when it happened?" Zane asked softly.

"They wanted to ask me questions. I met with the people trying to identify him and told them to meet with me later so I could be back for the interview. I never realized-" Wu shook his head. "They only confirmed it was him recently."

It was awful talking about it. It was like he was finally accepting that it was real. But at the same time... there was a certain sense of relief. A weight that had lifted off his chest. The grief was still there, pure and strong but it was like his body recognized that the burden was no longer his alone to carry.

Lloyd came around the desk. His eyes were wide and his hands were trembling. Wu couldn't even look at him. How would his nephew feel knowing his teacher, his uncle, was a coward who was too weak to stop his son from leaving, too prideful to go out and find him, and too much of a coward to tell anyone? Even when Lloyd had pulled on that haunting sweater.

"I can't believe I ever looked up to you."

Wu braced for the yelling. He waited for scornful words, for some sort of judgement- anything! In his heart, he knew Lloyd wasn't the type but his head kept on telling him the boy would shout at him because he deserved it. To his surprise, a gentle hand was placed on his arm. The headmaster looked up to see two brilliant green eyes.

Lloyd didn't say anything. He simply leaned in and put his arms around his uncle. A strong, warm, reassuring embrace. One tear fell. Then another. Until it was like a dam had been broken and the flood came.

Wu had spent so long seeing Morro in Lloyd. The same clothing, the same eyes, the same drive for change. But now he was finally seeing how they were different. One accepted the sweater, the other left it behind. One boy with eyes of acid, the other with a gaze of emerald green. One boy kept pushing for more, the other wanted the world to see what's good the way it is. Sure, they were alike in some ways as well. But that's just how people are. Similar but different.

That's how Morro and Wu were.

Maybe that was what brought them together.

Maybe that's what tore them apart.

But for the first time since Morro walked out that door, Wu was able to see who Morro was. And something in him healed as more and more arms wrapped around him, the steady flow of tears washing over his face as he smiled.

Just a little bit.

NOTE*****
I know since this is written from Wu's perspective it does seem like I have the same viewpoint as Wu in regards to protest.

And that is somewhat true, I do lean towards the "keep it peaceful" side more. But I definitely see why people sometimes need to cause some chaos to get people to finally look their way. The government will fall short. That's only natural, the people in charge are only human. But sometimes they ignore what's important. Speaking as a person with a "don't rock the boat" kind of person, keeping the peace isn't always the best thing. I let multiple people walk all over me and hurt me because I kept on trying to make a change by being "peaceful." Now I regret that I didn't put my foot down.

That saying, changing from peaceful tactics has a lot of consequences that shouldn't be taken lightly. Things can get dangerous. People's property can get damaged, there can be fights, and people can die.

It's important to think about these things when deciding to be peaceful or stand up for yourself. It's not all black and white.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I think the final part of Ghost Story is coming.

LuckyBugBooks 🐞

P. S. THANK YOU FOR 30K READS OH MY GOSHHHHH