Chapter 31

I turned around and stared blankly at my father. "Go home!" My dad yelled with all his strength. His voice was hoarse. At that moment, I immediately calmed down, turning and following him without hesitation. Brandon and his men didn't pursue us. The crowd of villagers made way for us as we slowly walked toward home, holding my mom's urn between us. What should've been a short walk of only a few hundred yards that usually took no more than ten minutes felt like an eternity to us. When we got home, my dad placed my mom's urn in the center of the living room and sat down, lighting a cigarette. I asked for one too. Before I went to prison, I never smoked, but since then, I occasionally did. As the smoke entered my lungs, I started coughing violently and spat out blood. Dad turned to look at me. His face was full of concern. "I'm fine, Dad." I swallowed hard, and after a couple of cigarettes, I managed to calm down and get used to it. Neither of us spoke again. We just sat th