One way | Teen Ink

One way

December 10, 2014
By Jesus Antunez BRONZE, Phoenix, Arizona
Jesus Antunez BRONZE, Phoenix, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

There I was waiting for the return of my son Anuj who had gone out to entertain himself. Having been scared from being attacked by a mountain lion he had become cautions and self-aware making him feel as he should be away from the rest. He was not very strong so that and the scars also made many people stay away from him. His brother on the other hand Ajit who himself had no child hood incidents, no scars to be ashamed of had so much pride in himself he was tall and muscular and didn’t leave a challenge undone.
In my case, I’m just a 40 year; old man with his two sons. My wife had died after a few years back from giving birth to our youngest Ajun. Regardless of my age, I would do anything to protect my sons. Many might think it our duty as parents to do so, but I take it as something I want to do rather than having to do so. However, there are some things that no matter what you do it won’t change their mind until they realize what they did and that it had done more wrong than good.
We had leaved here for many years our Indian descendants settled here away from the rest of the world. That still wasn’t enough to have stopped the invaders. They killed and took our people and we had no choice but to surrender. We had already gotten used to very thing the culture the food and the way of living in general. My son Anuj had also made it a custom to live like the rest he still stayed away from the group do to his scares but has adjusted to the way of living. Ajit hadn’t, he has let his pride turn this into a challenge.

 

I remember a few years back when I offered to teach him many things as well as to give him some of the items passed down yet he refused he said “I do things my way.” Since he refused I gave the same to offer to Anuj, he accepted and learned anything possible. So I made up my mind to let him inherit all the items as well. A few years went pass not much had change Ajit still refused to give a little up to fit in according to the rest. We all tried speaking to him the point was not to forget our culture, but to not show it “out there” as much.
One day Ajit however, decided to leave to a different place where he could practice his culture with no one to say that he couldn’t.  So he left, and I didn’t hear from him again for about 1 year, but one day people told me they have seen him and have asked about me and his brother telling them that he will come back one day. When that day came he had already joined a new tribe and has given him a new name “Amrit” once he saw me and his brother he walked towards me and said we had to talk. I looked at Ajun and he nodded. I went with Ajit as I still call him to see what he had to say.
We walked along the banks of the river when he asked me one thing “can you teach me what you have taught Ajun.”
I thought about it for a while then I said “I had offered you first and you refused, why should I do it now?”
He said “My intentions where always to keep the tribes traditions alive, not to be lost I didn’t want to get anything of the Spanish that had gotten here to destroy our culture and lives.”
“I thought you were a great example for your brother but I was wrong. For one you think you are doing a lot of good to protect these people”, I told him.
“I was and I still am”, he screamed.

“You haven’t” I told him “for once Ajun has done better than you he was never ashamed of his culture and always tried his best to learn anything he could.”
“How has he done better than me father?” he asked, “I’m the one that went off to keep our culture alive!”
“ He is the one that has done more to keep this tribe alive because he has learned all our customs and all our ways you didn’t why because you do things your way not the way of the tribe not for the tribe but your way and only to comfort yourself.” After I said this to him, he finally understood him actions had made it look like he wasn’t part of the tribe he left afterwards just telling Ajun “keep it alive. “



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