It had been a tense couple of days in Hollyland Manor, in which Johannes and his sons and servants lived. Ever since the day Leonard had officially informed him of his desire to leave, and the subsequent fierce fight between the brothers, things were not smooth between them. They hardly spoke to each other, and neither party wanted to smooth things out.

With Leonard dead set in his decision, Lennart wanted nothing to do with him at that point. And Leonard saw no reason for reconciliation. He couldn’t stand him, and the feeling was very much a mutual one. 

Johannes was less than pleased with the state of affairs in his home. He knew how much of a sour relationship existed between his sons, and tried as much as possible to even things out between them. With Leonard’s obdurate recklessness and Lennart’s penchant for being a stickler for the rules, however, those attempts never truly worked, and with Leonard’s decision to leave, it was even more difficult.

As far as Leonard’s request was concerned, he had given in. Having calculated the estimate of his estate, he had issued a cheque to him, giving him the monetary value of what was due the young man. This had not been done without constant pleas to the young man to reconsider what he was doing; he had issued this plea many a time within the last couple of days.

And they had all fallen on deaf ears.

Leonard had made up his mind. And that was that.

***

“FREEDOMMMMM! FREEDOMMMM! FREEDOMMMM! OOOHHHHH, FREEDOMMMM!”

Leonard sang loudly to himself as he busily packed his clothes and other essentials, tossing them into any of the two suitcases. The door was wide open, and he didn’t care who heard him. The only thing that mattered to him was the incoming freedom he could literally taste on the tip of his tongue.

Busy visualizing all the various forms of enjoyment he was going to fully take advantage of once he landed in Poki, he was totally oblivious to the presence of Lennart at the door, who looked at his brother in scorn, shook his head and walked off.

Of course, if he knew, he wouldn’t have cared one bit.

He did have his little reverie interfered with, however, when there was a knock at his door.

He turned, slightly annoyed that his mental picture of fun at the nightclub had been cut short.

There stood two of the servants of the house. Miss Nucca and Mister Cola.

“Um, Master Leonard. We’ve been informed you will be leaving today,” Miss Nucca said softly. “We wanted to ask if you’ll need help taking your stuff outside.”

“Oh, most definitely. I’m not yet done, but you can take those two huge suitcases outside for me,” he ordered as he pointed to the suitcases and returned to folding his clothes.

The looks on the faces of the two servants were looks of sadness. You could just tell how upset they were by his actions. They saw how downtrodden and morose their loving master had become since Leonard had declared his intention to leave and find a life for himself. They knew that Leonard wasn’t really seeking to create his own destiny, but just wanted the freedom to do whatever he pleased. If only they could speak to him…

But the young man wasn’t prepared to heed the pleas of his own father. The man whose word they obeyed without a second thought. They couldn’t even imagine the kind of venom he would likely spit on them if they attempted anything. So they quietly nodded and moved to take the suitcases and move them outside.

As Mister Cola carried the suitcase, he turned. “Um, Master Leonard, shall I ask Nellyn to get one of the cars ready for you?”

Leonard turned to him and shook his head vigorously. “No no no no. Don’t tell Nellyn. I’m not going with him.”

Mister Cola looked surprised. “But-but-“

“I already have that settled, Mister Cola. I’m not going with Nellyn. Now take my suitcase outside for me. My taxi will be in soon.”

“Yes, Master Leonard,” Mister Cola responded softly, moving out of the bedroom.

Leonard shook his head as he turned back to the suitcase in front of him. There was no way in hell he was letting Hollylane Manor’s official driver drive him to the airport. If he was going to break the chains of dependence, it had to start from this point. It was time to be his own man; to live his own life.

It was time to do things his way.

***

“Father! My taxi is in! I’m leaving!”

Johannes was seated at the dining table as Leonard passed by and announced his departure. He watched on sadly as his younger child walked by, pulling along one of his suitcases, with the biggest of smirks on his face.

He sighed. “Leonard!”

His son stopped and turned, not even bothering to mask the exasperation plainly written on his face. “Yes, Father?”

“Please, you know you don’t have to do this, don’t you? There’s no need to make this decision just yet…”

He watched as his son rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Father,” Leonard said, “we’ve been through this. Yes, I have to do this. And I have made this decision. I’ve come this far, and there’s absolutely nothing that’s going to stop me. So please, stop asking me to stay. I’m not.”

Johannes rubbed his eyes and winced. The stubbornness of this boy was on another level.

“But you’ll stay in touch, right?” he asked hopefully.

Leonard shrugged. “I’ll think about it. Bye, Father! Say goodbye to that goody-two-shoes son of yours!”

And with that, Leonard sprung out the door.

Johannes rose to his feet and walked briskly to the entrance, and with the door still open, watched as Leonard led a taxi driver to put his suitcases in the car. He stared wistfully at them, wishing his son would somehow look up, stare him in the face, and suddenly change his mind.

True to form, however, the two completed loading up the taxi, got inside it, and in a matter of seconds, moved away, with Leonard on his way to a new life.

The glum expression on Johannes’ face got deeper. He simply had no idea who or what convinced this boy to demand his independence and strongarm him into granting it. But whoever or whatever it was, it had done him a big disfavour. For no matter how lazy, stubborn or difficult that boy was, that boy was his son, and he loved him dearly.

And now that this boy was taking on this journey by himself, with no guidance or direction, he could only hope that this would not be the last time he’d ever see him.

***

“Father!”

Lennart stood by the dining table as he called out to his father. The look on Johannes’ face as he faced him filled Lennart with sadness. And rage.

Sadness because it was so evident just how broken this great man was by the actions of that fool he called a brother.

And rage because of the utter foolishness of his brother. After everything he had done for the two of them, how could this senseless little ingrate just jump up and leave? He had heard the boy happily ordering a taxi driver to put his bags here and there in a taxi, so he knew he was gone.

In that moment, all he had for his father were words of defiance.

“Forget about him. He’s made his choice. What haven’t you said in the past couple of days? You’ve spoken nuggets upon nuggets of wisdom that would turn anybody’s head from going on with this foolishness. Yet this boy just won’t heed the voice of reason. Let him be! You can be sure that his folly will soon find him out!”

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’re five minutes away from touchdown at the Poki International Airport. At this juncture, we request that all seat belts are firmly in place…”

Headphones over his ears as he laid back in his seat, Leonard smiled as he heard the words of the pilot.

It had been seven hours since that taxi took him away from Hollylane Manor. Now here he was, almost in a new city.

He could feel it already. The rush of excitement coursing through his veins as sweet freedom beckoned him.

This was it! This was what he wanted!

Now he could set out to do whatever he deemed necessary and profitable. Not what those uptight prudes back in Hollyland told him was.

He sat up and looked outside the window. The glorious sight of skyscrapers and magnificent road networks greeted his eyes.

He nodded.

New life, here I come!

Well, it doesn’t look like Leonard has any serious plans for his life. Let’s move along, though, and see…