Work Text:
Kambili was sitting in the garden of her home, enjoying the warm breeze that rustled the leaves of the trees around her. She had just finished reading Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and was lost in thought about the themes of power and ambition that the play explored. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her.
"Hello, Kambili."
Kambili turned around to see her father, Papa Eugene, standing before her. She gasped in surprise. Papa Eugene had died years ago in a tragic accident. But here he was, standing before her as if he had never left.
"How...how is this possible?" Kambili stammered.
"I'm not sure," Papa Eugene said, a sinister smile on his face. "But I am here, and I have some unfinished business to attend to."
Kambili's heart sank as she realized that her father had not come back from the dead to offer comfort or closure. He was here for something else entirely.
As Kambili tried to process what was happening, she noticed another figure approaching them. It was Macbeth, the ambitious and power-hungry Scottish nobleman from the play she had just read.
"Who is this?" Macbeth asked, eyeing Papa Eugene with suspicion.
"This is my father," Kambili said, still in shock. "He...he's come back to life, somehow."
Macbeth raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Interesting. I've never heard of such a thing happening before."
Papa Eugene stepped forward, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Macbeth. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Kambili. It seems we have something in common - the pursuit of power."
Macbeth eyed Papa Eugene warily. "And what do you know of power?"
Papa Eugene smiled enigmatically. "More than you might think."
The three of them sat down together in the garden, and Papa Eugene began to tell Macbeth about his own experiences with power and ambition. He talked about how he had struggled to balance his desire for success with his responsibility to his family, and how his own hubris had led to his downfall.
As Papa Eugene spoke, Kambili couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. She had never heard her father speak so openly about his own flaws and mistakes before. She wondered if things might have been different if he had been this open and honest when he was alive.
But as Papa Eugene continued his story, Kambili began to sense that something was off. His words were laced with a dangerous edge, and his smile was too wide and too calculating.
It wasn't long before Papa Eugene revealed his true intentions. He had come back from the dead to seek revenge on those who had wronged him in life, and he saw Macbeth as a potential ally in his plans for domination and control.
Kambili was horrified as she watched her father morph into an antagonist, driven by his own desire for power and his need for vengeance. She realized too late that sometimes, the people we love can become our greatest enemies.
As the sun set on the garden, Kambili knew that things would never be the same again. Her father had returned, but he was no longer the man she had loved and respected. He was something else entirely, and she feared what he might do next.