  We report on an interesting realization of the QCD axion, with mass in the
range $\mathcal{O}(10)$ MeV. It has previously been shown that although this
scenario is stringently constrained from multiple sources, the model remains
viable for a range of parameters that leads to an explanation of the Atomki
experiment anomaly. In this article we study in more detail the additional
constraints proceeding from recent low energy experiments and study the
compatibility of the allowed parameter space with the one leading to
consistency of the most recent measurements of the electron anomalous magnetic
moment and the fine structure constant. We further provide an ultraviolet
completion of this axion variant and show the conditions under which it may
lead to the observed quark masses and CKM mixing angles, and remain consistent
with experimental constraints on the extended scalar sector appearing in this
Standard Model extension. In particular, the decay of the Standard Model-like
Higgs boson into two light axions may be relevant and leads to a novel Higgs
boson signature that may be searched for at the LHC in the near future.
