Hearing the bad news, neither Mary nor Alex was happy about this. Some parts of them knew Jedidiah had something to do with the tragic massacre that happened yesterday. They have never seen Jedidiah so angry like that in their lives. He was always calm, focused, and friendly. Although he wasn’t good at making friends, he was always open to conversing with people every now and then.

“So, what are we going to do now? Jedidiah is still asleep, and we have no other place to go to. In the city, Jedidiah is wanted because he is an heir. Now, Jedidiah is also wanted here too! It’s like everywhere he goes, he would be wanted for something or another.” Mary said to Alex, as she paced around the living room.

“I don’t know. The matriarch didn’t exile us. Instead, I think she knows that we don’t have a choice. We can leave with Jedidiah today, but we are always welcomed back here. As for Jedidiah, I feel she is only exiling him from the sect because of the situation at hand. Maybe someday in the future, he can come back and visit. Or even stay here with us.” Alex explained.

Hearing Alex’s explanation, Mary didn’t know how to tell Alex what was truly worrying her. She didn’t know if he would be happy, or sad. However, she knew that she would never know the answer to her question until she told him.

And so, she mustered up her courage and said, “Alex, I have something to tell you. We- we can’t go with Jedidiah. At least, I can’t go with him.”

Shocked by Mary’s words, Alex didn’t know what to say.

“Why, why can’t you leave with us? Are you alright? Is it because of what he did? He is a child, Mary. He barely knows what he is doing. For all we know, he could have been angry or something, and due to him not knowing how to control his powers, he accidentally killed people. I doubt he planned to actually kill innocent people for no reason. Or, maybe he was picked on, or something.” Alex said defensively as he tried his best to convince Mary to leave with him and Jedidiah.

“It’s not that...I know he is a child. He will make silly mistakes now and then. However, my reason is more than that.” Mary explained.

Still deciding whether to tell Alex or not, Mary just gave in and decided to tell Alex the truth.

“Alex, I’m pregnant for you. You’re going to be a father.” Mary explained.

---

Now, over the years of living together, Mary and Alex have built a close bond. Maybe even a little bit ‘closer’ than one would expect. Caring for one another while still raising Jedidiah was something that really brought them together. It was almost like they were husband and wife raising their own son together.

Sometimes, both of them will have some passionate moments with each other. At other times, they were either busy with work or taking care of Jedidiah. Both ways, their tight relationship was inevitable. It was as though they were a match made in paradise.

When Alex was sick, Mary would normally take time off work to take care of Alex, When Mary needed support, Alex would also normally make time to aid her. Even when he had important tasks to do. Although most of their bonding was unconscious at first, it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

----

Hearing Mary’s words, Alex was perplexed at first. He never imagined himself being a father really. I mean, he was always busy with work and taking care of his family; Jedidiah and Mary. It was really something he didn’t have time to sit down and think about.

However, now he is confronted with this news. Alex was happy.

“Haha, I’m finally going to be a father!” Alex said as he picked Mary up into his warm embrace and kissed her.

At this point, there was no denying his feelings for her. Not that he ever did, but that he never really thought too deep into it. Now, everything made sense to him. He never really thought about having a family because to him, Mary and Jedidiah were already his families. That’s also why he never felt the urge to look at other women because he already had someone to come home to every day. Someone who loved and cared for him. Someone who was always there for him; both in ill times and in good seasons.

“I love you,” Alex said.

“I love you too, Alex,” Mary said as she hugged Alex deeply.

***

3 days later, Jedidiah was finally awake. After sleeping for 3 days straight, he was totally famished. He felt like a lion ready to devour a horse at any given time. Not only that, but he was also weak because he was low on energy.

Somehow, his body was able to heal itself without external energy like food consumption. Even water wasn’t necessarily needed for him to heal. All that was known was that every time his uncle and aunt checked upon him, he looked perfectly fine. He was just sleeping peacefully without any sign of distress.

However, now, it was totally different. When Jedidiah woke up, he had to be supported by his uncle, Alex. Just so that he can be taken to the dining table to eat. This wasn’t his uncle’s first choice in mind, but it was Jedidiah’s request because he was really hungry.

Fortunately for him, he woke up on time for dinner. Today, they were going to eat the freshly made lamb stew with rice and salad, Jedidiah’s favorite food. It was made from a collective effort of his uncle; Alex, and his aunt; Mary.

Seated together on the dining table. They both watched as Jedidiah wolfed down half of his meal and went on to the bowl of salad. Helpless, they just laughed and faced their own food. Watching Jedidiah wolf down his food was actually one of the funniest things they have seen. His mouth was stuffed, and his cheeks puffed as the food was aggressively howled down by Jedidiah.

45 minutes later, after Jedidiah had finished eating. His aunt, Mary took the initiative to inform Jedidiah of everything that happened while he left.

“Jedidiah, did you know how long you have been sleeping?” Mary asked as she tried to ease her way into the conversation.

“No, not really. Maybe 6 to 8 hours or so” Jedidiah replied innocently.

“I wish. You have been asleep for 3 days straight, bud.” Uncle Alex replied.

“Three days! Wow…” Jedidiah exclaimed.

On the opposite end of the table, aunty Mary looked at Jedidiah intently as though she was trying to figure something out about him.

“How did it feel? Were you feeling dizzy or in pain?” Aunty Mary asked.

“No. In fact, I felt as though I had the best sleep of my life. No one disturbed me, I had nothing to ponder on, or worry about. My muscles were all relaxed, and I was calm. It was peaceful, we should all try it out someday.” Jedidiah suggested.

“As much as I would like to, no thank you. I don’t want to be asleep for more than a day, much more, 3 days...that’s too much for me to handle.” Aunty Mary explained.

“I also have to go with your aunty on that one, bud. You really slept for 3 days straight. Assuming you slept for 2 more hours, you would have slept for 4 days straight without food or water. At that point, you would not only be malnourished, but you will lose weight and be tender-headed (dizzy). For these reasons, I’m also out on that one.” Uncle Alex said.

On the other hand, Jedidiah didn’t seem to care too much about this. After all, it was only a suggestion.

After their brief period of talking, aunty Mary decided to increase the scale a little bit.

“Jedidiah, what happened when you were taking your tests at the Panel Martial Academy?” She said,

Uncomfortable, Jedidiah had a general idea of where this whole conversation was leading towards. He knew that they saw him during the event, so it was impossible for him to lie to them without leaving any loophole that would bite him later on.

Confounded by this, Jedidiah decided to tell them his own side of the story.

“It all started before the trials even began. I was sitting in my seat in the waiting hall minding my own business. After a while of keeping to myself, I quickly got bored. So, I decided to try and make friends.

To my right-hand side, there was; the same boy who tried to make me look stupid in front of the whole class for having a big dream. And to my left, was this dandy called Radrock. He was something else on its own. He looked at me as though I was one piece of trash, as though my words nor presence mattered to him at all.

Now, Radrock, although annoying. He never tried to challenge me as Gustus did. I don’t know what was going through his head really, but for some reason, Gustus thought that by beating me he would make me see how futile and vain my hopes and dreams were. Maybe he thinks I’m just a frog in a while who doesn’t know how high the heavens are.” Jedidiah explained honestly.

“Huh..don’t worry, I’m not going to ask any questions for now. Just keep talking.” His aunt, Mary said.

Looking at his aunt’s face, Jedidiah was helpless. So, he looked over at his uncle Alex, who gave him a sign of affirmation that everything was alright by nodding.

Relieved by his uncle’s nod, Jedidiah continued his tale. It was long and detailed, taking him a little over 30 minutes to explain what happened in the Academy. He did this because he didn’t want any misconceptions or misunderstandings between them. His uncle and aunt were the only families he knew for now. Lying to them would be like him lying to his own real parents.

---

After the long period of hearing Jedidiah’s narration. His uncle, Alex updated Jedidiah on everything that had happened while he was asleep. Everything from him being treated by the doctor to him being expelled from the sect.

Obviously, this news not only shocked Jedidiah, but it hurt him so much. He remembers the events that happened in Lock with the Creator, but he never imagined the type of powers the Creator had stored in their bloodline gene pool was so vast and powerful. Like, just imagine. If someone knew about Jedidiah’s bloodline, they would kill him on sight because he is not only one of the many heirs of the Creator, but thanks to his power, his potential is too great that it could threaten the very world as they know it.

However, this was not just the only thing roaming his little mind. Jedidiah never wanted to put his family in harm's way. However, he also doesn’t know what to do. He is only 7 years old. Leaving his sect alone is an extremely dangerous thing.

His uncle, Alex couldn’t leave because he is going to be a father now, and he has to take care of Mary. On the other hand, his aunt, Mary, is pregnant. There’s no way even the gatemen would let Mary leave the sect with Jedidiah. Even if she willingly chose to leave with him, no one would allow it. Jedidiah himself would also reject her because he wants the best for his aunt and her baby.

So now, Jedidiah has to man up and leave as soon as possible. The more time he spends in the Great Silverback Gorilla sect, the more he puts them in danger of public retaliation or worse, total eradication(destruction).

That being said, Jedidiah was both happy and sad. He was happy because his uncle and aunt were finally going to get married and start a proper family together. However, he was sad because he wasn't going to be there to witness all these happy and joyful moments with them.

Saddened by these things, Jedidiah took a deep breath, took a shower, and went straight to bed without saying a word to them.

*****