As Bubbles entered the kitchen, Sunny followed suit from behind, greeted upon arrival by his family sitting on the table with their grim faces visible beneath the light of the bright morning sunshine streaming through the windows.
He could guess very clearly what the sisters had told them, and suffice to say, he is admirably scared of the punishment that awaited him. Especially when it comes to his father, Nelson can easily be angered when he feels that his son has done something terribly wrong.
Standing in the open, Sunny doesn't know what to say or do as he watches them staring down at the table with blank expressions on their faces.
He does not want to fathom the idea of making this worse for himself or others. Moreover, he can't imagine how they would react if he told them that he had already secretly planned to escape from the Ark and explore the world outside. Regardless, the matter of his problem is at this very moment, and instead of dwelling on the future, he needs to fix the mess he has now.
"Son," Nelson coldly said, his voice like an icy blade cutting through the young man's soul. "Sit down; we need to talk," he ordered, gesturing towards the empty chair facing him. "Now," the word alone carried a dangerous undertone, which made Sunny shiver involuntarily as he complied with his father's direct order, feeling the weight of his betrayal like a heavy stone tied around his neck while their dog could watch underneath the table, scared of what was to come for his best friend.
Silence filled the room, and the atmosphere was charged with tension as each of them stared at one another with unspoken words hanging in the air like a dark cloud looming over them.
No one dared to speak first. Sunny could feel his heart pounding in his chest with clenched teeth in anticipation of his impending doom, bracing himself for the inevitable storm that was about to hit him. Whatever happens, he can only face it head-on and pray to whatever gods still exist out there for mercy.
"Sunny..." Closing his eyes, Nelson exhaled deeply. "I know what you have done."
His heart skipped a beat as he gasped loudly, unable to contain his shock. Although he already expected this to happen, this is just the way it was going to unfold, but not this soon. He searched desperately for any sort of escape route in his mind but found none.
There were no excuses for what he did, and to be frank, he regretted making them upset and worried, but he was still content in saving someone's life from danger. Because it is the right thing to do after all, which is what a good person should do.
Another silence hanged in the air as each of them tried to gather their thoughts, taking deep breaths to calm their nerves. The tension in the room was palpable when everyone waited for one of them to make the next move.
It was cold yet fiery hot, a paradox of emotions that made Sunny feel dizzy with fear and trepidation. In the end, he must face the consequences, like a man, rather than running away from them. A good person has to take the blame for their actions, regardless of what comes next.
However, what he didn't expect after that was them giggling like manics. Their once serious expression turned to a grinning smile as they wiped tears of laughter streaming down their cheeks.
"Gotcha!" They said simultaneously, laughing harder until tears were streaming down their faces, "You got scared, didn't you?!" Mei humorously taunted him while her sister chimed in with her own laughter.
For a moment, Sunny couldn't believe what he was hearing, but then suddenly realized that he had been fooled by his own imagination.
His shoulders slumped with relief when he let out a sigh of disappointment. "I thought you were going to punish me." He answered truthfully, finding himself still feeling slightly nervous despite knowing that he was not in real danger.
"Of course not," Mei said, wiping tears from her eyes coupled with a warm smile on her face. "Although I told everything to your father, we would never cruelly give you harsh punishment just because you wanted to help someone in need. We knew you would eventually do something like this sooner or later since it is everyone's nature to be rebellious at times," she exclaimed warmly. "We love you too much to punish you severely for doing such a noble thing."
"But...but..." He looked at his father, who was smiling like the rest, and said, "Dad? You're not going to beat me up or something." Sunny asked cautiously, still half expecting some sort of retribution to come his way despite their seemingly forgiving demeanor, "This is what you do, right?" Or has he probably believed too much in the stories he heard from other children about how strict their parents were? Could it be his own imagination of the past that fabricated the whole thing? No, he doesn't know what is true or fiction anymore.
"I suppose you were rather worried about that," Nelson chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. "I never harmed you or your mother ever since you were born. You are my son, and I will always love you no matter what."
True to his words, he stood up from his seat and headed over to Sunny before caressing the hair of the young man. "Come on, why would I do something like that to my only kiddo?" he said affectionately, believing
that this moment was the perfect opportunity to strengthen their bond even further through forgiveness and understanding.
And yet, Sunny still feels there is truth to Nelson not being a perfect father long before this day: "Then...do you remember anyone else besides my mother?" The question immediately caused his father to stop, taking a step back with a look of surprise etched across the man's face.
Unable to contain his own curiosity any longer, Sunny pressed on with the same unwavering determination that led him to discover the truth in the first place: "Was there someone else?" He asked once more.
"Someone else...?" Nelson furrowed his brows in thought. "What are you talking about?" He replied cautiously, trying desperately to find the memories of a past long forgotten. "The only people I know of are you and Adia." The icy grip of realization slowly crept over him as all the pieces suddenly fell into place like dominoes toppling down one after another.
"Unless there is...no, that can't be right," shaking his head. "I'm sorry, son; it's been so long that the previous life we once had on earth is long gone now."
Mei and Lei glanced at one another with confusion and worry.
"But dad...?" Sunny trailed off, unable to finish his sentence as he felt the world around him spinning rapidly like a tornado. "I guess your right," finally agreeing with his father's words while understanding the hesitation behind them, "anyways, what time is it?" He asked, changing the topic instinctively when everyone here needed a moment alone to process everything that had happened today.
Lei answered on behalf of him, "It's twelve PM," she said calmly, "your late for school, Sunny," her voice filled with a gentle reminder rather than an accusation. "We should hurry up before we miss the entire lecture," her sister added in agreement, quickly shifting the focus away from the shocking revelations that had just occurred moments ago.
Mei, however, stood up from her seat. "I'll stay with Nelson," she said softly, walking towards his side as she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "We can talk about this later when you're ready," she whispered tenderly into his ear, giving him a reassuring smile before turning back to the others.
"You two, go ahead," she said dismissively while keeping her gaze firmly fixed on them until they were out of sight.
Sunny didn't say anything else but nodded silently in response, feeling that they needed a moment of time to recover from asking a question that caused him and his father to think about the past they had already forgotten while still retaining some vague memories of it.
As Mei walked towards the door with him trailing behind her, he couldn't help but wonder if there was indeed someone else besides his mother who lived with them. Price to pay for achieving immortality and living for so long that they begin to lose pieces of themselves.
After Sunny and Lei left the kitchen, Nelson turned around with a look of deep remorse in his eyes and asked, "Did I really do that?" He asked himself rhetorically, clenching his fists tightly in frustration, "Could I be the type of father that beats his own children?"
There is a slight possibility that he was once not an upstanding father, and that scares him greatly. "I don't remember anything clearly anymore." Sadness filled his heart as tears welled up in his eyes, but he swallowed them back down.
Placing her hand over his cheek, Mei kindly reassured him. "The past should stay in the past," she softly said. "You've grown to be a better man, and you're doing everything in your power to make sure we live a good life here in the Ark. That alone shows how much of a good person you have become."
The angeloid spoke with a warm smile, telling him that everything would be alright despite their current predicament. They stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment, as if time itself had stopped, letting the weight of their shared history hang heavy between them like a thick blanket made of guilt and regret.
"Nelson..." Her face moved an inch closer, causing the other to do the same.
Before their lips were ever going to touch, he immediately stopped himself from going further. "I'm sorry," he said, retreating himself quickly from their sweet embrace. "I can't...we shouldn't," he said breathlessly as he turned away from her.
"I still love my wife, even when she is longer here," his voice cracking slightly as he fought back the tears threatening to overflow from his eyes. "I just...I need time to understand everything first before I can commit myself to anyone else again," he said, hoping she would understand his reasons.
Forcing herself to stay composed, Mei clenched her fists tightly, having done so much to make advances to this man in hopes of marrying Nelson. She had grown to love him the moment they began living in this home. And yet, no matter how many times she tries to win him over, he always comes back to his dead wife. It was unfair for her to expect anything more than friendship from him after all these years.
"I see..." With a forced smile, she bowed apologetically, "I understand." Turning around swiftly, she left the kitchen with her pride shattered to pieces, walking out of the kitchen without looking back.
Covering his mouth, Nelson lowered his head down with a disgusted look plastered on his face. Feeling sick to his stomach for almost betraying Adia again, "that Angeloid..." Gathering his bearings, he rubbed his exhaustive eyes from the emotional strain of the morning's events.
Not only has he to deal with Mei's shenanigans, he also has to cope with the fact that he maybe isn't a perfect father. Losing Adia was painful enough, but learning that he could have hurt his own son for whatever reason it might be would make him feel like a monster.
Worse still, Mei loves him dearly, to the point of it being more than just love but a desire to marry. And as much as he finds the idea interesting, Nelson still has to deal with the inner turmoil of everything that has happened today.
He hoped one day Nelson would piece together the puzzle of who he truly was before they came to the Ark with the rest of humanity. But for now, he must put aside his personal feelings for the sake of his family.
