"So, you're telling me you're some sort acquaintances of my father." I queried.
"You are mistaken miss. We already informed you that we are very close friends of your father. Your so
called papa has informed us to be present here. But it seems that he himself is yet to reach home." The
one with the blonde hair and icy cold eyes said. He was a man of few words. This was very clear by his
body language and stature.
"In short, he's late. As always." We all proposed concurrently. Strangely enough.
"Please gentlemen, have a seat and make yourselves comfortable for God knows how long you have
here in absence of anybody here in this house. I shall prepare some tea for you all. What kind of tea
would you like to prefer, please?"
"Anything would be appreciated" "May I ask for some lavender tea?" Came back two answers
simultaneously.
The one with the icy silver eyes looked dead at the yellow orbs of the red head as if he was acting like a
brat asking for some sort of candy. On the other hand the red head looked relaxed with the absurdity of
the whole situation. And last but not least, the brunette did not give a shit about what was happening at
all. Truth to be told, all of them had very peculiar personalities. One was a sophisticated man of few
words. Other was a man child. Last one was a bit of introvert, I could say. Yeah, we will go with that.
"Of course! Lavender tea would be here in a moment." I replied with a tight lipped fake smile which I
was very sure of they could see through. I then left them in their own matters and went into the kitchen
to prepare tea.
While making the tea I recalled how absurd the situation was when I met them. To think that these
people are actually my Papa's acquaintance. However, I need to be a hospitable host for whoever and
however unpleasant these guest might be. They seem quite familiar as if I had seen them somewhere
before but couldn't put my finger on it.
With a tea tray on my both hands, I walked out the kitchen only to see all the three males observing
their surroundings like curious little children. I suppose everyone has their own moments. I couldn't
help but giggle at their peculiar and childlike actions. The abrupt sound of giggle had seem to catch their
attention for they have turned their necks so fast, it would seem it broke. Now, that would be quite
unfortunate. As much as I don't like them enough for now, I wouldn't want them hurt by any means. I
placed the tray on the table that was set up in front of the sofa where these three male had situated
themselves. I poured each of them a cup of lavender tea as requested and made myself comfortable at
the opposite side of the table in a single chair.
"Now, I believe I've left out the introductions. How impolite of me. I apologize for such a behavior. I am
Aethra Sephtis , the one and only daughter of Augustus Sephtis. Now, who would you be?" I announced.
The red head lifted up his head from his cup to look me straight in the eyes. Those vibrant yellow orbs
seem to glow for a moment. The sensation was familiar but not quite memorable enough to point it out.
One may desire to shrink in front of such scrutinizing gaze but I was not one to back down. Lowering my
stare meant to be defeated, and defeat is something that my papa hasn't taught me.
"You may address me as Acheron Merikh, my dear. Truth to be told, we are more than close friends to
your father We are actually blood brothers. Your father is the youngest of all of us present here."
Horror. Stupidity. Astonishment. I couldn't state the plethora of emotions that I may or may not have
been portraying on my face. I've never heard of these brothers that they are mentioned just right now. I
laughed in sheer nervousness to decipher if all of this was just a mere pleasantry but I could get that was
not the case so I stopped.
"How come I am not informed of such a important information about my father. In my past seventeen
years of life never have Papa mentioned about any of his brothers. Is this really true?" I incredulously
asked of such absurdity.
"The reason is unknown but what he just told is the truth and to think that your beloved father actually
hidden such a thing about your family for so long is quite interesting." The quite brunette who was just
silent until now spoke up.
Trust is what was the most powerful among us daughter and father. Today, it feels like this trust meant
nothing to him. The agony of not believing my own father was tearing me apart from inside. I was so
indulged in my self that I lost track of my own actions and couldn't feel the bitter tears that ran from
eyes. Thick globs of salty tears seemed never ending. To show such action in front of strangers seemed
quite shameful. Crying was a sign of weakness in my perspective and I wasn't so easily ready to show
such a side of mine to some mere unknown people.
"Come now dear! You need not shed tears for such small matters. After all there must have been some
reasons to inform you of your own family. We have heard a ton things about you dearest niece. Oh how,
he brags about his daughter all the time." The blonde comforted me by squeezing my left shoulder, just
how a father would. Then, I realized how stupid and naïve I was to believe these unknown people so
easily. That I saw my father as the person who has betrayed me without even looking for any possibility
of formal evidences.
"I am very sorry, I hadn't realized I was being so stupid out of the blue. Thank you for your kind words
for my father. I really love my father with all of my very being. To think that he would have hidden such
things from me really stupefied me. I should have saw the reasons for doing so." Taking blame was
always one of my habits. Though papa had always told not do such things but I couldn't help myself
from doing so.
I need to know what else is there. Papa had always been acting strange whenever I bring up the family. I
had always been curious about my family. Yes! They are not my own but they see me as their own and
vice versa. Papa had picked me up from the streets of Manchester, seventeen years ago on 4th of September. That is the day I have been born and left alone by own family because of my weak
constitutional body. I was dying on the streets in the heavy rain of England wailing, if some sort of angel
may hear my cries and take me to a safe heaven. At that moment, papa had took me in as his own.
Staring from feeding me from his own hands to doing my bed and laundry. He does it all. A perfect
human being and a father, a daughter could ever ask for. What still surprises me more is that he still
hasn't aged. God knows how.
Then, suddenly I heard the creaking noise of the drawing room opening. I felt my blood ran cold upon
knowing very well who could it be. I turned around my head slowly and looked at the intruder. Of
course, it was papa. I didn't know what to do in such a situation. So I did what I felt the best. Smile.
Papa stared at me indifferently, as if reading my mind on what I was thinking. Who knows. He actually
might have. Let's see how this situation at hand turns out. I hope everything goes well. Hoping for the
best has always been my weak point. It turns out to be worst, but let's see if God supports me this time.