A month had passed and today was when Joren's mother and sister would be arriving. For the past month, Joren didn't slack off. His schedule was to wake up early, eat breakfast, work out, train his mana, eat lunch, train his mana again, eat dinner, bathe, and maybe have some fun time with Lauren. She even started teaching him how to cook. He already knew how to cook but he wanted to know how people cooked without modern technology
He's gotten the hang of aura and can use it casually, although he's not an expert with it just yet. His understanding and control of mana are incomparable to when it was when he first arrived in the village, but he will still need a few more years before he can call himself an expert.
After his morning training concluded, he went inside to eat lunch with Lauren. As he opened the door, he saw Lauren preparing a huge feast. There were many pots on the kitchen counter, and lots of food out getting ready to be cooked. It was not the usual rice, veggies, meat, and fruit he'd always had for lunch this past month.
"Why are you making a lot of food Auntie?"
"Your mother and sister are coming home today. They probably haven't had a proper meal during those two weeks of travel. Also, I know they are going to be thrilled when they see you so this can be a celebration on top of that. Mhmm, yes, I think they'll love it." She pinched his cheek and went back to cooking.
Joren went to his room with an apple in his hand. If he was going to eat a lot later, no need to stuff himself right now. Also, since he will finally be reuniting with his family, he wanted to spend the next few days with them so he decided to postpone his training.
'Hmm, I should take a bath before they arrive.' When Joren finished his apple, he noticed that his shirt still had sweat on it so he wanted to freshen up to be presentable in front of his mother and sister.
"I'm going to take a bath, Auntie." He walked towards the bathroom naked with his clean clothes in his arms.
"Okay, but be quick, they should be arriving soon." She retourted.
Joren spent the next twenty minutes cleaning himself. He was going to be quicker but feeling the warm water on his body was very relaxing. Working out might make you feel great, but Joren thought that taking a bath after working out had to be one of the best feelings.
'Oh shit, I'm drooling.' Wiping his saliva, Joren prepared to exit the bath.
...
Glenn arrived at his home alongside Glenda and Grace. The rest of his group went to their own homes, finally having the time to relax and be with their loved ones.
Glenn opened the door and was greeted by a beautiful woman who happened to be his wife.
"Welcome back Dear." She kissed him. "And welcome Glenda, Grace, it's nice to see you again. How was your trip?" Lauren welcomed them inside closing the door behind them.
When they entered, the smell of food hit their noses. After traveling for two weeks without eating a proper meal, their mouths started watering. Lauren had always been an amazing cook. Glenda had been friends with Lauren for years so she knows how amazing her food tastes. It tastes so good that Glenn tries to have her open a restaurant but she always declines saying that she likes being a housewife.
"The food smells amazing as always Lauren, is this the surprise you had for us?" Glenda asked wiping away her drool.
"Haha, no this isn't the surprise. Although I don't blame you for thinking so. I treat my wife's cooking as a gift as well. But what I have for you is even better than this." He smirked
"Even better than Auntie Lauren's cooking? I don't know Uncle, it's kind of hard to beat something this good." Grace retorted already stuffing her plate.
"Yea I agree, Auntie Lauren's food is the best. Save some for me sis. Oh, hey mom."
Everyone turned around to see a ten-year-old boy running to where Grace was grabbing a plate. Nobody spoke and the silence was loud. Glenn and Lauren were both smiling as Glenda and Grace stared at Joren with wide eyes. They were confused, not knowing who this boy was. But when he called them 'Mom' and 'Sis' they couldn't help but be shocked. They didn't have a son or a brother, at least not anymore.
'Who is this little boy and why is he calling me 'Mom'? Wait! He kind of looks like James!' Glenda's brain was on fire trying to unravel the mystery child right before her eyes.
"Aww, you're so cute! What's your name?" Grace put her plate down and went over to Joren snapping out of her puzzlement.
"It's me sis, Joren!" He smiled brightly and hugged Grace tightly.
When they heard this, Grace and Glenda froze. Hearing the name Joren brought sad memories to both of them. How could they forget the tragic events behind the passing of their husband and father, as well as their son and brother? It still haunts them to this day.
So when he said his name was Joren, it brought out all the pain and heartache they had been suppressing for a long while.
"Glenn!" Glenda snapped towards Glenn with an angry expression. "What's the meaning of this?!" She demanded with heavy emotions in her voice. Even Grace started to tear up as she scrutinized this so-called Joren head to toe wondering if he could possibly be her brother.
"Calm down Glenda, let me explain." Both Glenn and Joren explained everything from what went on when he was a slave, to how he was found by Glenn and his group. When heard what happened, they couldn't help but burst into tears. Not only because of the 'hardships' Joren went through but because after five long grueling years, he was finally back home.
Grace hugged Joren tightly as she cried on his shoulder. Glenda rushed over and held them both in her embrace.
'Finally, after five long years, my baby is back. Thank the Gods. Thank you so much. Thank you for bringing my family back to me. James my Dear, I hope you can rest well now knowing our little boy is back home.' Glenda held her children for what felt like hours before she finally let go.
They all sat down to eat dinner. Glenda put Joren in her lap, not wanting him to disappear. When he told her that he could sit on his own, she vehemently declined. So Joren had to spend the entire dinner sitting on his mother's lap, not that it was a problem though.
Grace was very happy that her little brother was back. When he tried to eat, Grace would feed him. If he wanted to wipe his mouth, she would wipe it for him. Again, he didn't mind it. He knew that they were overly excited to have him back in their lives. They only wished that Gloria could have been here to see him.
As they finished dinner, Lauren and Glenn packed up giving the family some time to themselves. They talked about many things like Gloria and Grace learning magic and being taught by Glenn. They also talked about how sad they were when he was gone. How broken their family felt and how they were depressed for a couple of years.
Emotions that Joren had never felt before surged through his body. The feeling of a loving family? A mother's warmth? A sister's care? He's never felt that way in his life. He had been shunned, outcast, and betrayed by his family and closest friend in his past life, not knowing the love of anyone. But now, seeing how a family should be, feeling their love, he couldn't help but cry in their arms.
As it became dark, it was time to go home. Since Joren's family was back, he wouldn't be sleeping at Glenn's house anymore. But he would still come over every day to train with him.
They said their goodbyes and went back to their home, which conveniently was just a few houses down from where Glenn lived.