Aunt Ariel's husband, a man who seemed to be in his early 40s was the one to lead the final prayer to send the departed soul's journey to the beyond.
This middle-aged man was tall and hefty with a broad chest. He had sharp cheekbones with long brown hair and short brown beards.
Of course, he prayed to his factioned Divine God.
While everyone was in a somber mood, facing the mound of earth, this middle-aged man clasped his hands together and prayed. "Oh Great Apollo, God of the Sun, Divine of truth, we supplicate thee".
"Look upon your departed daughter with your bright eyes of love".
"Guide her soul into the greater beyond".
"May her soul find rest in the abode of the gods".
"This we pray in the solemn shine of the sun," the man bowed and everyone else followed his lead and then they answered. "Amen".
With that, the burial was officially over.
Sophia cried some more as Tina and Gina consoled her. Throughout, Paul only stood, staring at the mound of earth with hollow eyes without saying a word nor uttering a sound in sorrow.
A few people present threw concerned gazes his way, some mumbling words but none took the liberty to approach and talk to him. He looked too scary.
A few dozen minutes later, everyone left, leaving only Paul and the lean man.
Paul stayed motionless for a few more minutes before finally turning to look the man in the eyes. He said no word but like they say, the eyes are the gateway to the soul, they speak a thousand words if you listen closely enough.
"I vowed to protect you with my life, I don't intend to stay far away, but I will give you some privacy if that is what you want". The man said and left.
Hearing these words, Paul finally paid attention to the man again.
'Who is he?'
'Is he related to mom?'
This was when he noticed that he never bothered to pay attention to the man's facial features before now. Once he thought of it, he did.
Paul finally noticed the lean man's pitch-black hair. He could not tell the length of it since he still had his scarf tied over his head and across part of his face.
He looked middle-aged.
The lean man turned, walked a few meters away before placing his hands behind his back in silence.
Noting that he won't walk further, without saying a word, Paul went closer to the mound of earth, his mom's supposed grave.
Kneeling before the mound of earth, for over a minute, Paul just rubbed his hand across the mound of earth, feeling its rough texture.
In that minute, Paul experienced an avalanche of emotions.
He felt his whole life flash before his eyes.
His whole life, Claire Arrakis, his mom was always there, always the guiding light, leading him on when he needed guidance and protecting him when he needed protection from the world and even himself.
Even when his father who was the bright light of his life was gone, his mom stayed behind as his only guiding light.
But all of a sudden, that person was gone.
His superwoman was gone.
With his hand still on the mound of earth, before Paul knew it, tears already welled in his eyes again as they flowed uncontrollably.
This time, with no one there to see him in his weakest moment, Paul let it all out. Paul cried.
He was stubborn, he refused to let out any loud sound to attract attention but he sobbed and silently choked from his heightened emotions.
If only he knew that the lean man was a Heimdall and that even from that distance, he could hear everything clearly.
Silently, the man clenched his fists.
Paul cried for a few minutes before cleaning his tears. With blurry eyes, staring at the grave of his mother, a different emotion started bubbling inside of him. An emotion that could not blossom yesterday due to the lean man's intervention.
The emotion of anger.
In Paul's heart, anger bloomed like a weed, spreading like a virus and almost overwhelming him in an instant.
Paul didn't succumb to it this time though, he controlled it as steadily, he kept his right hand on the mound of earth.
And then, he swore. "I will get revenge!"
No one knew if it was coincidence but right as he muttered that sentence full of emotion, thunder rumbled in the sky as if in agreement to his declaration.
Paul finally stood up to leave.
Standing up, he wiped his face one last time and in just an instant, there were very few traces to indicate that he had been crying since.
He was close to brand new.
He left and the lean man followed behind him silently like a ghost.
…
"Paul, I'm so sorry for your loss".
Paul looked at his Aunty Ariel and her husband as she spoke. He couldn't reply, he did not know the right word to say so he simply kept quiet.
He already said the words that he yearned to say in her grave.
Observing those hollow eyes that the boy stared back at her with, Aunty Ariel felt heartbroken. She sighed. "It still feels like yesterday when big sister gave birth to you and I had to carry you".
"You know, as a baby, you were so cute, and innocent". She sighed again. "You were so chubby". She laughed.
"The you of then, you were undiluted from the vices of this wicked world but looking at you now, I see only pain and trauma already". Her voice broke, reflecting her pain as she spoke.
"I'm sorry Paul but I need to know," she paused slightly before looking at her nephew with a resolute look on her face. "Tell me how it happened".
Paul already expected this, he nodded.
At this moment, in this room in one of the wooden buildings in the commercial farm, there was not only Paul, his aunty, and her husband, the lean man was also in this room with them.
With a straight look on his face, Paul narrated the events of how everything happened, from when he awakened to many colours, to getting home, to his mom praying, to the intruders, up till the moment his mom died.
Once he was done explaining even as a pained looked was now on his aunt's face, Paul turned his head and stared at the lean man.
"So, who are you?"
"What relationship did you have with my mom?"
"Why did you save me?"
The lean man was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I never had a relationship with your mom until yesterday".
Paul stared into his eyes; he stared back without flinching.
"Those people who attacked you, they are from an organization called the order of the triple six".
"I was once part of the order till they started the purge".
This man stared into Paul's eyes. "I'm seen a Cosmopolitan brutally dissected like a fish just to examine his body to tell how he was able to get the acknowledgement of more than one God".
"I've seen my colleagues perform atrocities against Cosmopolitans, forgetting that they are humans just like us all in a quest for more power".
"I and my brothers, we were revolted by it".
"We left the order and created our own secret order to find and protect Cosmopolitans before the order of the triple six finds them".
"We believe that Cosmopolitans are rare relics of the Divine Gods that should be protected, not hunted and experimented on to get their powers".
"I was in that temple yesterday during the awakening".
"That was how I found you, and consequently your mom".
Paul instinctively stared at his aunt.
"I already explained everything to your aunt, she can confirm".
Right at that moment, Aunty Ariel intervened. "Paul, you're just like your dad so I know that they will come back".
At this moment, a protective look suddenly appeared on her face. "Tell me, how many Divine Gods acknowledged you and which ones?"
Silence.