Chapter V
They were in the kitchen. Ophelia was cooking and Valerie is sitting in a baby chair.
The room was engulfed with the smell of freshly grilled fish and stir-fried asparagus.
Drawn in by the delicious smell, Izekiel appeared.
Ophelia then placed the plate of food on the dinner table. She notices Valerie was intently eyeing the food. She lets out a laugh.
Ophelia: “Val, you can’t have this yet. Here’s your milk, drink this well and grow up quickly so you can enjoy these dishes.”
Hearing that Valerie gave her all in chugging the milk down. While Izekiel was shoving the food in his mouth.
Ophelia: “Izekiel! Eat slowly or you’ll choke.”
He slows down.
Ophelia: “Goodness, why are you so hungry today? Did you eat nothing during your mission?” she says, very worried.
Izekiel tried to avoid her stares.
Ophelia: “You didn’t, did you? *sigh* No matter how busy you may be, you still need to eat something.”
Izekiel: “I can’t help it, those monsters kept appearing days and night. I can’t even sleep properly.” He chugs down a glass of water with annoyance.
Izekiel: “By the way mom, the academy said they need you to end your break by this week.”
Ophelia: “Damn those bastards, why do they feel the need to overwork my son? And seriously? I thought I still have a month left.” She was clearly irritated by this.
But then realization hits her, she’d just cursed in front of her baby. She looked at Valerie and immediately apologized hysterically.
Izekiel is still put off by them. But this time he just ignores it and continued.
Izekiel: “I don’t know the exact reason, but they said it was urgent.”
Ophelia: “Ughhhh, they can’t do anything themselves. If I have to go back to work, who will take care of my baby???”
Izekiel: “I’m free.”
…
Ophelia: “What?”
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Izekiel: “I’ve got no more work for at least a month. After that hectic mission I would sue them if they didn’t let me take a break.”
Ophelia: “Although I’m happy, that’s not what I was implying. What do you mean, YOU? Don’t you like, hate her or something?"
Izekiel: “Hate is a strong word, mom. I don’t hate that baby. I’m just not used to it yet. Beside it’s still suspicious, and you said she’s my sister now so I need to get along with her.”
Hearing this, both Ophelia and Valerie stares at him like he’s gone completely mad.
Izekiel was clearly offended after seeing the looks on their face.
Izekiel: “Come on, my intentions are completely pure and safe. So, stop staring at me like that.”
Ophelia: “What had happened to you during your mission? I’m honestly getting kind of worried.”
Ophelia: “Do you even know how to take care of a baby? I absolutely do not want to come back home to both of my children disappearing.”
Izekiel: “Do you? The last time you took care of a baby was almost 500 years ago. That baby was me and look how I turned out.”
Ophelia: “I may not be perfect, but at least I can do a much better job than you. And your dad was mostly the one who took care of you.”
Izekiel: “Exactly.”
Ophelia: “Fine fine, I’ll trust you this once.” She says, completely defeated.
Ophelia: “I have no choice either way, I can’t trust people enough to let anyone else babysit my baby."
While Valerie was seriously questioning how much time she has left to live.
A few days passed and Ophelia went back to work at the academy.
Izekiel: “It’s just you and me now, huh.”
…
Izekiel: “Soooo, are you hungry?”
Valerie gave him a glare. Izekiel of course, chose to ignore it.
Izekiel: “Come to think of it, what do babies even eat anyway?”
He looks at Valerie. She shrugged and look away. Not sure of what to give her, he prepared a plate of chips and place it in front of her.
Izekiel: “No?”
She stares at the chips with disappointment.
Izekiel: “Well, what do you eat then????”
With no choice left, she sighed and points to the baby bottle on the countertop.
Izekiel: “Ohhhhh, milk?”
She nods.
He got some baby formula from the pantry, put one cup of it in the bottle then looks at Valerie. She shakes her head, he put one more cup in and she nods. He poured some lukewarm water and mix it. Once finished, he gave it to Valerie and let her hold the bottle and drink it herself. Although she was usually fed by Ophelia, now she has no choice but to make do and drink it herself.
Izekiel: “Look, I know we’ve had our differences before but now you and I are siblings so I have to tolerate you somehow.”
She just stares back at him with indifference.
Izekiel: “It’s my first time taking of a baby so cut me some slack, will you?? And it’s your second time being a baby so you have more experiences than me.”
Valerie: “What kind of logic is that?” her inner thought shows on her face.
Izekiel: “It’s crazy how I know exactly what you’re trying to say without having to read your mind.” He sounds kind of proud which irked her.
Izekiel: “Anyway, what do you usually do after you eat?”
She gestured a ‘pick me up’ sign.
He looks confused for a second then started to understand her gesture. He picked her up and walk whichever way she points to. They end up in the living room and she points to a cradle. He laid her in the cradle. Then she points to a book on the couch, it was a storybook. He read her that storybook and soon after she fell asleep.
Finally, the catastrophe of this day ended. It’s a surprise to see she’s still alive with him taking care of her.
Days passed, Ophelia who finally finished most of her work decided to come back home for a bit to check on her dear children.
She opened the door. An immediate look of horror could be seen on her face.
Ophelia: “WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED HERE?!?” She shouted.