Everyone waited in silence and patience in the front room as the midwives tended to the newborn behind the curtains. At first, the silence was soft and expectant, broken only by hushed whispers, the occasional creak of a wooden chair and the frequent deep breaths that Mr. Gobblesmith took. But as the minutes passed, excitement and impatience grew in the room as more visitors entered the house. The kids from earlier: the girl and the 13 year old boy - but this time without the 4-year-old - have finally caught up with Kael and Darin, the 13-year-old was tall for his age, had short black hair and brown eyes. On the contrary, the girl was blond and had blue eyes, and she was short - slightly shorter than Darin and Kael.
after they congratulated Mr. Gobblesmith they walked over to their friends, the boy had a smile as he approached while the girl frowned as she looked at Kael, "You're too late" said Kael to them, "did you get lost or something?".
The girl seemed to expect Kael's provoking comment and replied "We've never agreed to play your stupid game".
And before Kael could reply, the boy explained: "We've met Mrs. Tessa on our way and she asked for our help with something, that's why we're late. We've also met Fenil's parents".
"Anyway that's not important" said the girl, "did you see the newborn yet?" She added, "Well, what do you think?" Kael replied in sarcasm. "Kael, can stop being annoying?!" Said the girl as she rolled her eyes "I prefer being annoying rather than stupid" Kael replied . As their argument started heating, Derek - their father - looked towards them from the other side of the room and said in a loud, clear and serious tone: "Kael and Carla! Stop it!", the siblings gazed eachother in silence, then looked back at their father and replied "Yes, father", as Mr. Gobblesmith - on the other hand - laughed at the sibling-situation.
A few more minutes of silence passed before the door burst open, shattering the stillness. Footsteps echoed through the doorway, accompanied by loud chatter and bursts of joy and laughter. One after another, people filed in - there were more than 10 in total, "Congratulations on the newborn, Rogar" they said as they congratulated Mr. Gobblesmith, turning the quiet atmosphere lively, the medium-sized room didn't seem like it can hold a bigger crowd, despite that, nobody seemed to complain about fitting in, they seemed happy and talkative. Among the new faces a young girl - 14 years of age - she started looking around amidst the crowd until her eyes fell on Mr. Gobblesmith, she smiled and said in a loud and joyous tone while waving through the crowd: "Hey Dad! I invited all the villagers I could find in the streets", "Goodjob, Kory" Mr. Gobblesmith replied with a smile.
After that she started looking around, looking for people she could recognise, until her eyes fell on the group of kids, she smiled and approached the group, she was tall and had brown long hair, brown eyes, vibrant and vivid eyes and a huge smile, just like her father's wide and iconic smile, as well as a simple white dress with rugged brown leather pads fastened over the shoulders, the clean dress makes her look like a noble on the first glance. the smile got wider and wider as she dug her way across the room. "Hey Carla!" She said happily as she got close, "Hey Kory!" Carla replied with a smile, then Kory looked at the others and said "Hey Brennan, Kael and Darin!", "Hi Kory" the 13-year-old boy - Brennan - replied with matching energy. "You wouldn't believe what just happened!" Kory said loudly while looking towards Carla, loud enough to get the rest of the group's attention, but before anyone could ask, Carla and Kory leaned towards eachother, and started to speak in a lower tone, which made it hard for the rest of the group to hear in the loud and lively room, soon Carla and Kory started drifting away through the crowd while chattering and laughing to a different side in the room.
"I guess we'll never know what just happened.." Kael said in disbelief, "man, Kory and Carla are always together" he added. "Is that bad?" Brennan commented "It's good to have a few close friends" he added.
"I mean, sure, but I envy them, since my only close friend is mute apparently" he said as he looked towards Darin, Darin was taken off guard with Kael's sentence, he looked speechless at Kael, then tried to look away to avoid the interaction because he didn't know what to say.
"Did you bite your tongue?" Brennan said, "I don't remember seeing you speak a word today, I'm used to seeing you and Kael just keep talking without ever shutting up when you're together" he added, "that aside, if you're feeling unwell or anything, I can bring you to visit my Dad when he's back to the village next week".
"don-" Darin muttered before letting out a cough and then continuing: "don't worry about me", "if you say so" Brennan replied, as he assumed that Darin was just nervious or too excited to meet the new little friend. "Oh, is Mr. Banter out for work again?" asked Kael. "Yeah" replied Brennan, "I imagine it's difficult to be one of the few doctors in the area", Kael said, "a pack of wolves or bears has attacked a nearing village, or at least that's what they said" he continued, "a few men from that village came knocking on our door and begged for his help, apparently, the situation is really bad" he added, the three friends went back to the awkward silence as they ran out of subjects to talk about, and just waited patiently, and listened to the loud chatter of the crowd.
"Oh, man, they surely are taking longer than expected" Brennan said, trying to break the silence between the three. "Yeahhh..." Kael replied, and as he said that, 2 midwives finally exited the room, and announced that the newborn is healthy and that he's finally ready for the visitors to meet, the visitors cheered in happiness and relief. Mr. Gobblesmith was the first to enter in a rush, "despite his big and intimidating look, Mr. Gobblesmith may have a weak and sensitive heart after all" Darin thought to himself, after that, One of the midwives suggested limiting the number of people that go in, to avoid overwhelming the baby and overcrowding the small room, the visitors went in, in groups of 3 to 5, to see the newborn and to congratulate Mrs. Gobblesmith.
The adults went in first, a few minutes later - after all the adults got their chance to meet the new visitor, the 5 children were allowed in. As they pushed their way through the curtain - Kory and Carla, then Brennan, Kael and finally Darin - they were inside a small room - significantly smaller than the living room, in the room there was a small bed on the right side of the entrance, in which slept the tired-looking Mrs. Gobblesmith. there a small wooden drawer next to the bed, next to which stood Mr. Gobblesmith while holding the newborn - who was covered in a blanket - while making some funny noises, intending to make the baby laugh or interact. There was also a wooden cupboard on the other side of the room, which made the room tighter and limited the space.
as Mr. Gobblesmith noticed the children, he lowered himself and knelt then started introducing the newborn to the children one by one while baby-talking, "This is my Daughter, and your big sister, Kory, and that girl besides her is Carla" the baby's eyes widened as he looked at them, Kory and Carla started playing with the baby - touching his small and soft hand and tickling him, all without a reaction coming from the newborn, and then after a second, Mr. Gobblesmith turned a little bit to the left then continued: "this, is Brennan, if you've ever found yourself in trouble, you can always count on him like a big brother", Brennan stared at the baby with a smile on his face, and the baby stared back. Then, Mr. Gobblesmith turned a little bit more and said: "and this kid, is called Kael", the baby's eyes were focused on Kael, after a moment of staring, he let out a soft and fluttery laugh, and extended his tiny arms towards him in happiness, which left everyone in the room smiling in awe, "woah, I think he likes me" Kael said loudly, as he got shushed by the 2 midwives who stood on the entrance.
Darin looked at the happy baby in Mr. Gobblesmith's arms and wondered about the type of adventures this newborn will go on, or hardships he will face and where he would end up in life in a few years from now. as Darin look at him he starting to smile subconscious. Suddenly, Darin realised, that he's just like this baby, Darin's new life has just started, he realised that he had a long life to live, everyday from now on, he will face new challenges, go on adventures that he hasn't went on before, discover and learn new things, and try new things, eat new foods and so on.
Darin's daydreams were interrupted by Mr. Gobblesmith as he turned towards the protagonist, when he did so, Darin was finally able to see the baby's face clearly as he was covered in layers of blankets, he had very short brown and sparse hair, brown eyes that resemble those of his father's, and a smile that was still hanging after his recent laugh. As Darin looked at the baby's wide and curious eyes, Darin could see himself in the baby - a helpless, weak and curious creature, as Darin looked at the baby, both their smiles grew wider, until both their smiles has reached the end of their cheeks. a moment later, Mr. Gobblesmith finally added while still baby-talking: "and finally, that's Darin".
As he said that, the baby's eyes suddenly widened, and his smile vanished, and so did Darin's smile as a reaction, the baby stared at Darin for a little bit then frowning and started breathing heavily before starting to cry. Mr. Gobblesmith held him on his shoulder and started patting his back while shushing him in a panic in an attempt to make him stop crying, but his attempts didn't pay off, as the baby just kept crying louder and louder.
"Sorry guys" Mr. Gobblesmith said in a low tone, "maybe another time". The children understood the hint and stood next to the curtain to exit the room as the midwives rushed in.
"Woah, he really hates you" Kael said to Darin. "What did you do to make him cry that much" he added. "Don't worry, he's probably just hungry" Kory said to relieve Darin - who probably thinks it's his fault.
As they finally left the room into the used-to-be loud and lively living room before most of the visitors left, one of the midwives looked at Darin as he was leaving and said in a friendly tone "It's alright, sweetheart. Babies just cry like that sometimes, it's their way of saying hello".
The group stepped out of the building in silence then looked at the night sky, "Woah, it's already too late" Brennan said, "see y'all tomorrow" he added as he took off into the dark streets.
"Soo..., if you're not up to anything, I'll just head back home" Kael said. "Dad told us not to stay out for too late at night" Carla said to Kael. "I know..." he replied.
"Alright... bye Kory" Kael and Carla said while departing to the streets. "Bye Carla, Kael and Darin" Kory said with a smile, before going back in and shutting the door closed.
Carla and Kael started walking into the dark streets and left Darin standing there alone, he didn't know what to do, he doesn't know where his new home is, nor who his parents are yet. He began to stress while thinking of what he should do.
"Dude, are you gonna just stand there or come with us?" Kael said, ending Darin's panic attack.
Darin walked silently with Kael and Carla in the darkness. The loud, steady chirping of crickets echoed from all directions. Darin looked around, confused, turning his head in all directions in search of the source of the sound, but the night revealed nothing. For a moment, he wondered if the sound was coming from the darkness itself.
Kael, watching him quietly, noticed Darin's puzzled expression, and decided to take the chance, "can you hear that sound? The sound of the night?" Said Kael to Darin, Darin looked towards Kael and nodded silently, "I've heard that this is the sound that a monster makes to distract children, it uses it to make them look around... and EAT THEM while they're not looking" said Kael dramatically.
Darin's eyes widened in horror as he jumped in shock and fear after listening to Kael's story, while Kael was having the laugh of his life. His sister, Carla, didn't find this funny, "Stop scaring him!" She screamed at Kael, Kael replied while laughing hysterically: "Why? are you scared too?".
Carla paused for a second, hinting that what Kael said is true, before replying "I'm going to tell Dad!"
A few minutes later they stopped by a house, Kael and Carla looked back at Darin, then Kael said: "alright, here you go". Darin stared back at them in silence while standing still. "What? do you need us to take you inside and tuck you in bed?" Kael said in sarcasm.
Darin understood that this was his house, so he opened the door and paused for a second, looked back to see Kael and Carla still staring at him then said in a low tone: "t- thanks, I'll see you tomorrow" before he entered and closed the door.
Kael and Carla stood still for a second, then looked at eachother before Kael said: "Wow, he's been really weird today", before finally going back to their home.
As Darin entered his home and shut down the door loudly, he saw a light inside coming from a room, so he went to investigate it, and saw a man with a feather in hand and a quill, lamp, and a piece of paper on a table, he was sitting on a wooden chair while writing on the piece of paper, the man's features weren't clear due to the dim lighting. as Darin got closer to get a better look at the unknown man, the man noticed him and said "Hey, so how was it?", Darin didn't seem to answer the question and just stared back, "I mean the baby. I still remember when you were born, you were as little as him" the man added. Darin didn't reply, and instead stood awkwardly in silence. The silence haunted the room, as it was frequently interrupted by the sound of the feather as it taps on the paper, and by the sound of the creaking wooden chair every time the man moves to fix his posture. "Isn't it magnificent?" The man asked, and before Darin could even get a chance to answer, the man continued: "every human was once the size of a rubber ball, and yet they never think about it or appreciated it, instead they live to feed their greed by taking from other fellow humans".
Darin couldn't seem to understand where that came from, yet he felt like he could still relate or understand what the man meant, despite not seeing any form of greed in this new life yet in this peaceful village, he felt like he still has a memory of it, somewhere deep inside his soul - his previous life which he can't remember, but can still feel.
The man interrupted Darin's thoughts and said "forget it, I was just talking to myself", then added "are you feeling sleepy yet?"
As the man said that, Darin started yawning.
The man saw that and stood up, and then grabbed the lantern and approached Darin, Darin got a better look at the man, he was tall, and was probably in his late 20s, with brown hair, scarce facial hair and brown eyes warm eyes, as well as a pleasant smile.
"let's go put you to sleep now." He said
Darin and the man laid down on a small matress on the floor and shared a blanket, despite it not being a lot or particularly comfortable, Darin was happy, as he finally has a place to call home.
Darin then started wondering about his parents, he gathered up courage and asked in an innocent tone: "are you... Dad?".
The man laughed at the absurd question and said "did you forget about me - your brother Marcus?"
"Where's Dad? And Mom?" Darin followed-up his previous question.
"Dad has been in the city for work, and Mom is probably still helping Mr. And Mrs. Gobblesmith with their newborn baby"
Darin was satisfied with the answer, and was about to finally give in to sleep, before he remembered one last thing.
"Marcus.. what should we do if the night monster comes?" Darin asked, Marcus smiled at Darin's innocence "did Kael scare you with one of his stories again?" he asked, and Darin nodded as a response, "the scary stories he tells you are not real, and even if they were, I still wouldn't be afraid if I were you, do you know why?" Marcus said in a soft tone.
"I don't" Darin replied in confusion.
"Because I have a really strong and cool big brother, obviously" Marcus said playfully as he tickles Darin to make him laugh.
A minute of silence passes, Darin started to feel less afraid of the dark, then he said "thank you Marcus, goodnight".