Leon's raised and cared for nine orphaned
children with the devoted assistance of Roy and Noor. The children were polite
and well-mannered, a quiet testament to the care they received. Sumi was one of
them. She was seven years old and would turn eight today. To Leon, she was like
a daughter, and he raised her with deep, fatherly love.
Roy had shouldered many responsibilities
that Leon had entrusted to him. Because of this, he unintendedly overlooked Sumi's birthday—until Leon reminded him on their way home. They stopped by a few eateries, purchased dinner and a two-tier chocolate cake. Then they returned home, laden with gifts and delicacies for the children. His hands were full of bags and gifts. Roy had to press the doorbell with his elbow, owing to
the large cake box.
Roy's spouse—Noor, opened the door and
smiled gladly upon seeing Leon return. She quickly relieved them of a few bags to lighten their load. Upon hearing the bell, the children, in a bunch, stormed toward the door and found Leon at the doorstep. They rushed forward with cxcitement, laughing gleefully. "Brother is home!" They jumped onto him, and cuddled him like never before. "Brother! Welcome back, we missed you!"
Leon knelt, set the bags of gifts on the
floor, and kissed their foreheads. After a long period of exhausting work and tension, he had finally returned home. "There are more gifts for you all in the backseat of the car; go get them," he said. "Where's Sumi, by the way?" he asked, glancing around. Roy's eldest child, Noah, carrying a large box of chocolates, replied, "She's really mad at you. She locked herself in her room."
Leon realized he was in deep trouble. He set the bag of presents on the dining table before calling out to Sumi. Noor approached Leon with a concerned look and said, "Leon, she hasn't left her room since morning. She refuses to eat or drink. She'll fall sick if this continues."
Leon unbuttoned his shirt, hung it on a coat
rack, and climbed the stairs to her room, while the children tailed behind. Roy was busy preparing plates and setting the table.
Leon reached the door and pushed the
handle, but it was blocked from the other side. He knocked on the door, but Sumi didn't want to see him. He moved closer to the door and pleaded with her gently. "Sumi! I'm back. Open the door, please. I'm sorry, I couldn't answer your letters." He pressed his ear against the door and heard Sumi's muffled sobs. Noor began pleading too. "Sumi, please open the door. Look! Big brother brought a really big cake and lots of gifts for you. Please open the door…" The children chimed in, coaxing her. Sumi then rose, removed the wooden-crafted study table—which Leon had crafted for her—that was blocking the door. She quickly returned to her bed, facing away from the door, and clutched her panda pillow tightly. Leon was allowed inside; he quietly yet swiftly sat beside her on the bed and gently called her name. "Sumi—Sumi? Let's go downstairs, everyone's waiting. I'm sorry, Brother is sorry. I've brought chocolates and dresses for you." He leaned close and kissed her cheek, murmuring apologies. Sumi wiped her tears, sat up, her eyes puffed like muffins. Without a word, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Leon's shoulders. Leon lifted her into his arms and wiped her tears. Noor led the other children downstairs to the dining room, while Sarah, the eldest among the children, stood in the hallway just to take the opportunity to annoy Sumi. "She's such a drama queen," she said,
smirking.
"I am not!" yelled Sumi, but Sarah stuck
out her tongue, getting on her nerves. "Drama queen! Drama queen!" she sang repeatedly. Sumi wiggled in Leon's hold. "Brother! Put me down!" She loosened
his hold and jumped down immediately, darting after Sarah. "Stop right there, Sarah! How dare you!"
Then Noor intervened, addressing Sarah,
"That's enough, Sarah! At least leave her in peace today."
Sarah grinned and said, "I was just playing, aunty!"
They brought the cake to the living room and set up a camera. Leon dragged a chair for himself; he sat, crossing his right leg over the other, his head reclined against one arm draped casually over the chair's back, while his other hand rested on his thigh.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Noor
exclaimed, "Oh! I've been wondering who's left out." She rushed to the door. Everyone stared at the corridor, wondering who could arrive at this moment. For an instant, Leon had a bad feeling, but then Maria jumped out from the corridor, uttering "Princess!"
Sumi squealed delightfully, "Maria!" She
jumped at her. Maria bent down and lifted Sumi onto her hip, then embraced her. Leon smiled and uttered, "I missed you, Maria."
Maria blushed. She hung her purse on a rack and reached out to Leon for a cuddle. "It's been a long time, Leon. We missed
you too."
Leon stood up, embracing her. "Alright!
Let's cut the cake," Roy announced and grabbed the party popper. Sumi jumped
down from the couch, pulled Leon by his wrist, climbed back onto the couch, and
said, "Sit beside me, help me blow the candles." How could he refuse a
princess's wish?
Together, they blew out the candles, and a
joyful chorus rang out: "Happy birthday, Sumi!"
Leon, who had been advised to avoid sweets due to his diabetes, took a bite of the cake from Sumi's hand.
Roy snapped a lot of pictures of them all—to store in the family album. Leon glanced at the children with kind and graceful eyes. 'Just in the blink of an eye,' he thought, 'they have all grown up.' He fervently hoped for their enduring welfare.
Later that night, they unwrapped all the
gifts—dolls, sweets and chocolates, dresses, sandals, and some colorful bedsheets. The children distributed them among themselves, but being kids, a few playful fights were inevitable.
Sarah, the eldest at twelve, was usually
the most responsible and quiet one. Leon had brought her a small purse to keep her savings. Sarah's eyes lit up delightfully. "Thank you! I love you, brother!" She kissed Leon on the cheek and dashed to her room, pulling out her savings from under her bedsheet, and filled the purse with her coins and Judas(Lafizian currency). She wore it and felt like a grown-up woman. "No one knows what I want from my heart except my brother," she said.
The night stretched on with lots of fun and games. They played till midnight, until, one by one, the children dozed off from tiredness. Noah had fallen asleep on Maria's lap. She carefully carried him to bed, laying him beside Sarah and Sumi before turning off the lights.
Leon was rocking Roy's younger child, Hima, to sleep in his lap. With a final glance at the peaceful faces of the children, he gestured to Maria to switch off the lights and close the door…
In the dining room, Maria and Noor were
dining together when Leon walked in. He glanced at the pendulum clock on the wall; it was 1:27 AM already. "I think I should get ready," Leon murmured.
Maria turned back and glanced at the clock, and exclaimed. "What now?! Where are you going this late?"
Leon replied, "I have to testify in court
about everything I did in Feropia." He requested Roy to look after the children
until he returned, "and prepare a bed for Kenzo. He'll be staying for a few
days."
Leon donned into a simple blue shirt and formal pants. When the clock struck quarter past two, Leon received the call. He stepped out where two officers—Morgan and Paul—awaited; they promptly handcuffed him and entered the vehicle. Morgan Brownhat asked Leon if he would prefer a service coffee, for they were going to drive a long distance. Leon preferred a nap instead, since he was tired, and he stretched his legs and arms, then lay down with a little
trouble adjusting.
Morgan Brownhat had been given the job of bringing Leon to the court, whose hearing procedure was much like a tribunal.
Morgan was another brotherly figure for Leon—at least Leon thought of him as
one—whose job was to keep an eye on Leon; he was delegated by the organization
as a Binocular—they named it.
(In CPUS-Units terminology, a 'Binocular' refers to an individual or
a group assigned by an organization—often with government consent—to monitor
someone—mostly a criminal.)
It was around a quarter past four when they reached the court. The weather seemed cloudy and unpromising; it could rain at any moment. Leon entered the hall. The place was so vast it could easily accommodate a hundred people with ample space to breathe. Its architecture was
awe-inspiring. A central raised platform stood surrounded by seated lawyers. Leon was uncuffed and told to stand on it and remain still. After a few readings, the prosecution began.
There were a total of six Binoculars who had periodically, over the past six months, monitored Leon and Daima. Daima was
already declared guilty of unauthorized killings, but Leon was reported as innocent: "Your Honor, Leon had committed no crime under my watch and followed his orders per my reports and schedule," said the lead Binocular. One by one, all the officers gave the similar statements. Kenzo was there too; he looked a bit nervous but then delivered his statement: "Your Honor, Leon is innocent. He committed no crime under my watch and followed his orders per my schedule."
At 6:30 AM, the hearing adjourned. Leon had officially been cleared by the court. He walked out with Kenzo and stretched with a sigh of relief. Leon had to think carefully from the root to hide the sins he had committed—unauthorized crimes at Kami's request. Besides Kenzo, two more people knew about this kidnapping and the truth behind Santa. Leon was not
Mr. Santa…
After the hearing, Kenzo and Leon broke
bread with Morgan and Paul. By ten thirty, Morgan drove them home and waved
farewell. Noor was just finishing tidying, and the kids were awake when they entered. Kenzo would not be staying longer than a couple of days, he said, and was taken to his room, where he dozed till dawn.
Leon was also fatigued because of his
unhealthy sleeping routine; he had been awake for three days straight. Then Roy and Noor approached with concerned looks and said, "Leon, after you departed, Maria left for home alone at three in the morning. We told her to spend the night with us, but she did not."
Leon's eyes widened; he yelled in
frustration, "Did I not say—no girl goes out alone after eight at night?! Doesn't she know the situation in Lafiaza? Who will take responsibility if she's raped?"
Even though Roy assured him she had reached home safely—it takes just a moment before something horrifying happens, Leon said. He cared about her as much as he cared about his family and Julie. "Kami is a good man," he said. "If something happens to his daughter... I'll talk to
her later about this. I need some sleep."
He tiredly ascended the stairs, removed his socks, washed his feet, returned to his bed, and rested his head on the pillow.
Slowly his eyes closed, and for a moment—he stopped thinking about all the
chaos of this world.