I wonder what's going on when I hear soft music coming from the living area as I walk down the stairs to meet with my team members. That's the first time any form of music is played in the mansion ever since we moved in and I wonder what the celebration that brought about the change is
I walk further down the stairs and pause on a stair when I see the television is also on and the music I'm hearing is coming from it. My team members and the rest of the people in the room are watching a slideshow of my mate's picture playing on the screen.
I watch along with them as the photos play from where I'm standing. The Ash in these photos looks very happy and carefree. She has the brightest and most beautiful smile that I have ever seen on a woman's face. Even though the badly dyed hair didn't suit her, it did little to diminish her beauty.
The pictures are of different postures of her with a black and white silver cake on her eighteenth birthday. After a while, the picture slide ended and a video started playing. On the screen, this time is not Ash but a black old woman who is also laughing happily into the camera...
"I'm sorry Alpha, I couldn't get her to stay for any more pictures, she's just too excited about the gift you left for her in the shed. Well, I'm also excited to know what it is, so let's go check it out."
'Alpha?... Was that me she was referring to? The photo slides and video were specially made for me?... And why in hell would I leave my mate's birthday gift in a shed? Who is this black woman to Ash? Although she looks very familiar, I can't place where I knew her from.
The camera moved from the woman's face to everywhere around the room as she moved around the place. All of a sudden my mate's excited face appeared in front of the camera, grinning from ear to ear
"Martha! He bought me a car!" She happily exclaimed
Seeing her huge eyes and wide smile makes my heavy heart feel lighter and I smile.
'A car! I bought her a car for her eighteenth birthday, no wonder it was kept in the shed.'
For some seconds after her excited cry, the camera's focus shifts away from them and I can only hear their voices talking excitedly in the background
"Oh, my God!... Ash, this is great! It is so beautiful!" I hear the older woman exclaim before the camera is finally raised to briefly focus on my mate's face. She looked so happy, her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears.
The camera finally shifted to the car that got them so excited. I'm really impressed by my choice of gift for her. It's indeed a beautiful piece of machinery. A gull-wing Mercedes-Benz.
Right then, I wish I didn't locked away some part of my memory that I believed was corrupt. Not remembering this part of our lives is more painful than I thought it would be
"Ash, there's another gift here, come check it out!" The woman shouted as she focused the camera on the passenger seat where a laptop box was placed
Another gift? I also bought her a laptop?' My eyes widens with pride and surprise as I thought to myself
"Another gift!? Are you serious" Ash exclaims before she appears in front of the camera again.
"Omg! It's a laptop!" She gasped out in astonishment and hurriedly opened the envelope attached to the box
"It's from Eric," She announces and I automatically look toward where my best friend is sitting, surprised that he also got my mate a birthday gift.
I'm a rich man and so is Eric. Buying her such expensive gifts is certainly nothing to us but it's obvious the gifts meant a lot to her from the way she was crying and smiling at the same time
"Oh, my God! You guys! I can't believe this!..." She dabs her tears away with her fingers as she talks directly into the camera.
"I'm sorry. I— I don't know what to say. I'm just overwhelmed...
Thank you, baby! My cake is beautiful and my car?... It's gorgeous, it took my breath away, literally. I love you so much for making my birthday a memorable one...
And thank you, Eric. I really appreciate this..." She said, raising the laptop for the camera and I nod in acknowledgment as if she was directly conversing with me.
"Uhmm... I have to go now. Martha is making signs for me to round up. I'll see you guys later at the Arena. It's our last day of work but we still have to get to work early. Bye!"
The video ends then
"Work? What kind of work is she talking about?" I ask as I walk down the remaining stairs.
All heads turn toward me.
"Hey, man..."
"Thor, you're here..."
"General..."
They all stand up from their seats as they say at the same time. Eric walks forward and gives me a tight hug.
"God, I'm sorry Thor! I'm so sorry about the baby! This is all my fault. If I had not insisted on..."
"No man, don't!" I seriously say as I pull away from the hug.
"Don't put this on yourself because It's not your fault. You did your best. You took care of her in my absence and I'm really grateful for that.''
He nods
"We had it all planned. We wanted to wait for a good time to tell you about the baby and we picked today after the trial. A day we would all be celebrating...
When Uncle Knox called to inform me that you were on your way to Council Yard, I told him not to worry. There was no way you both would ever meet since Ash was put in a private room away from the rest and there was no reason for you to visit where the inmates are. I already gave a strict warning to the warden that I didn't want her to relate with the inmates.
I never knew Victoria would be put in Ash's room. The doctor explained to me now that she put Victoria in Ash's room because she was worried about Ash's health and felt the company would be good for her. I would have acted fast and prevented you from going there if I had known they were roommates. I never would have believed that..."
"This is fate..." The Seer interrupts Eric. "This is no one's fault, it's faith. It's how your journeys are mapped out by Moon goddess... I'm really sorry about your unborn child, Thor but please understand that all these had been predestined to happen.
There was no better way for the two of you and your mates to actualize the prophecy and prevent a bigger catastrophe than this way. Viveka, Liv, and Drew knew this and gave their lives for the prophecy to be fulfilled. With you and your mate, Thor, the worst has come and gone and in case you're worried, then don't be. I see plenty of children in your future.”
The room erupts in claps and cheers when the seer finishes speaking. They all crowd around, patting my back and shoulders, except for Ella who comes to hug me like her life depends on it
"You heard the Seer, Sir. The worst has gone. More babies will come so please don't worry too much about this, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Ella." I reply, smiling at her before going to a chair to sit down.
Now, it's question and answer time. Even though I'm sure my mate would never cheat on me because of our mate bond, the timing of her pregnancy still bothers me.
I waited for all of them to be seated before I turn toward Eric...
"Eric I have a lot of questions right now about my mate..."
"Sure, shoot."
"Okay, firstly, Anders told me Ash's pregnancy was ten weeks old, what's up with that? Could you maybe explain to me why my mate's pregnancy was ten weeks old when we arrived here barely four weeks ago?"