As the weeks have passed and the weeks turned into more months of waiting, I noticed that my Mother has been quite...wild. One moment she's sweet as pie and then the next moment she's sour as lemon. Thankfully, Father was there to hold her down every time. It's times like this I'm thankful that Father's somewhat intimidating presence is there to help keep Mother in check, not that she was ever intimidated but...I suppose just having Father there was reassuring in itself. I certainly wouldn't even know how to handle Mother and her wild array of emotions. Although, being the older person that I am now, I can see how bearing a child can be a terrible burden.

Simon closed the door to the master's bedroom, sighing in relief that his wife was finally asleep. Sylvester stood a few inches from the door, looking worriedly at his father.

"Um, is Mother okay? She's been…uh…" He couldn't find the proper words to describe how odd he saw his mother behaving as of late. She was yelling at Simon for no reason, then suddenly very affectionate, crying for no reason, and then very happy. She was going through so many various emotions like a flick of a switch.

His father gave a light chuckle, which slightly surprised Sylvester. He didn't hear his father laugh very often, and was often afraid of him. "It's okay, Sylvester. What your mother is going through is perfectly normal."

Sylvester blinked at him, intrigued. "Really? How would you know, Father?"

Again, Sylvester chuckled, this time a bit more hearty. "Because she acted like this when she was pregnant with you."

Sylvester reeled back slightly in shock and fell on the seat of his pants to the floor. He felt fear, and a lot of it. To think he was inside the stomach of a madwoman!

Simon cleared his throat to silence his chuckling. "Take it easy, Sylvester. Don't take it too seriously. To me, this is nothing. Don't worry about it."

Sylvester slowly got up off the floor and brushed himself off. "O-Okay, Father. If you say so…"

The black-haired Samurai looked at the wall for a moment, scratching his chin. "Sylvester, Son, we don't get a lot of time together like this. Pray tell, would you like to know a secret from me?"

He gasped at his father. "A secret? From you? S-Sure! B-But…won't Mother get mad at you?"

Simon grinned at him as he tapped his own forehead. "She won't. Take my word on that. Now then, we're going to take a trip to the basement. Follow me."

I didn't know what Father was thinking when he was taking me down to the basement. In fact, I hardly ever go down there, and when I did, it was usually to get some old stuff and tools. I could sense that Father was rather excited to go down into the basement to show me something down there. I just wasn't sure what it was. What he had to show me, though, was beyond my imagination...

Sylvester stood at the base of the stairs leading up to the basement, while his father was going through and hunting for what he was looking for.

"Ah, here it is…"

He bent over slightly as he reached over a couple of boxes that were obstructing his path. Then, when he straightened himself, he was holding what looked to be a green box that's shaped like a treasure chest.

Sylvester's eyebrows rose. He wondered if this was supposed to be an actual treasure chest that's full of treasures, like in what he sees on TV shows about pirates.

Simon chuckled at his son and then asked as he held the box in front of his face, "Are you ready to see what's inside, Sylvester?"

He quickly nodded, eager to know.

Slowly, Simon opened the box. Sylvester quickly peaked inside only to see that…there was a purple, shiny rock? He felt his disappointment rising to the surface, now knowing that it wasn't a treasure box full of gold and jewelry. It was just a simple, purple rock in his eyes.

Simon smirked at him, "You seem disappointed, Sylvester. Let me explain… This is a rare kind of gem. It's called an amethyst."

"Am…e…thyst…" Sylvester slowly repeated.

He nodded at his son. "Yes… This is something special because… I used this to propose to your mother before we got married."

Sylvester's mouth gaped open. "Y-You did? I-I'm sorry, Father! I thought this was just a rock!"

With his free hand, not holding the box in front of his son, he patted Sylvester on the head gently. "It's okay, Sylvester. Now listen to me. This jewel has a history. The first owner of this precious jewel was your grandfather. From what I was told by your grandmother, it was his most precious jewel, as well as he came from a family of ore miners. He was given this amethyst by his own father, whom he said was an incredibly rare find, and was told to keep it and use it to propose to the woman that would make him happy. They weren't rich enough to afford a ring, so a rare jewel was the only way he'd get a chance to propose. It would have been passed down to your mother, but unfortunately…let's just say time didn't permit. So, your aunt and I held the jewel in her place, and would wait until the right moment to inform your mother about this stone. I was told the jewel's history by your aunt. They were close once. But when the time came, things changed. I fell in love with your mother, and as we dated, I thought that the best way to introduce her to the family heirloom was to use it to propose to her. And that's the story of the jewel I used to propose to your mother."

Sylvester was stunned. His mouth was gaped, feeling so much shock from hearing such a deep tale from his father that was laid into the jewel. "B-But where's grandma and grandpa?"

Simon lowered his head as he spoke the grim truth, "They're…both gone, Sylvester. Before your mother was born, your grandfather passed away, and when your mother was simply a child, your grandmother passed on as well. It was a…terrible, terrible day as your grandmother was simply a very wise woman who taught your aunt and me."

"Oh…" Sylvester felt his heart sink. His imagination couldn't permit him to think about what it must have felt like to live without a father or a mother for the majority of her life. "…So, Father, are you really giving this to me? I'm…only seven…"

"Yes, I am giving it to you," he said sternly, "but, I'm giving it to you because despite you being so young, you possess a keen intellect and sense of empathy. You have the most consistent and highest performance in school. We had intended to show you this heirloom when you were a teenager. But the fact that you've shown us to be such a bright hope and beloved son, I couldn't be more proud to do the honors of showing you this."

Simon closed the box and gently laid it down on the floor, because he could sense what was coming next. He could see his son's face clearly. He was weeping.

"F-Father… I…you never hated me, did you?" Sylvester asked as tears fell down his face.

Simon lightly sighed at him. "I know my appearance does not make me the most approachable person in the world. But, know that I love you deeply, my child. You are our pride and joy. We know you will do great things. And we will be there for you, every step of the way. I know I am not as affectionate as your mother. However, I will always make time for you whenever you need an ear lent to you for listening, and I will counsel my wisdom to you whenever you need it. Always remember that, Sylvester, my beloved son."

Sylvester's silent crying turned into a fully audible sob as he ran into his father's chest and cried into it. "F-Father! Oh, Father! I…I…love you so much!"

Gently, he wrapped Sylvester in his arms, and kissed him on the top of his head. "I do, too…Sylvester… I do, too…"

I was so happy that my father trusted me with such an important artifact with a deep history behind it. But more importantly, for him to say that he loves me and that he'll always be there for me, it makes me want to cry again, looking back on it… Huh, before I knew it, I'm nearing the end of writing this recollection down. I'll write how it ends another day. For now, I'm getting too emotional for my own good over something that happened in the past.