A strange family this was, indeed.
Gregory had the impression that he was taken in by a unique bunch of people, who accepted him as he was, as a mute little nervous thing who had trouble accepting the fact he wasn't beaten by anyone anymore. He was, of course, happy about that, but a bit of fear was always in his heart that this wasn't forever and he will be sent away if he misbehaves. To avoid misbehaving, he literally tried to avoid to do anything else than it was allowed or asked of him.
Erik, yet he did not wish to interfere too much with the child earlier, grew a special connection towards him in the following weeks and months, especially since Gregory took music lessons from him. The boy seemed to be an average talent, not tone deaf, but nothing special. He could memorize a melody, but wasn't capable of interpreting the emotions, he was merely able to imitate the notes Erik was playing. Good enough for someone who did not wish to make a living of music.
He noticed that Greg was nervous about the possibility of punishments or being sent away, so he, instead of putting the child down from the piano bench that time, he let him sit beside him for a bit, and looked at him compassionately.
- Are you afraid that you have to go away from here soon, are you not?
Greg nodded sadly.
- Well, I wish to tell you that you don't have to be afraid of this unless you do something I can't forgive you for. – Erik sighed. – For example if you steal something from me or my family, or you hurt them in any other way. But you seem to be a good boy. And even if you sometimes might misbehave, I don't throw you out right away. You are going to receive chances of gaining my trust. It is very uncommon of me, but I do know what you are going through. I understand you. I don't want to tell why, but I was hurt in my childhood much, just as you were, and I pity you for that. I will try my best to treat you like a protégée. You are here with my own family, as my son took you home when you got injured. We are going to help you if you are worthy of our trust. Don't lose it, and you will be given everything my children have. You will be able to study, dress and live just as my own children. Deal?
Greg had tears coming in his eyes. He was so- so happy of the possibility of being able to lead a life he was always yearning for, seeing other children. When he lived on the streets or in those filthy cellars or alleys, he was always jealous of those children led by their parents, dressed in nice clothes, being loved. Oh how he wished to be one of them… and now… can he be?
Yet Greg started to be curious why Erik, the man said he was beaten a lot in his childhood. He was an old man, so his childhood must have taken place long time ago, but he should have received much beatings if he still remembered that. Why people would beat such a man? Erik was tall, powerful, rich, and mostly kind hearted. What caused people to beat him? And if he was in a similar situation as Greg, how could he get so highly respected? Greg knew that everyone he met before this family, did despise him for being a filthy nameless orphan. He only had a first name, or to be clear, his full name was Gregory Unknown, as an officer registered him in the parish register. People sent him away when he wanted to beg for food, calling him stinky and filthy, and they were afraid he will give them fleas. And yet, Mahtab, the oldest boy often hugged him now that he was feeling better, and this made him feel so well. The children took his hand to lead him somewhere or if they were walking together on the streets, and he did not understand why weren't they repulsed as anyone else.
Of course, Greg could not know yet that Erik's children had other ideas of something being "disgusting". At first, this word was not really used by the family. It was on the unwritten list of "banned" words, along with the words "ugly, repulsive, hideous and yuck" if used to describe a person. No one was, or was allowed to be called ugly or such things by any of the children. They were all raised in this manner, especially by Christine. She did not want them to accidentally call Mahtab or Erik ugly, so they were just not allowed to call anyone names. If they were angry at someone, they had to word "I am angry with you", or "The way you act makes me mad" and not "You are annoying". Especially, they weren't allowed to yell "You're ugly!" at each other out of sheer anger or malice. They were taught to respect and accept each other and everyone just as they were, and how to handle deformities, and not to be afraid of them.
The fact that the children did not find Erik's and Mahtab's deformity strange or scary, did not mean they weren't "strange" anymore without any disguise. Erik and Mahtab painstakingly paid attention not to leave the house without the human mask they had, and made sure it was correctly put on, so it won't slip off. They sometimes checked on it during the day, to see if it loosened or not, to make sure it will stay intact. The problem was, they now could not go around in the house without it either. Otherwise they would have walked without a mask at home, if Gregory wasn't around. But he was. Sometimes they retreated in their own room to remove the mask for a time, to wash their face which got wet sometimes with sweat due to so much wearing the mask. Mahtab even had some pimples because of the constant wearing of the mask, and being a teen girl anyway. It wasn't comfortable, but neither of them wished to be seen by Greg without it. They did not know how the new kid would react, but they feared the reaction he'd show would be sheer terror.
Of course, no matter how careful they were, problems happened. Erik was preparing in the bathroom in the morning, for long, just true to his habits, when the door behind him opened. "Damn, I forgot to lock…" he thought, but he had no time to grab a towel to cover his face from possible danger, as it had already came. He noticed Gregory standing behind him. They saw each other's reflection in the mirror, and Erik just closed his eyes in shame. The thing he was afraid of, finally happened. Now this boy knows what his secret was. He did not wish to confront, yet earlier, in his youth, he had killed strangers for the mere fact of seeing his face. But he was just an old man now, tired of confrontations through his life. He was thankful he could not her the child scream at least. Yet he did not wish to see his terrified expression.
- Go away. – He said finally, after some minutes of silence, with a broken intonation.
- Papa, it is all right, it is me here too. – Mahtab's voice came from behind him.
- Is that just you or…?
- No, Greg is here too. – Mahtab said calmly.
- Is he unconscious or dead, or what? – Erik asked brokenly.
- No, he is fine. – Mahtab informed him.
- How come? – Erik became suspicious and astonished at the same time, and opened his eyes to check whether Mahtab is telling him the truth or not.
Gregory was indeed standing beside Mahtab, who knelt down and hugged the young boy's neck. Erik noticed with utter shock that neither did his son wear a mask. There was that poor, surely traumatized 7 year old mute and already abused boy with two strange creatures with a skull's head, and he sure did not know how to react. Oh why that poor child had to see this? His own children were used to this already, but this is a foreign kid… foreign kids always screamed or threw stones at him… how come he did not try to fight Mahtab who hugged him?
- Papa, Greg already knew. – Mahtab said calmly.
- Knew…? – Erik gasped. – What…?
- I told him we were some kind of… different you know. I explained him the whole issue as I knew we could not go on living like pretending we had a face like anyone else if we plan to have him in the family. And close family deserves to know the truth.
- But… but… why isn't he… afraid?
Erik examined Greg's facial expression which only showed a bit of surprise and… worry. But not the mindless horror Erik had to always face when someone saw him without a mask.
- He was prepared for it. I described the deformity, and showed him my face first. After he dared to touch me without being slightly afraid, I decided to show him yours, so now both of us are free to walk without a mask.
- Are you not… disgusted, boy? – Erik leaned closer to Gregory, who shrugged and shook his head. He seemed to be honest.
He walked closer to Erik, and stood on his tiptoes to examine him a bit better, then hugged him with a smile.
This hug changed everything. This was the absolute first time Erik was hugged by a boy who wasn't his own child, after they saw his face. Until this hug, Erik still considered Greg to be an outsider, who will be raised with his own kids, but will never be treated as his own in his heart. He could accept Belle as his child better because she was found and taken in as a baby. He raised her in all her life. This boy was already a seven year old boy, already raised by many people, receiving personality traits and habits from others, and he did not think Greg will ever be a part of him, in any context. But now, that Greg, without any hesitation and bloodily connection, hugged him, the scary monster, and also his son, who looked exactly like him, he knew that this child is indeed his son. How could he keep distance anymore? Whoever can accept him and his child without disgust as they are, deserves to be part of his family. He lifted Greg up and stroke the boy's short hair, and softly whispered:
- You are my fourth son. And I love you.
The great thing was that Erik was the only one in the family who still wanted to keep distance with Gregory up until this point. The others had already accepted him, and handled him as if he was always a sibling to them. Mahtab, as the oldest, was teaching him a lot, Flo was playing a lot for him, as he also noticed Greg loved music, and Belle often invited him to watch her mini plays she directed herself, just as at the first time when Greg followed her. But the happiest for Gregory's arrival was indeed Noel. Noel was 12, and Belle was just 5 years old. It is an incredibly huge age difference between the two youngest children especially that Noel was a mature and serious boy who loved science and magic tricks, and Belle was just… a girl. A ballerina, a princess and a totally girly girl. Noel liked her in general, but did not like to play with her too much as he was bored by her mini plays and tea parties with her dolls. He so wished for a boy to play with, many times earlier! True, he had two brothers, but both of them were older. Mahtab was already too old for him, and most of the time he did not understand the things that interested Mahtab, and Flo, even though he was only two years older than Noel, was also occupied by music or chasing girls, so they, though did get along well if they actually met, did not have much time to play together, and anyway, Flo wasn't interested in science, only music. Gregory was still younger than Noel, but not as much as Belle. There was five years difference between them, and they could play together very well, even though Greg wasn't able to talk. They communicated as they could – Greg usually wrote or gestured, and Noel was just talking to him about everything which interested him. Greg was thankful for every minute he was able to spend with his older brother, so they were nearly inseparable in these past months.
The Daroga was watching the children getting even with Gregory day by day, and he started wondering about some issue he did wish rather to bury deep inside his thoughts, but it kept returning, bugging his mind.
"Maybe IS murder the solution sometimes?"
If Mahtab did not end that drunkard's life that night, he sure would have killed Gregory in his outrage and the boy would have never be able to get into a family where they clearly like him. He suddenly had opportunity to have love surround him, to have siblings and to study like everyone else. Giving a better life to a child, maybe is a reason for murder? Does a young boy's life value more than a grown up man's? That man was sure not leading a proper life, he was merely existing mostly. That life, when he was only seeking for alcohol, and when he got it, he bet up everyone and yelled at everyone he could… is this really a life? And now that Gregory is saved, he would be able to live as a normal person… life for a life, as they say.
One evening, when Mahtab and Gregory were talking, Greg wrote suddenly:
"Mahtab, did you ever wish to have a nose, knowing you can't?"
- Not really. – Mahtab shrugged. – Why?
"Because I don't have a voice. You don't have a nose. I thought you missed your nose as I do miss my voice."
The boy looked so sad, writing that.
- I think it is because I never had a nose, and I don't miss it as I did not lose it like you lost your voice. If I could help you with it… I would.
Mahtab put his hand on Greg's shoulder and they looked at each other sadly for a time, but after a few minutes, Mahtab's face lit up with a sudden realization.
- Papa can help you with this!
He caught Greg's hand excitedly, and rushed to Erik with him, who was lost in writing his music.
- Papa! Papa!- Mahtab stormed into the room with Greg.
- What? – Erik looked up in surprise. – Is the house in fire or what?
- No, but please make Greg talk as you did make Cadence talk!
- Oh come on, Mahtab, Cadence was a robot. – Erik waved in the air in frustration.
- But you can make things talk.
- Oh… true… ventriloquism, you mean? – He scratched his head, then turned to Greg. – Well move your mouth as you were talking. Say hello.
Greg looked a bit of surprised at first, but after he shrugged and tried to say "Hello."
- Hello, Papa and Mahtab.
An altered voice of Erik's, which sounded like a young boy, came from Greg's throat. The young boy's jaw dropped as he saw no one talking in the room, and the sound really came from his own direction. He gasped then started to jump up and down.
- I can talk, look everyone, I can talk!
Erik went on with the play, as Gregory's face reflected an indescribable euphory.
They were playing like that for hours, until it was time for the children to go to bed, and Erik had to drink a glass of water to calm down his vocal chords after such a performance.
- This young child tone is killing my throat. – He cleared his throat a few times, then gave a small chuckle.
- Erik, do you think it is a good idea to make Gregory believe he is able to talk?
- We are just playing around, Christine, it makes him happy.
- If only you could help him… - She sighed.
- I know. – Erik sat down in his chair with a sigh as well.
After a few minutes of silence though, he looked at Christine with a hint of mad scientist look all over his face.
- Maybe I CAN help him.
- How? – Christine gasped in astonishment.
Erik did not give an answer, as he was already deep in his thoughts. He slowly stood up from his chair and walked to his huge bookshelves to search for his medical books to study the issue.
