The Extraordinary Son-in-law

Ch. 07: Visit From The Ancient Order.

"Luke?" Ethan mouthed in surprise at the  person he had just accidentally bumped shoulders with. A tall man with dark flowing hair.

"Well, look at who we have here?" The stranger Ethan referred to as Luke said, standing just across to him with a smile. "I thought I'd never find you, man."

They both hugged each other, saying as one, "Come here, brother." 

"So what are you doing here?" Ethan asked. "I did not know that I would find any one from the Ancient Order here at any case. But look at you. What brings you here, my brother?"

"You," Luke said concisely. "We've been looking all over for you. At a point we even thought that you were dead. What have you been doing here?"

"Well, you know I've been living here, doing really simple jobs and trying to scrape by for myself a decent living." As Ethan said this, he quickly remembered the job he had now as a contract marriage and then shuddered a bit, wondering if such a job could be called anything decent.

"Something decent huh?” Luke said, eyeing the bags of colorful clothes he carried. "Well, I have news for you. And precisely that news is the reason I came here looking for you. I never knew I'd bump into you on the streets. I have been looking for you everywhere.”

Ethan became suddenly interested in what Luke had to say. It was unlike the Order to come looking for its members like this. Something big must have gone down.

"Tell me, what happened?" Ethan asked.

Luke's face suddenly became sullen and saddened. "Grandmaster Humber, the current grandmaster of the Order, is dead."

Luke stared away as he said it. As though he was trying to hide his own sadness. 

Ethan had a tear drop from his eye. "Grandmaster Humber? He repeated. "What happened to him?"

"A lot of things happened to him," Luke said. "But I have been sent to you to tell you on another latest development. This one is concerning you."

"What else is there that I need to know except of the demise of my very own adopted father? Did any other thing happen?" Ethan was eager to hear.

"The other reason I was sent here, is to get  you to come back. The last words of Grandmaster Humber, named you as his successor. Because of that I am expected to come back to the city with you. You must come back with me and take over the Order. That is the instruction given to me."

Ethan did not know how he felt with the news.  He was visibly shaking, remembering just who Grandmaster Humber was and what he had done for him. His mind flashed back to the time he had woken up, revived by the man after being killed.

"Grandmaster Humber and the Order was the only family I have. Why did this have to happen? Why now? Why do bad things always happen to good people? Why?" Ethan was clearly devastated, that he had nothing to say but to ask questions he sure knew Luke had no answer to.

Luke held him on the shoulder as a way of consoling him. "We do not have to think too much about these things. It has happened, and now we have to do the only thing we can do as people. To move on, but still yet, venerating his memories every chance we get. You know, the greatest disservice you can actually do to the dead, is to, forget them. So let us try not to forget them. If we ever do that, then we have killed them."

Ethan did not say a word. 

"Come, let us get into my car," Luke said. 

They both walked not so far away. There was a car parked somewhere there on the sidewalk.  They got into it.

"You know, it's easy to say that we do not have to think about it too much," Ethan started, while in the car, talking solemnly. "You were not the one to have been exiled and disowned by his own father, and then killed by his own brothers out of jealousy, left for dead in the streets, and saved by Grandmaster Humber. I was that person. I was betrayed by my brothers. Killed by them. Grandmaster Humber revived me and made me a part of his family. And now you say I should not think too much about it? I'm sorry I can't. I owe that man my life. It's sad that he died before I could repay him."

Luke was quiet as he drove the car. He did not want to interrupt Ethan. He was devasted already. He just had to let him mourn the way he could.