114 CHAPTER 113

"You have balls for coming back here, Alexander. After what you did, if you think we would accept you into the community with open arms and pat your back like the father of a prodigal son, then you are mistaken. This community has no room for the likes of you who would stab their neighbor on the back when they are not looking."

The words of Grandmother Deborah echoed, spreading through the stone room until they dwindled away to nothing. Alex was not looking at her. He couldn't. Not after what he had done. Deborah was not only feared for the authority she possesses in the council but also the way she makes threats. They were rarely never empty threats. It was best to keep quiet whenever she was speaking. Trying to argue with her was like disturbing a sleeping lion and hoping not to wake it. She was a heating machine, and it would be faulty to calm her by becoming hot as well.

"You will be punished, Alexander," Linda said. Her black hair was flowing behind her now. Alex had not seen the hair dangle freely before without it being tied into a bun or ponytail, or being held together under a scarf. She was the youngers and the neatest and also the most beautiful among the three women in the council. Odd she was single, despite the perfect pink lips that lined her beige skin. Her temper must be the reason why she had not found the bone of her bone. The woman was nowhere near patient too and would argue with anyone who seems to disagree with her.

"You will be locked up in the hole and will remain there until we decide the right action to take."

Alex shifted his weight to the other feet, looking at Anabel Peters for help, but the woman was as tight lips as he. It was hard to read the expression on her face or point out anything that suggests what she was thinking at the moment. He reverted his gaze to the table, searching for help. His stomach lifted with happiness, however, when Mr. William started to speak.

"Councilman Damian," He said instead to Alex's dismay, for he thought William was coming to his defense. "What have you to say on the matter?"

The skinny old man tapped the stone table with his first finger, using those squinting golden eyes of his to study Alex and Anabel. 

Damian was another man in the council whom Alex hated to the core. Not because of his behavior, but the way he looks. The way his face depressed inwards made him look like a voodoo mask. Both sides of his cheeks also held too many freckles that made Alex wonder if the man had been beaten by bees. He was a bag of color and angles. His triangular head had no trace of black as the color of the cloud seemed to settle on them. Even his eyebrow and goatee were all bleached. The dark outgrowth from his ears contrasted with the whites, but added more horror to the list, making the man look like an elf in a voodoo mask.

"We all know Alex," Damian said, still drumming on the table with his fingers. 

Alex gnashed his teeth. The man was up to no good, and looking at him now, he could guess every word that he was about to speak.

"Alex has been a good boy, even though he goes around disturbing everybody sometimes," 

And here we go. The frustration in Alex's stomach boiled as though they were in some heating furnace. If he had his way, he would shuffle the man's words and force them down his throat. For someone with a scary face, a flattering tongue would make him look like the god of the underworld.

"I think Alex has his reason. There must be something he had seen, which our eyes had not seen." Damian said, looking at his fellow councilmen.

Alex's licked his lips, not really knowing if he had heard correctly. Was this some kind of joke? How can Damian, of the six councilmen in the room, come to his defense? He was the only one that had not judged his actions at the least. No, this was not happening. The man must have an ulterior motive. He must have planted a scheme and was hanging on the edge, trying to determine its outcome.

"Are you being serious right now, or is this one of your jokes?" Filman asked. The hate and fire in his eyes were already burning and was ready to consume anyone that stands in its way.

"When a hungry lion sees its food. Does it play with it before it is satisfied or after it is satisfied?" Damian asked calmly, still drumming his hands on the table.

"What has your presumptions lion and its food got to do with the reality this genteel proceeding?" Filman groused. 

"Everything, councilman Filman, everything" 

Filman wanted to say something brash, but it was taking an eternity for the words to form. Plus, it looks as if the law of the meeting prevented such.

"Order," William stood, his towering figure too lofty for the eyes of the other people. He adjusted the collar of his patched cloth, tracing his eyes from one side of the room to the other until they returned to Alex.

"I thank you all for your contributions. But, the fact remains the fact. We are elders and by that I mean we should let the children do the fighting while we separate, instead of stirring the strife right in our midst"

Filman threw a sharp glare at Damian. He muttered something about fire and water before reverting his gaze to William.

"Alex is our child. Despite the fact that he threw our plans to the mud, he still remains one of our own." 

For some odd reason, William's attention rested on Anabel, who had been silent all the while. They exchanged a quick glance before looking away, hoping no one had noticed. Alex did not know what that was, but he was sure it was in his favor and not the other way round.

"Our child indeed." Deborah nodded, "But this is beyond us. We are not talking about the world at large. We are talking about the people of Anadan. Alex did not only bring disgrace on us. He brings destruction to the world. How will the prophecy—

"To hell with you and your prophecy," Anabel shouted, and the room quieted down as though a donkey had just spoken.

"Pardon," Deborah said, lowing her head so that her eyes could see the face of the other woman through the small spectacle.

"You heard me right, didn't you?" Anabel said.

William stroked his brow. Just a way of telling Anabel that she had messed up, but the heat in the woman's eyes seemed to be intensifying. She folded her hands across her chest though, as if that would contain the anger.

"Mind your language." Filman said, "This is a formal setting, and not some street club where you can paint words the way you like."

Alex grinned. Anabel's actions were elevating the glow in his stomach. He had not seen anyone stand up against the council before, not a soul. But here was Anabel, strong and elegant, burning with an anger that could send one's spirit running out of their skin.

"Well," Deborah returned those bird gaze at Alex, "What I was trying to say was that Alex must be punished for his crime against the world."

"The world?" Alex exclaimed. The way the words ranged in his auditory meatus sent a shiver down his backbone. 

"Yes, the world," Grandmother Deborah repeated. "You should have known better."

Silence passed between them for some time before Damian spoke again,

"He is still a kid. Before we prosecute him, we should at least hear his own side of the story."

"That's the point, Councilman Damian. He is a kid. What does a kid know? Look at him He was acting on impulse for all I care."

"I agree with Filman and Grandmother Deborah." Linda said, "The boy should be punished for his crime before we give him a listening ear."

Something walked on Alex's face. It felt insignificant at first, until it strolled downwards to the side of his face, dropping on his shirt. He wiped the sweat, but they formed again almost immediately. What punishment were they leaving in store for him?

"I guess it is five against two," William said regrettably. They had taken a vote, and he and Damian were the only ones clamoring for mercy. The rest of the councilmen wanted Alex punished for what he had done.

"The black hole it is then," William said and pushed the red button behind him.

Alex met his eyes, which said that there was nothing he could do for him at the moment. The black hole was not a prison. The black hole was a grave.