章 9: 9. Silence

"I believe you," May, Valerian's mother spoke, her eyes almost unable to keep the tears away.

Valerian instantly knew she was lying and his sharp words moved to reveal that as blatantly as he could.

"Are we going to begin with lies right after I returned from almost dying?" His words cut deep since tear's rolled down his mother's cheeks immediately after he finished his sentence.

Unsurprisingly he felt no remorse nor pain at the sight of his crying mother. He considered that topic far more important than emotions.

Soon her sobbing sound remained the only thing that could be heard in the room, but no one moved to comfort her, except Lilia, and no one stopped her.

"I do not need pity, because I'm totally fine. But this is the truth, and it's not even all." Valerian's voice rang out in the room again, and he sounded cold and pretty much distant from his family.

"Seeing as your unbelief; although expected, is so evident, I will be going to my room now," he added pushing his chair backward and standing up.

He half expected his father's words at that moment, but he felt mildly surprised to find out that his old man didn't stop him from leaving.

'Good for me,' he sighed to himself entering and locking his room. He had too much to think about.

The topic of Sheol had made him recall the events before he had gone there. He remembered the angel's words about power, and he couldn't help but wonder what he meant by it.

Shockingly he could remember that interaction as though he had only experienced them yesterday.

"He sounded prophetic," Valerian muttered laying on his bed, his chin on his pillow and his legs raised toward the ceiling.

He casually swung his legs in the air while thoughts only he could understand coursed through his renewed mind.

After seeing someone appear and disappear in and out of his room, Valerian had begun to believe that truly there was something supernatural going on.

Most of his thoughts on the issue were unanswerable, at least by him. He would need proper help, but not human help.

Valerian continued to think until he didn't know when he fell asleep.

That night especially; he dreamt about Sheol and woke up shaking violently. Thankfully his dream had not forced him into frantic yelling, so the event didn't alert anyone.

The experience never got old. It didn't matter how much he thought he had improved in the past week, he could not get used to it.

Valerian rose from his bed with sweat soaking his figure. So much so that his clothes stuck to his skin.

Wiping the sweat from his face, he took a shower to clear his mind of the vivid memory of the place of torment.

He went downstairs after a change of clothes and the air between them was as stake as he thought it would be. But he didn't care.

"Good morning, Val!" Lilia's figure burst into an embrace with Valerian's knees.

"Good morning Lilia," he replied returning her hug before patting her head. She was the first person he would try to get off the path to Sheol. Except he had to get himself out first.

"School?" Valerian asked, recalling that he still had school and friends. He had missed them, but also feared for them.

"Yes," she replied eagerly. Being the eight years old that she was, Lilia still had a lot before her, as she was still a child.

"Let's go, Lilia," May's voice reached the both of them and Valerian let go of her.

His gaze momentarily locked with his mother's, but he broke it as quickly as possible. Although he felt no anger towards her, he felt distant from her, and she from him.

It didn't bother him much however, there was still too much to do as he had only returned.

"See you later Val!" Lilia waved while her figure approached the door.

Valerian waved at her and sat on one of the couches, and decided to turn on the Tv.

It felt like years had passed since he watched anything, so the experience felt nostalgic.

He skipped the news and simply put on a kid's show. He wasn't in the mood for anything too depressing.

A few minutes into his watch and Madison's figure rushed down the stairs, and once again, he noticed the school bag on her.

"I'm off to school," she announced approaching the door.

"Have a great day," Valerian replied with a smile, and she left the house.

A sense of loneliness tried to register in his mind, but he suddenly recalled the loneliness he felt in Sheol, and that feeling vanished.

That place truly was an extreme of all that men did not want. Yet hundreds to hundreds of thousands were going there every day.

"Let's go," Ronald's deep voice pulled Valerian out of his heavy thoughts. His gaze fell on his dad and he stood with a grunt.

"To the hospital, I guess," he sighed, finding it a chore to leave the house for something that wasn't exactly needed. Unfortunately, he had given his word, and could only wish truly nothing was wrong with him.

His dad led him to the car parked outside.

With his family far from poor, they could afford cars that remained close to the latest, but his father had never fancied such, but he had them anyway. As a moderate show of his status.

"Would you prefer the back?" Ronald asked a quiet Valerian. His consideration had mostly been out of worry, but also a tinge of reluctance. He admitted inwardly that Valerian now scared him, and the mere thought of conversing about the past made him even more afraid.

'How a mighty man has fallen' Ronald sighed inwardly. Finding his situation ironic.

"Nah, I'll take the front," Valerian dismissed. Truth be told he had noticed his father's sudden silent behavior, but it didn't manage to bother him the least.

A grim expression threatened to befall Ronald at those words, but he simply nodded and got into his black car; suddenly regretting his decision to take Valerian alone when May had suggested that he waited until her return.

The ride to the hospital had been silent. Valerian had left the window open to take in the passing scenery. He had to admit that being back to life was great, there was so much beauty around him. Even the things he had once overlooked felt valuable to the detail all around him.

"There's a parking space over there," Valerian pointed out when his dad pulled up to a five-story building with a large parking lot. He had only left yesterday but he was back already.

"I spoke with doctor Peterson yesterday. He should have us rather quickly," Ronald uttered his first sentence since they left the house. That was about thirty minutes ago. Valerian simply nodded and exited the car.