119. My New Pet

"It started off with a a grasshopper, then a locust... She came and showed it to me then we laughed about it. It seemed harmless for we were much younger. Afterwards, she wanted bigger objects...or living creatures. She said it was exciting."

"Like what?"

"A bird...a squirrel perhaps. She just held them in her hands and then snapped them. At first, I had thought she was playing around when she dealt with small insects but I had to inform my father about it when she squeezed my hamster to it's death with her bare hands, and when I asked her why she did that,she said it was cute."

A loud silence befell the room that each of the three occupants could hear each other's breathing.

"We have retrieved her military service report. It showed she was chosen under selective conscription. It also indicates she pulled out after four months due to an illness. At first, she had applied to be transferred elsewhere, I'm not sure why but it wasn't approved. She also didn't get along well with any of her bunk mates. The report goes further to attest a written confession from one of her bunk mates who claimed she left the dorm at specific times of the night. They'd assumed it's to answer nature's call however, upon noticing a daily pattern, they followed her and that's when she was confirmed to be ill. Would you like to tell us what happened?"

"I have no knowledge of that. All I know is while she was away, Mijin and I had started dating. When my sister came back, she was taken to rehab...at least that is what my mother said and after three months, she came back and was registered to join the community college. I introduced her once to Mijin once briefly and afterwards, Mijin told me she was taking the same course with my sister. I remember them being the best of friends. A few months afterwards, I was to wed."

Raising his head to glance up at Mora's brother, the doctor put his pen down together with a notebook he'd been holding onto on top of the table then crossed his legs. There has been two of them. One taking charge of the questioning while the other sat beside Mora's brother bearing witness to the conversation.

"Would you care to explain to us what you meant by your sister switching to larger objects? I'm curious to know more."

The other doctor raised his hand as if to stop his collegue."I don't think..."

"It's fine. I don't mind talking about it. What do I have to loose anyway than I already have?"

Both doctors stared at each other briefly before glancing back at a rather cooperative patient. Things were moving smoother than they had anticipated.

"We've had a few pets, none of which have stayed with us more than a month. I stopped having a pet after my hamster died but father always seemed to get Mora a new one. I never payed much attention to them since Mora was always with mother...and my mother and I are not very close. I've never expected much from my mother anyway apart from representation and father made it clear to keep it that way for the longest time too."

"Why?"

"I'm aware I'm not my mother's biological son."

Both doctors looked at each other then back to Mora's brother, whose eyes were fixated outside the window, his face empty, his body language unreadable.

"Anyway, my nanny informed me why all the pets went missing and we found out someone was hired to dispose off their bodies every month. Soon enough, I discovered that my sister was undergoing some sort of training and with every 30 days or more, if she were to behave favourably, she'd be rewarded a new pet. Her task had been to stay with one pet at a time and keep them alive for as long as she could."

"Why didn't you report this to...?"

"Father told me he was taking care of it when I confronted him. You may not know but sometimes I feel more like a stranger around my family. I never fit in with anyone neither do I resemble either of them. But still, family is family, right? We don't choose them, we just find ourselves with them by chance and if one is lucky, they get a good one like Mijin."

Taking his notebook again, the doctor sitting infront of Mora's brother asked. "By any chance, did your sister shift to bigger objects the size of a...for example...a great dane?"

"If you are asking if my sister has taken the life of a human being, I am not aware of that. The things I told you about happened when we were still young. After her fourteenth birthday, we never kept any pets. By then, I was to do my military service and when I came back, I went to university immediately."

"Would you consider yourself mentally challenged?" The other doctor asked.

"I can't tell if I am."

"Would you think of yourself as someone who is violent in nature then?"

"I'd say I was quite rebellious when I was younger but I just grew up, I guess. I lived a normal life, played sports and stuff."

"What kind of sports?"

"Rugby."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I had time to kill."

"...."

"How much time?" The other doctor took over, raising his head to look back at Mora's brother.

"A whole lot. I rarely spent time home. Mother was always there and we didn't get along so most of the time, I'd be at my grandparents."

"Maternal or paternal?

"Maternal. I've never met my father's side of the family. I don't know if Mora has."

Another moment of silence was felt, Mora's brother shifting his gaze to look at the doctors until his gaze finally rested on the one sitted beside him. "You have only asked me a few questions."

"Actually, he is here to be a witness to our talk. I hope you do not feel uncomfortable by his silence."

"Not at all."

"That is good to hear, and thank you for your cooperation so far. Now, we are going to shift this questioning to different kind of talk which you may find too difficult to answer. You may decline to reply I'd you wish."

"Do they have to do with me being locked up?"

"Yes...among other things."

"Ask away."

"Very well. Do you recall how you got the scars on your body?"

"My father. That is what Mora said."

"So you have no memory of your father being abusive?"

"He was abusive alright, but on rare occasions like when I disowned him or after I called him out infront of his subordinates for forcefully marring me off. I was angry then. I retaliated and did a lot of stupid things. When I came to my senses, I apologized to the girl I was given to and to her family then disowned my father in their presence."

"Could you tell us the specific things you did?"

"I got drunk, destroyed a few things... My father has invested heavily in healthcare and I happened to know where I could access one of the products, a special drug used by pairs. He kept it at home. I snuck in and stole it then my friends and I played around with it. Afterwards they were admitted from abusing the drug. It was then I discovered it had been a new drug hidden under the original one. I informed Mora about it and she helped me keep that secret from father. I had panicked then and was relieved when my friends recovered but none of them wanted anything to do with me anymore.

After that incident, I focused on reclaiming my life back including looking for Mijin. She was no longer my fated but I still loved her.

My father later found out what I had done and that's when I got locked up. I was never allowed to leave the house. That night, my first night... father was more violent than before. He beat me up to a pulp and when I awoke from it, Mora was there next to me nursing my wounds. I bled... I wanted to go to the hospital but she insisted on taking care of me."

"Can you tell us how she has been doing that exactly?"

"She fed me, clothed me and most importantly kept father from meeting me."

"How long did she nursed your wounds?"

"I woundn't know, perhaps six months... Oh! She also told me she found Mijin whom I'd been looking for for a while and promised I'd meet her."

Both doctors nodded before one of them asked. "Do you remember attending a party sometime back? Perhaps a year ago?"

"A year? No. Mijin and I were still together then... I guess we went to a lot of parties..."

"Do you remember marking anyone"?

"Yes. The girl I was forced to marry, but I have no memory of it. In fact I had thought I was marking Mijin but when I awoke, someone else was beside me."

"You have marked Mijin... Well I wouldn't call it necessary marking but you iniciated her imprint. Do you remember doing that?"

"I would definately remember doing that." Mora's brother seemed a little lost for he shifted his gaze from one of the doctor to the other. "Receiving Mijin's imprint? My imprint was of the girl I wedded... I'm not sure what you mean."

"Let's switch this up a little. Do you remember your state of mind a week ago? Or I'll ask you this. What do you remember from yesterday and the days before?"

"Yesterday I woke up in a hospital bed. The day before...I guess I was at my fathers house with Mora."

"...And what did you two do together?"

"She kept me company the way she always does... She gave me my medicine and we just talked. I asked her if she saw Mijin and if she had any recent pictures of her, she told me she meets with her everyday. She even showed me pictures of Mijin's brother....I don't remember his name. She said she likes him a lot and Mijin was going to help her date him. We laughed about it and I told her to keep him away from our parents. We agreed on running away someday from my parents... I ...I don't know why but I relied on her so much. Perhaps I burdened her a lot being sick and all."

"She said you were sick?"

"Yes. That's why I was administered a drink daily either under the tongue or through an injection. I hated injections so mostly I'd just swallow everything up."

"Do you consider yourself close to your sister then?"

"I guess we grew closer after I got locked up. Six months is a long time..."

"...And would you like us to tell you how long you've been locked up?"

"Yes."

"Three years."

Mora's brother didnt seem surprised. He shook his head and said. "That's not possible. Mora would have told me."

"It appears she didn't."

"...."

"Your father is currently under investigation and we are investigating your sister too. Her testimony against your father is good but not enough to lock him up."

"That just means she proceeded with the plan without me."

"What plan?'

"We wanted to report father for many things. If she has exposed him then I'm sure you already know what they are..."

"We are more concerned about you at the moment. As per our talk, it looks like you are getting better and in a few months time, when you become a father, I'd say you'll feel even better..."

"Father? Whose father?"

"Well..." Both doctors nodded their head as if agreeing it had been safe to disclose the truth. "It wil come as a shock to you but Mijin is expected to deliver your child in six months."

"What? How? You just said I was locked up for three years... I never met up with Mijin not even once..."

"You did. You won't remember but your father and your sister were there to witness....you two copulating...for lack of a better word."

"What?"

"It is not the right time to tell you what happened but soon enough, you'll find out since you will be bumping into Mijin and her family frequently from now on."

"What are you talking about?"

"You almost died. The fact that you and Mijin slightly bonded before puts you in some sort of symbiotic relationship with her. Your scent helps in her pregnancy and you need her blood for a fraction of scent manifestation, though faint but it's what you are dependent on right now. Your child too, as it grows, it's scent becomes stronger and stronger. Once it's fully achieved scent maturity, it will help you. Right now, your scent is at 0.9Naks, quite low and risky for an adult. Initially, when you were hospitalized it was 0.2Naks. You were as good as written off."

"What the hell are you talking about? How did Mijin beget my child? When? I would remember..."

"Under the influence of that dangerous drug you found in your father's room, you took advantage of Mijin."

Mora's brother's face showed a mixture of shock and fear. "What?"

"Yes. It was orchestrated by your father."

"My father? That's impossible! He despises Mijin to the core..!"

"As per your sister, that day he championed the idea."

"That doesn't make sense at all. He'd rather die than see Mijin and I together..." Mora's brother suddenly grew silent, his eyes dropping to the floor and each of the doctors watched him closely, ready to act as each other's back up incase he retaliated. They still weren't convinced of his mental health state.

"Do you consider the possibility that your sister could be lying? You said before she loves Mijin. Perhaps she wants you and her to be together forever. After all, you two used to be fated..."

"Mora would never do that to me."

"What about the wounds on your body? Think of them again."

"Mora said father beat me up..."

"Can you remember any of your sister's reactions when she held your dead hamster in her hands then?"

"Did it bleed?"

"....."

"Did you bleed? Or whenever you woke up, were the wounds open?"

"Yes...but.... Mora only did that with pets... What you're suggesting..."

"Didn't you say your sister stopped having pets at the age of fourteen?"

"Yes I...I did..."

"Wasn't that the time you went to the military?"

"Yes..."

"What about afterwards?"

"I wouldn't know. I was rarely at home."

"And...perhaps has it dawned on you already."

Looking up to face the doctor infront of him, Mora's brother asked, "I was my sister's pet?"

"Yes."