Chapter 5

Finally, the day Mitch had envisioned had arrived.

But instead of the excitement I had imagined, I felt an unexpected calm wash over me.

"Jonathan, should we tell Mitch now?" Mother Martha's eyebrows raised slightly, a hint of worry crossing her face as she looked at her husband.

"It's time, Mitch. Come with me," Jonathan said, standing up and walking downstairs, gesturing for Mitch to follow him.

A few minutes later, the two men stood outside the barn.

"Mitch, do you remember when you were just a child? You used to love drawing, and in one summer, you went through two sets of Crayola crayons."

Jonathan didn't rush to open the barn door. Instead, he reminisced about Mitch's childhood.

"Martha and I thought at first that you were just drawing like any other child. But then we realized that the things you drew were spaceships, the sky, and exploding planets. Maybe they're still etched in your memory."

Jonathan said, pushing open the barn door.

The scent of soybeans and buckwheat mixed with a hint of decay wafted out.

"Do you really remember, Mitch?" Mitch followed Jonathan's lead.

In truth, he had always remembered.

After all, he had carried those memories since infancy; how could he forget?

The reason he'd used Crayola crayons to depict the explosion in Clark's hometown was out of boredom and a touch of mischievousness.

"Here, help me," Jonathan handed Mitch the pulley rope connected to the barn cellar and motioned for him to assist in opening the cellar door.

As Mitch pulled the rope, the cellar door creaked open, accompanied by a puff of dust and an unpleasant smell.

Jonathan descended into the cellar first.

With a crash, he lifted a dusty canvas cover.

In front of Mitch lay a space capsule, emitting a faint, primitive light.

"This is...!" Mitch feigned astonishment.

"It's incredible, isn't it? A spaceship," Jonathan said, shining his flashlight on the space capsule that had brought Superman to Earth.

"We thought the government would come knocking, but no one ever came looking for you or Clark," he continued, picking up a wooden box from the workbench and extracting a long black seal from it, which he handed to Mitch.

"This thing arrived on Earth with you and the spaceship. A metallurgist once told me its composition isn't even on the periodic table of elements," Jonathan explained. "In other words, Mitch, you're not from Earth. You and Clark were both sent here by this spacecraft. You hold the answer to the ultimate question: 'Are humans the only life forms in the universe?'"

Mitch examined the "S" mark on the seal, the key to unlocking the Kryptonian spaceship crashed in the polar regions.

While obtaining the key wasn't as exciting as he'd anticipated, he could sense Jonathan's loneliness and sadness in that moment.

Looking into his father's eyes, Mitch said sincerely, "No matter what, Dad, I'm your son."

Having grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, he'd never known family affection. The warmth of the small farm home had touched even his stony heart.

Jonathan touched Mitch's tousled hair and smiled, "Of course, you and Clark will always be my sons. But I believe there's a reason you're here. All the changes you've been through, they're helping you grow."

Maybe it was seeing his youngest son finally drop his guard and reveal his true emotions that made Jonathan feel so pleased.

"Mitch, do you know why I told you the truth instead of Clark?" Jonathan asked.

"Because," Mitch paused for a moment, "you think Clark isn't ready yet."

"Yes, Clark isn't ready to face the path he wants to choose," Jonathan confirmed. "Mitch, although you're the younger brother, I hope you can help Clark in the future. In some ways, you're more mature than he is. Sometimes, Clark can be as stubborn as a mule. You're the one who can reach him."

After a brief pause, Mitch nodded, "I will, Dad."

As night fell, Clark returned to the farm, his earlier anger now replaced by a more positive mood.

When he reached for the doorknob to enter the house, he hesitated, took a deep breath, and changed his mind. Instead, he turned and headed to the warehouse, where his secret base was located.

Climbing the creaking wooden ladder to the second floor of the warehouse, he was greeted by a breathtaking view: the dark night sky, twinkling stars, and the vast wilderness below.

Sitting on a chair, he reflected on his conversation with Lana earlier. Anger had driven him to the cemetery, where he met Lana, who was visiting her parents' graves. It had turned out to be the longest conversation they'd ever had.

As he contemplated the situation, Clark adjusted his telescope and aimed it at Lana's house nearby. Through the lens, he saw Lana standing in her yard, talking on the phone. Her expressions of both concern and joy caused Clark's heart to race.

"Clark!" Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice behind him, causing him to jump.

Startled, he turned to see Mitch standing next to him. He now understood how his friends Chloe and Peter felt when someone unexpectedly appeared behind them.

Before Clark could react, Mitch walked to the edge of the warehouse and looked in the direction Clark had been observing.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Mitch said, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Clark's face turned several shades of red as he realized his brother's evolved eyesight had allowed him to see Lana from miles away.

Clark couldn't help but feel uncomfortable knowing that his brother had been discreetly observing his goddess.

*Follow And Power Points*