There is an oft said saying. Silence says a million words.

  Obviously in this case, silence meant sympathy.

  But there is another saying. That being, that the soul has a language.

  One could say it is like tuning forks.

  When one is struck, other tuning forks in the vicinity also start to vibrate.

  So, just like that, in people, when we see those in grief, we ourselves are grief stricken.

  Almost as though, just like tuning forks resonate with each other, our souls resonate with one another.

  And not just in grief, but also, in fear, pride, hate, joy, cammerederie, and et cetera.

  In that sense, although no one was speaking, so much was being and had been said.

  Anyone who'd been in the room, even without having heard what had happened. Any normal person could feel it. The sheer sympathy directed towards the young Maximillian Hunter.

  But in the physical realm, what could be said?

  This was a boy talking about how his father died.

  Even Tiffany, who'd spoken up before, was quiet.

  After all, it was a heavy topic.

  The question as simply, "was he responsible for his fathers death?"

  The simple answer was no.

  He was just a kid. How could it be his fault? What could he have done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

  And Julianne had told her son this many times over, and then she felt the need to say it once more. She thought she'd never need to say it again. But now...

  The teens noticed it too, the mother herself being close to tears.

  Julianne: Maxie...

  How could he just say that?

  She was going to be the one who spoke about it, but...

  And the silence continued on for a few moments.

  Tiffany and Luke shared a glance with one another, before continuing to remain in silence.

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  And then, Rose finally found it in herself to burst into tears, taking all of their attention.

  Tiffany: Rose...

  Finally a word could be said.

  Rose: (sobbing) I'm so sorry, it's just... I just...

  Max's head returned to its previous position, as did the others.

  Rose: (thinking: What can I say to Max? What can I say?)

  Ken: (thinking: To think... this has been in his heart the whole time.)

  Luke: (thinking: Should I... no... I shouldn't.)

  And without skipping another beat, Max continued.

  Max: My dad...

  His sudden words shook them again.

  Max: ... he was... awesome.

  And at that point, although his face was towards the ground, and no one could see what was going on with him, a tear cold be seen falling off from his face.

  The eyes of the teens widened on seeing that.

  His mother put her hand to her mouth and winced.

  To think, that even Maximillian Hunter could cry.

  But, he continued....

  Max: He was... awesome. One of the greatest fighters back on Neutron. Back there, everybody looked up to him. He was....

  But for a moment, he rubbed his eyes with his arm.

  Rose: Max...

  And then, he continued...

  Max: He travelled a lot too. And when he'd come back, he'd tell me all these crazy stories about other planets, about how he almost died, or about how he fought some super strong guy.

  He paused again, but only for a moment.

  Max: He taught me a lot of crazy things too, y'know....

  For a second, he almost seemed to have chuckled.

  Max: Yeah... my dad was awesome.

  And with that, a sigh escaped his mouth.

  A few tears fell out of Julianne Hunter's eyes, but even then, she struggled to hold herself back.

  This wasn't about her husband anymore.

  It was about her son. How could he just say that? Or, rather, how could he say that?

  She'd never anticipated him talking about this.

  Tiffany and Ken exchanged glances, not knowing exactly what to say.

  Rose fought within herself to find words to say to him.

  And as for Luke, he suddenly started...

  Luke: Your.... (cough) Ahem...

  His words brought all their eyes to him.

  Luke: Your father... he... sounds like he was a great man.

  Max: Yeah....

  And with that, the rest of them followed....

  Ken: Agreed.

  Tiffany: (hesitantly) Yeah...

  Rose simply tearfully nodded, keeping her mouth shut. She wanted to say something, but not what they were talking about.

  She felt for him, but couldn't bring out exactly what she wanted to say in words.

  Julianne simply quietly nodded, still covering her mouth.

  Max: He was the best dad I could've asked for...

  Luke: Yeah...

  And then, Max's head suddenly started to rise.

  Just as they'd expected, there were tears in his eyes. However, what they did not expect, was for him to have a massive smile on his face.

  Even his own mother was taken aback.

  Max: The greatest dad ever.

  Ken and Tiffany: (thinking: He's... smiling?)

  Max: My dad...

  And he continued...

  Max: ... he always said that... Hunters always stand up against adversity, and never give up till the end.

  Julianne: (thinking: Max...)

  To think, her husband's words had that profound of an effect on Max.

  Max: So... yeah.

  He paused again for a moment.

  Max: He fought a villain that was planning on hurting a lot of people...... to the end.

  Rose: (wincing) Max....