As soon as Ameno agreed to marry Jay, her family immediately contacted their extended family.
They started with a meeting with Jay's grandparents, followed by meetings with his aunts, uncles, and other cousins.
A family meeting followed, and finally, his grandfather reassured Jay about Ameno's identity.
He promised to make her one of their William family.
Back home, a tired Jay complained a little about all the arrangements he had just made.
"Haaaaaaa...marriage is so hard, there's so much to do, can't it just be easy!" Jay leaned back in the wooden chair in his living room.
Sitting across from him was his father, although he looked tired, but he had a bright smile on his face.
He was clearly happy that Jay was getting married.
"Don't talk like that. Marriage is sacred.
It's there to seal the lifelong promise of a man and a woman who mutually agree on the life they will lead.
Marriage isn't just about the man and woman getting married, but also about the family they have, the friends and relatives who accompany them.
It's common knowledge that humans are social creatures and must be in pairs if they want to live well. At least that's what Dad believes," his father advised Jay.
"You might be right, Dad. I feel the same way. Some things may seem ordinary, but they have many deeper meanings that need to be examined and learned." Knowing he couldn't argue with that, Jay simply responded positively. After all, he hadn't had any experience with marriage yet.
And he wasn't yet a father responsible for his family, so listening was better than being right. That's what Jay thought, at least. He always believed: don't comment when you don't know, don't argue when you think you're right, and don't feel justified when you see others accusing you.
Think about it. Maybe you forgot, or maybe you were wrong and made a mistake, which is why they reacted that way.
"Back when I married your mother, the process was much more complicated and tiring than it is now. Your mother was from another province, and I had to come here to propose.
Not to mention, different times have different requirements, so you could be considered quite lucky to have a lot of complications, Jay," his father replied, as if recounting a past experience.
"Okay, Dad, since everything has been agreed upon, will I marry Ameno tomorrow?" Jay asked again, confirming the time.
"Yes, you will go to the village chief to take the wedding vows in front of the villagers, and then fill out the marriage form.
Then you will officially be husband and wife," his father replied, informing Jay.
"Oh, I see. So where is Ameno?" Jay asked, confused, not seeing Ameno, and his mother and Nining returning home with them.
"Since Ameno is going to marry you, she naturally has to be separated from you, at least one day before the wedding.
And since she doesn't have any family here, your grandfather's house is considered her family home.
Which means tomorrow you'll meet Ameno directly at the village hall for the wedding," her father informed her.
"I see. Okay, I understand. So what preparations should I make for tomorrow, Dad?" Jay replied again, feeling strange that he hadn't made any preparations either, especially since he was also the groom.
"Tonight I'll make preparations for your wedding, and I guarantee you'll love it," his father said in a tone that seemed to be hiding something.
"Somehow, I feel like you're plotting something against me, Dad," Jay said, displeased by his father's expression.
"What, you're just being suspicious. This is clearly a good thing," his father retorted.
######
At night, when the moon was directly in the sky, a cold and lonely atmosphere seemed to envelop the entire Adam village.
And in his room, Jay, exhausted, fell asleep soundly, unaware of what was about to happen to him.
Shortly afterward, two adult men entered Jay's room and tied his hands and gagged his mouth.
Treated like this, Jay initially wanted to fight back and beat the two men who had tied him up. With his strength, he was sure it would be easy.
But he quickly abandoned his plan. When he opened his eyes and saw the two men who had tied him up, Jay was rendered powerless.
Because those two men were his uncles, Uncle Ricky and Uncle Hendrick.
So Jay gave up on his plan. He was soon taken to the back of the house, where several torches were lit and a chair was placed in the middle.
The area was lit by torches (electricity hadn't reached Adam's village yet, so villagers used fuel oil, pine resin, and candles for light at night).
Jay, bound and seated in the chair, watched all this. He became speechless. What did his family want to do?
"Hohoho...my son Jay, are you surprised?" His father Paul's voice, joyful and full of purpose, rang out in front of Jay.
Paul stood with Jay's grandfather and two uncles, while several cousins, both his age and older, surrounded the area.
"Father, what do you want to do?" Jay asked, annoyed.
"My dear grandson, this is a coming-of-age ritual in our William family, intended for male members who are getting married," his grandfather replied meaningfully.
"A coming-of-age ritual?" Jay became even more confused as he listened to his grandfather's words.
"That's right, you just have to follow the process and you'll be a man the next day," his grandfather said again.
Hearing all this, Jay could only resign himself to his fate. He knew this was something he had never experienced before.
Perhaps because he was not old enough, he was unaware of the coming-of-age ritual. Furthermore, it seemed that aside from his eldest cousin, who had already married, the rest of the children, his age and older, had yet to find suitable partners.
What Jay didn't know was that the ritual could only be attended by those of the same age or older. So, when his eldest cousin married, Jay was still a minor and considered unfit to participate.
Furthermore, there was another rule: any male member who had witnessed or learned about the coming-of-age ritual was strictly forbidden from telling any other male member who hadn't experienced it themselves or witnessed it firsthand.
If they violated the law, they would face severe punishment from the extended family, so no one dared to divulge this privilege.
And Jay, of course, wouldn't know about it either, so it was understandable that he was resigned and helpless.
"Father, it's time," Uncle Hendrik spoke to Jay's grandfather, informing him that the coming-of-age ritual for William's family could now be performed.
"Then bring out all the preparations we've made," his grandfather ordered all his cousins present.
Soon, some of the preparations his family had made were displayed before Jay's eyes. Seeing all this, Jay had a bad feeling.
(Damn it... What's with all these strange preparations!!!) he screamed in his heart.