Mariam had delivered all her children right in her bedroom. The midwife who was in attendance this time was the same present in the deliveries of all her other children. She was so used to her body's excellent record of expelling the body mass she had supported for the nine months that at the time of delivery, that brazen midwife would sit outside gossiping and rolling tobacco for a smoke and wait until the baby's head became visible to the watching apprentice. After frantic calls, then she would reluctantly step in for the moment of birth. In her last delivery of Emanuel, she had to snuff off her lighted cheroot and rush in when she heard the baby's cry to cut the cord. Marian was then so upset that she nearly kicked her for good but then old woman was a good Catholic and was adequately admonished by the Father De Mello about her carelessness.
Francis' birth was indeed a unique affair. Like his older siblings he arrived smoothly and to the surprise of everyone present, he did not utter a single cry but just chuckled a few times to indicate he was there; alive and well. The apprentice midwife by name, 'Caroline', swore that he actually was smiling and also had winked at her. As a newborn baby, he was very clean, alert and appeared to be listening and then the main miracle was revealed. Here is the account of what happened as was told hundreds of time by all present in the room, and then also repeated by others who knew the folks who were really or otherwise, present in the birthing bedroom or knew their close friends and relatives, who knew the first reporters:

While washing him, the Aaya (maid) noticed that on the back, baby-hair formed a facsimile that to her appeared to be that of Jesus with his arms stretched out as one sees in the paintings of resurrected Lord. When she announced that discover, the others also claimed that they noticed his unique features such as, 'the pale blue eyes (which actually he had inherited from his Portuguese great grandfather), his mother's velvety smooth and fair skin, delicate nose and calm and smiling face'. His forehead was proportionately broad, face square, and mouth ruby read; in short, he had all the signs of divinity imagined by men and women alike.
It didn't take much to spread the news of divine baby born in the Mendez House as the old cottage became a House of Divinity and Mariam became the Mout Mauli (Mout for distorted word mountain and Mauli means Mother in local language) the Mount Mary of Bandra; a suburb of Mumbai where Catholic Church is located and where people of all faith go for miracle cures the Virgin Mary bestows for their ailments.

People came to the 'Miriam's House from far and near, Many brought gifts for the baby and mother just like the Three Kings of Christmas and the Hindu worshipers, who always believed in incarnation of God amidst the mankind and who were at home with baby Krishna, came to see the baby Jesus with equal fervors and piety. To them that was the next incarnation of Vishnu after Buddha and Jesus. They began the traditional Hindu worshiping with oil lamps and singing mantras, washed and touch his feet and treated the water as 'Holly Water' to be taken home for sprinkling to ward off evil spirits etcetera, etcetera and left money as offering which was not rejected by the local Church authority as the sum of money for the Church kept on increasing and wasn't a shabby thing to do to accept it as a 'Lord's will' for the awakening piety in the hearts of heathens; but after all the Catholic Divinity too had its own; 'Le Bon Infant' with the Madonna in all the churches. There was lots of goodwill and loving atmosphere to make it a festival of Brazilian holiday.

Very soon, the whole scenario became comical opera of divine comedy style. When word reached the main Church in Panaji, the Capital City; it was transmitted to higher ups and a senior clergy was sent to investigate. Upon his arrival, he was shocked beyond belief to see how much intermingling and cross pollination of myths, concepts and practices had happened between the native cultures and the Roman faith. Only thing missing was a band from the Panaji Beach of Goa; the 'Hare Krishna Consciousness Movement's devotees, dancing in their unique patterns in front.

He immediately nipped the whole thing in the bud; lest it makes Jesus one of the pantheons of Hindu Celestial World and the Holly Church would lose the monopolistic advantage of saving the souls. He, at once declared the whole affair as utter nonsense, and Hindu Practices, the abomination prohibited by the Lord himself. The hairy outline of the image itself had lost its original distinct shape as the baby's body hair follicles had fallen off and very faint outline was all that was left. In spite of that, the carnival like atmosphere lasted almost a month. Those who had seen the original; never stopped believing in the child's blessed birth; ignoring the Church's denouncing the whole affair, they, in their simple hearts wanted to believe- if not the actual return of the Lord then the sure sign of something extraordinary present in form a boy. Well time passed quickly and Francis turned ten. His father had disappeared without casting one glance at the newborn son. Speculations were that, perhaps he had landed in the West Indies or Canada; no one knew for sure nor anyone bothered to go looking for him. Just before the termination of Goa's colonial status, the Church annulled his marriage to Miriam and she remarried a Portuguese official associated with the Holly Pontiff in the Vatican.

From the very beginning Francis was showing unique qualities. As a baby he never cried; not even for milk or getting cleaned. He simply made chuckling and cooing noises. He was a calm and happy child with engaging smile and laughing eyes. Every person was amazed by his delightful disposition. During his baptism, unlike other babies he did not wail but kick the holy water and splashed it on the father De Mello's frock. He was at once identified as a child with destiny with the holy church; a Cardinal in making or even the Pontiff who knows? They all would prophesied and envision his future appearance.

With new European Step Dad and the access to governmental as well as other important people of Colonial Goa; young Francis was growing with the idea that his destiny was charted by the divine angel and that he was set to be on a road in the service of the Lord leading to the priesthood. By the time he turned seventeen he had memorized the Bible and all other associated Catholic Ritual. He was everywhere. In every pageant and Christmas Play, the role of Baby Christ automatically went to him during first year.

On the daily, routine life, he was not allowed to play with ordinary mortal children and his time was mostly spent with adults and clergymen. It appeared as if he was cut out for that role. He never showed a sign of dislike or rebellious attitude nor had overwhelming desires for excessive pleasures. He was growing up a very contemplating and serious young man always ready to assist and provide comforts to others. He looked so fabulous in the garb of altar boy that he was assigned to that roll whenever any important visiting dignitaries from the church came in and conducted the Mass. It never occurred to anyone that a child in him was systematically being smothered by the ambitious but well-wishing adults.

By the time he turned twelve, he had achieved excellence in every field he undertook to study or participated in. His physique itself was awe striking. Calm and peaceful in visage, his presence was acknowledged by street vendors, the coolly and all higher-ups in the society. He was in fact a walking image of Michelangelo's Apollo, combined with the feminine gracefulness of Rachel. Had he been any ordinary child; he surely would have been bullied by the boys as a 'sissy' for lack of aggressiveness. However, he was very athletic sportsman and a champion of Greco-Roman Style wrestling.

There was no doubt that he was a heartthrob of many maidens of his age group but he was not interested in them. In the constant indoctrination about the cardinal and the original Sin committed by the first woman, 'Eve' mentioned around him and the lack of direct interactions with the females including his own sister, he had become, 'un home, femme-phobic' not by choice but by orientation to his sex preferences. Simply putting, he enjoyed company of men of his type, the soft spoken and suave. Psychologically he was being prepared for the celibate life of a priest and only women who ever caressed him were his close relatives and the nuns in the convent where he had begun his early education. By the time he reached puberty, he had been put through a psychological castration by those who had chosen a profession for him and that was to find glory in the service of the Lord. He had known no other path, but can such indoctrination alter nature? Man is created like all other animals, plants and insect to propagate via sexual activities and to perform that voluntarily, man has been given the sexuality and the pleasures. How can that hormone driven process be switched off by simple indoctrination?

Francis began the sexual awareness by the time he turned twelve and nightly erections became a routine event which he understood as natural but did not quite know for what purpose. The desires for opposite sex begin to rise in human mind around that age naturally, but he was not experiencing such thing as a simple wish to be with a female anywhere, leave aside in his bed. In fact he never even paid attention to it and assumed that his erections were not a biological activity but was governed by the principles of hydraulics which he had learned in his Physics class.
Unconsciously, somewhere in the back of his mind he had developed storage of many feelings, sensations and experiences which he alone had known to be there and which he had suppressed effortlessly. The awareness of tingling sensations around his thighs during the practice for the wrestling match came to him as he was transitioning from adolescence to teenage. The tactile touch of his opponents with certain attractiveness of their physique had made him to hold them tight against his own body even when Father Coyle, who was the coach, had whistled two or three times to indicate the wrestling was over. Eventually it became obvious and the other wrestlers began to feel uncomfortable with him. After few episodes , he quickly learned to suppress that feeling due to its embarrassing absurdity and therefore, it did not grow into a noticeable and concern causing behavior. Never the less the pleasure sensation got locked up in that vault deep inside his psyche and he had no opportunity to revisit it nor anyone else had any inkling of its existence.

The superstition surrounding his birth, the aura and hellos surrounding his personality and his closeness within the Church's inner circles had swallowed the real him; just like Jonah, but not for three days and night in the belly of a whale, but for the life in the belly of a monster called guilt.

"I am not normal and all my unique calling to the services of our Lord is a hoax."

Thoughts like this started to swirl around in his head and he started searching for answers in the New Testament and not finding any, he went through the Pentateuch and came empty handed. The Ecclesiastes confused him by the contradictions and a lack of precise directions. He was miserable inside but kept his faith in the Lord God Almighty and smiled as usual. The time was moving forward at its predetermined rate and he was progressing towards an abyss of confusion about life and the morality laws which came from Moses and codified to this day.
There was no one he could go to and discuss the issues without feeling the weight of shame one feels when one discovers a stray thought about newly discovered method of using own hand touch to get the relief of that sexual tension- an act, that would be condemn by the authority as wicked behavior; something similar to entertaining an attraction to a close relative that grabs one's mind in a tight grip, after seeing that person in a naked state, and in spite of having the knowledge of its impropriety, one wanting to experience that again.

His struggle to find himself had begun by the growth of his body but who could explain that to him or how could he discover himself in absence of any reliable source like the medical books or a frank discussion on the human sexuality. Then it happened very quickly with a visit from an official bringing the message from His Holiness the Pontiff from Vatican. He learnt a lot in one night about himself and the Holly Church's administration of the Lord's kingdom on earth.