Birds sang high in the branches of the fig tree inside the walls of the Storm mansion while the sun shone its light into the pool of water in the fountain.

Drops of water began splashing on the gravel as a heavy wind blew against the fountain’s pipe and shifted its angle.

"The sky is so bright," Lily said as she ran outside as if she was being chased and stopped beside the fountain.

She placed her palms on the fountain’s circular edges, then strained her neck until she saw her wobbly reflection in the pool of water.

"Mm, my eyes are big like dad’s," she said with reddened cheeks while winking at the water as if playing with someone on the other side. "My eyes are more beautiful than brother’s, that’s why he always teases me about them. I now know why."

She loosened her grip on the fountain and set out running while giggling. "Brother won’t be able to tease me again when he comes."

She chased after squirrels and stood under the fig tree when they all climbed it to the top.

"Hey," Lily said as she pointed at the baby squirrel that came out of its hole. "Come here. I just want to play with you guys."

When the squirrel dashed back into its hole, Lily frowned.

"FINE!" she said and stamped her right foot on the ground as if wanting to carve a hole with it. "I am angry and won’t play with anyone unless brother comes back home."

She walked back inside the mansion with a pouting mouth and arms folded across her chest.

The moment she entered and saw her thick woolen socks with yellow ducklings stitched onto the ankles, a faint smile appeared on her face.

Lily ran and removed them from the bag of freshly washed clothes, then wore them. "These look even better on me now."

She glanced at the empty hallway, then smiled. "Since Aunty Zoe is not here, Aunty Min-seo has gone to the market, and mom is in her room, let me slide myself on these tiles."

"One, two, three," she screamed in joy as she slid herself around using the smoothness of the socks and the floorboards as her natural skates. "This is fun!"

---

Lily ran from room to room, corridor to corridor until she entered the room she had made Zoe redesign to match the sunroom in the Qing’s safe house. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She walked sluggishly while brushing her fingers against the family portraits that had been lined up on the walls like soldiers.

"Brother was that big?" She screamed in a loud voice when she saw Leon’s childhood photo.

She measured Leon’s head with her finger, then shook her head. "I now have something to tease him with when he teases me."

She moved a step back and began dancing, shaking her shoulders and swinging her waist until she saw her own childhood image.

"I have to make Aunty Zoe remove this when she comes. Leon does not need to see this," she said and laughed at the image before dashing out of her small sunroom.

When she stopped back at the base of the staircase, her nose twitched when a sharp draft of air flew into her lungs. "Where is that smell coming from?"

Lily walked toward the kitchen door with a pinched nose, while brushing the air off her face.

"Nothing is burning," she said as she paused by the cutting table, then lifted her head and watched the cold stove. "So where is that coming from?"

She stayed there for a while before moving back to the hallway with drowsy eyes. "Ahhh, I think I need to sleep."

The more Lily waited in the hallway, the more the smell of the bio-inhibitor spread through her lungs.

---

At the busy market of Bastion City, Min-seo stood at the roadside waiting to get herself a ride back to the mansion.

"Hello," she said and began waving at the yellow and blue vehicle, but ended up getting splashed with water when the driver deliberately drove into the puddle at the front, then laughed afterward.

Min-seo brushed the dirt off her face, then adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder, then sighed.

"Bastion Estate," she said and stretched her right arm forward when a blue vehicle came into view.

"Thank you," she said and slid into the back seat, then lowered her head when she saw herself sitting among Qing family guards.

She kept her head bowed until the driver stopped a few meters away from the estate junction after getting a tire puncture. "Sorry, but I think it would be best if you all take a different vehicle."

Min-seo stepped out of the car without a word and began walking toward the estate.

---

Inside the Storm Mansion, the warmth of Li Mei’s room changed while she sat at the edge of her bed with both palms slowly tapping on her lap.

With every inhale she took, she knew the airflow in the room had changed, but didn’t know when or how it changed.

’Why are the birds quiet today?’ she said in her head while trying to tune her ears to the harmonious cries that always made her feel part of the world.

A dying sigh echoed from the tree branch that extended to her window, when a bird tried flying away but ended up slamming itself against the top glass of her window.

"Lily, is that you?" she asked as the falling sound echoed from the window. "If it’s you, stop playing games with me."

---

"Mom," Lily said as she managed to climb the staircase by dragging herself against the walls, while her body threatened to send her down a downward slope.

The walls and the door began whirling around as she began walking toward Li Mei’s door.

Just as she entered Li Mei’s room, Lily climbed onto her bed and placed her head on her lap.

"Mom, when will brother come home," Lily asked with a faint smile on her face as it slowly turned pale. "I want to play with him."

"He will come soon, little Athena," Li Mei said, while her body began to spin around and her breaths came in slow.

"Mom, see, I found the yellow duckling socks," Lily said while slowly raising her right foot. Before Li Mei’s palm could touch Lily’s raised leg, both of them lost consciousness.

Lily’s leg slowly moved back, while Li Mei’s head remained bowed.

---

Meanwhile, Leon sat on his bed in the Bulwark of Agatha’s Special Force, smiling, while staring at the last message Lily sent him.

Brother, bring me a flower when coming, please. 😁