Year 5007 after the system day 16 of the flowering season during the afternoon.

 

“What are you searching for?”

I questioned after watching her look inside what seemed like a rectangular box for a while.

“Getting some old clothing for the scarecrow. Maybe this black set?”

She showed it to me, who nodded in agreement while wearing a cheerful smile.

“That, along with the hat of Thomas, sounds like a perfect fit!”

After giving me the clothing, she closed the box after folding and storing the leftover old rags, then got up and stretched her legs after being in a kneeling position for a while, and moved towards the living room where other materials remained. Once we had everything, we moved outside near the field.

“Shoo, shoo!”

I yelled while running after a few birds who pecked at my field. These would drop by from time to time and it was becoming more frequent.

“Seems like they really like your field.”

Rosaline giggled, finding my behavior funny.

“They sure do. I even had to make the holes deeper so they wouldn’t reach it easily.”

“Make them too deep and moles or rabbits will eat them. Making a field can be tough, but luckily, I haven’t seen either of the two around here.”

“One of these days I’ll start taming all those animals and teach them they can’t touch the seeds!”

This time around, she burst into laughter, imaging the little me being followed by many tiny animals like their queen, similar to Hamelin playing the flute to his rats.

“I still remember that old chick you kidnapped when you were even younger, saying it was too cute, so you took it home without us knowing.”

To those words, my cheeks became rosy and filled with embarrassment, and then, with a low voice, I responded sincerely.

“Well, having a pet to take care of sounded... still sounds like something I’d like...”

“Would you take good care of it?”

“If I had one I would!”

I yelled, convicted, making her smile briefly.

“What pet has my dear daughter dreamt of having?”

“Maybe a tiny puppy? They’re very cute and I heard they live a long time and are loyal.”

The words that popped from me made Rosaline go in awe till the last word, causing her to be abnormally interested.

“That’s the first time I hear a child mention they seek fidelity from their pet.”

“One of the village kids mentioned how treacherous her cat was, so I figured I’d like to have someone who could be there for me, maybe a big dog who could keep me safe while the two of you are away.”

“I see...”

My mother started setting the clothes on a cross wooded branch with my help who smiled at her. Once we finished, Rosaline left momentarily to bring the hay that was left nearby the entrance of our home.

When she returned, we stuffed the clothes the best possible with yellow-looking straws.

As soon as we filled everything in, she started knotting everything with small cords, so the hay wouldn’t come out in the future. Last, we filled a pillow-looking rag with hay and placed it on top of the body, making it the head section of the scarecrow, binding it like everything else.

Together we made a deep hole in the middle of the field, and placed the bottom tip of the vertical wood inside of it, closing it while I held the figure in place.

Once we cleared that step, I noticed mom pass her arm through the forehead, wiping the sweat from the hard work and the heat outside.

“Think it is sturdy enough?”

To that question, I attempted to wave it from one side to the other with both hands, having difficulties shaking it. Once I felt enough struggle, my body stopped, and I looked at her.

“I think so...”

Just in case, my mother made an enormous pile of earth on top of it, cladding it with some water that she created with her own element, turning it similar to clay, and molding a small mountain all the way to the feet.

“Once it dries, it’ll become very solid and protect it from falling.”

Amazement filled my heart, causing me to add cheerfully as I radiated from happiness and delight.

“Mom, you’re truly the best!”

Rosaline smiled at such words and after washing her hands through the same method as earlier, placed the hat on top of the scarecrow, covering half of the pillow, making both of us laugh.

“It looks just like you, Iris!”

“Yes! The hat didn’t fit me either.”

After laughing some more while looking at the scarecrow, proud of our hard work. I thought while touching the figure tenderly.

‘This was a lot of work. I just hope it keeps the birds away. I believe the old man would be proud.’

After some time passed, Rosaline returned to the fields in a more casual outfit and noticed me watering the field.

“You’re a hard worker!”

My head faced her briefly with a smile, returning the gaze to the field.

“Can’t have them go on without water, especially since it has been nothing but sunny days.”

“It’s alright dear, it’ll take a long while before you see something coming out of it.”

“Really?”

I gazed at the field with disappointed eyes.

‘I knew it wouldn’t magically grow in some days, but...’

A sigh escaped my lips, resuming the watering.

“Yes, by the end of this season, you should have them fully grown and ready to be harvested.”

“I’m looking forward to that!”

I rose my hands in the air excitedly, quickly regaining my motivation, allowing the watering can to fall on the ground.

The mother, with a smile on her face, thought about the future.

‘It’ll be very cute to see her reaction when unexpected and diverse things grow in her field.’

She mixed some seeds into the labeled bags on purpose, so the daughter wouldn’t know the outcome, causing her a surprise.

‘Now to wait patiently for that day...’

“Also daughter, it took me a while, but I managed all the ingredients you asked for that ash cake you told me about.”

“For real!?”

My feet jumped energetically, causing a bit of dirt to spread to the sides upon the impact of on the ground.

“Of course!”

After I took a few steps, my mother looked at the ground, noticing the prints my shoes made, smiling faintly at how small they were. Soon after, my gaze followed hers, understanding what her expression possibly meant.

My hands joined hers while looking down at them and muttered some words, embarrassed.

“We could go bake it together if you would like to...”

In my mind, a mischievous thought went by.

‘And surprise dad when he returns with it.’

“Ah... let’s go wash our hands in the river first.”

A long while passed, and she followed my instructions, as I had the sole access to the ash cake recipe from my skill. Eventually, we finished it and looked at the ashes inside the oven, where we had removed the cauldron, before enabling this step.

“Now we wait for a while as it cooks...”

We gazed at it in silence, appreciating this older method of baking as the smell filled the kitchen, a mix of the leftover charcoal and the cake being baked.

‘Haven’t seen anyone using ashes this way before...’ the woman glanced at me, astonished, filled with curiosity.

‘System library... just where in the world did Iris get it?’

She crossed her arms, pondering further on the subject.

‘Luke checked the village library but there wasn’t anything related to green eyes or those two skills...’

Rosaline let out a sigh, surprising me, who made a slightly worried expression at her.

“What’s wrong, mom?”

The woman took a seat in one of the four kitchen chairs.

“Nothing is dear, just wish I had some answers to a couple of questions.”

“If I can help, I will!”

“You’re a wonderful daughter, but sadly with this matter, you can’t.”

“I understand...”

My gaze returned to the fireplace surrounded by three tall walls of bricks all the way to the roof. In other words, the chimney. With the flame completely extinguished, I could still feel the heat in my hands, whose palms remained faced to the ashes, warming both up with a smile on my face as the cake baked by itself.

‘Wish I could be more helpful to my parents...’

With great happiness, I grabbed her right hand, pulling it gently, closer to the warmth. To this, my mother smiled kindly, not saying anything, instead caressing my own with her thumb, rubbing it in a circular motion. The house compared to the outside was cold, causing this scene to be pretty comfortable.

“How’s the training with your father progressing?”

Rosaline lifted her bottom from the chair and pulled the chair closer to the fireplace, pulling me closer to her embrace, making me fall on her lap, sitting on it.

I then adjusted myself to seat properly on her legs.

“Hum... you see...”

“Yes...?”

“It’s been a slow learning phase. Not a bad thing, but...”

“But?”

“We end up talking more than actual training.”

She chuckled before speaking, burrowing her face in my shoulder.

“That sounds like your father alright.”

My throat made an inward sound in agreement.

“In a way, you’ll get to know a bit more about the magical institute and what your father knows about the world.”

“Yes...”

“No need to rush, dear. You’ll definitely learn everything we know.”

“I understand mom, I’ll be patient.”

“Good girl, don’t forget rushing usually causes progress to backfire. Take your time to feel the mana flowing within you and around the body.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

She giggled, lifting her face from the shoulder, and then stood up, checking the progress of the ash cake.

“Think it’s done?”

“Not sure... did your recipe tell you how much time it took?”

“It didn’t...”

“Guess we’ll let it be a bit longer, and then I’ll stab it with a thin stick to see if it’s baked. If the wood comes with some liquid on it, it means more time is necessary.”

In awe, I replied.

“Mom! You sure are knowledgeable!”

“In a couple of things.”

She smirked, placing a hand on top of my head.

A while passed by, eventually having the cake cleaned from the ashes and fully baked. We placed it on top of the kitchen table with a clean cloth on top of it.

“Think dad will like it?”

I, unsure of his reaction, looked down at my fingers touching the index onto one another, causing the mother to reply excitedly, and with the need to comfort and reassure me, she responded.

“I’m sure he’ll love it!” 

My heart felt glad and relieved deep inside. Slowly but surely, my awkwardness and tattered heart became more and more inclined toward my wish to be happy, promising myself to go to any extent, to see it becoming real.