“This is the Buckle berry tree that I saw several days ago!” Vivian exclaimed before she took out a thick book from her bag and flipped a few pages before stopping, “According to this encyclopedia, the tree has black stripes along with the barks, see? It’s identical to the one in the book!” She pointed towards a picture of a full fruit-bearing Buckle berry with the one in front of her.

The tree was still sprouting flowers, though it did had the characteristic that the young girl was mentioning. 

 

Jack gasped as he was kneeling next to her, “You’re right! It is a Buckle berry tree! How is this even possible?!” He extended his arms in amazement at the plant’s extraordinary resistance towards cold. 

 

“I know right?!”

 

The two children giggled as an adult who wasn’t too far from them stared into the surroundings. The snow was falling rather heavily on that day, though it still enabled people to go outside. An Auburn-haired individual stepped into the snow-covered ground and was looking around the lake. While his eyes were focused on the two children by the lake.

 

“Don’t get too close into the water, you might fall in there. Be careful.” Roderick reminded as he crossed his arms. 

 

Jack and Vivian turned both of their heads towards the adult before nodding, “We will!” The former said before they inspected the fascinating small bush-like plant in front of them.

 

Roderick simply nodded his head as he looked up into the falling snow, recalling what happened earlier back in town. 

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“What?! But uncle, I wanted to go to the lake with Jack and play together! It’s been a long time since we did that!” A loud voice came from the kitchen as Roderick had woken up and was going downstairs. 

 

Errat crossed his arms and firmly shook his head, “The snow’s falling a bit heavy this day, little seastar. Knowing ya, it would be more than a few hours to sate your thirst for adventure. There’s likely to be a blizzard today. Ya gotta wait another day.” He said it in a stern voice. 

 

“Mnhh… But I already promised Jack that we’re going to play today! And to show him the Buckle Berry tree that I found! He’s excited to see it…  I can’t just cancel it, he will be sad...” Vivian replied as she frowned and a guilty look was upon her face. 

 

“There’s always tomorrow, ya know? It’s not like the tree’s going anywhere else.”

 

Roderick had reached the bottom of the stairs and approached the two arguing individuals, “What’s going on?” He asked as he entered the kitchen.

Vivian instantly jerked her head towards the man, “Mister Roderick!” She then ran up to him and grabbed his wrist, “Please accompany me and Jack to the lake today! Pretty, pretty please?!” She exclaimed while she was jumping in her spot. 

 

Roderick was puzzled by the young girl’s request before he turned his gaze towards Errat. Demanding an explanation as he only had a slight idea of what was truly going on.

 

The older man let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head, “Judging from how heavy the snow was fallin’ today, there would likely be a blizzard all over the town. And I caught the little sea star here trying to sneak away while her mom’s at the grocery store to get some ingredients for dinner.” Errat explained with a wry smile.

Vivian pouted as she glared at Errat, “But I already promised Jack that we’re going to the lake today!” She then turned to point her finger at Roderick, “If you don’t want me and Jack to go together alone, then how about Mister Roderick accompanies us?”

 

“...What?” Roderick muttered as she knitted his brows together he was caught in the eye of the storm at that moment. 

 

Vivian cleared her throat as she stood up confidently, “Since both me and Jack are only young children, Mister Roderick could accompany us as an adult to watch over us! He can tell us when it’s time to stop playing by the lake! Sounds good, right?” She proposed the idea. 

 

Roderick knitted his brows more in confusion, ”Wait… Does that mean I have to babysit them?”

Errat rubbed his chin and closed his eyes in thought, “Having Rody watch over you, a little sea star and a seal pup together… Hmmm...” He then opened his eyes and snapped his fingers, “Sounds like a plan!”

 

“...” Roderick stood in silence at watching how quick Errat’s decision had turned around.

 

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And that was how the adult ended up being a company towards the two children. With Errat’s permission, he entrusted Roderick to look after both of them. Even though the adult wanted to decline the request, Vivian’s puppy eyes were too irresistible for him to say no. Never break a children’s heart they say, it wouldn’t be that hard they say.

 

Roderick let out a puff of air from his mouth while looking at the sky, “Why am I stuck here again?” He muttered. 

 

“Mister Roderick! Mister Roderick!”

 

Roderick turned his head over towards Vivian motioning her hand to him, “I want to show you something! Come here!” She said with a big grin on her face. The pair had moved from their earlier spot to another area near the bushes around the lake.

 

Roderick, despite being reluctant to the whole ‘babysitting’ idea, made his way towards the young girl as she was holding another book.

 

The adult then squatted down to be at the young children’s level and looked at the girl, “What is it? Found something interesting?” He asked. 

 

Jack nodded as he then held out a flower with layers of petals in the vibrant colors of Autumn, “We found some Maple Blossoms by the bushes!”

 

Roderick examined the features and colors of the flower before he hummed, “Oh, these ones… It’s been a long time since I saw one of these.” He said as Vivian chimed in and brought four more Maple Blossoms in her hands. 

 

“It’s really colorful, right? Once there’s a legend that if you collect one hundred of these, you will find eternal happiness!” Vivian said as she held one of the flowers out to Roderick, “Not to mention that it’s my favorite flower of all time!” She added as she smiled brightly towards the adult.

 

Upon hearing those words, Roderick was silent for a moment as he stared at the young girl with glistening eyes. In his eyes, there was a blur between Vivian’s smile and an image from his past memory.

 

” Legend says that Maple Blossoms can bring happiness if we collect a hundred of them. Just thinking about it makes me really happy. That’s why it’s my favorite flower! Do you think we can collect and bring them back for mom and dad? I’m sure they’ll be very happy if we give them a hundred Maple Blossoms!” A cheerful yet bittersweet voice rang inside of Roderick’s head.

 

“...”

 

“Here! Take it, Mister Roderick!” Vivian insisted as she shoved it into Roderick’s chest while still gazing at the man’s eyes. 

 

Roderick gazed deeply into the brown forest inside of the girl’s pupils, feeling a sort of lament tugging on his heart. There was no change in his expression, only his hand moved to grab the flower from the young girl’s hands. 

 

He smiled at Vivian as he held the flower in his grasp, “Thank you, Vivian.”

 

The young girl hummed gleefully, “My pleasure!” She then giggled as she put her flowers inside of her bag. While Roderick puts the stem around the sheath of his dagger. That was when Jack noticed the small pendant hanging from the dagger’s handle. 

 

“Woah, is that a Night Irisia pendant?” Jack pointed out, slightly startling Roderick by the sudden question.

“O-Oh, this?” Roderick then unsheathed his dagger and faced the handle towards the two children. There lies a glistening Cobalt blue gem in the center of a silver sculpture of a tiny flower with multiple tiny petals surrounding the materialized stigma and anthers. The adult hummed as he stared down at the pendant, “It is a Night Irisia, you got a good eye.”

 

Vivian came closer as she gazed at the pendant in awe, “Wow, it’s so pretty. Is it your favorite flower, Mister Roderick?” She asked, to which the man didn’t answer right away. 

 

There was a hint of melancholy laced around his face the longer he looked down on the pendant. His mind recalled the memories stored within the small jewelry

 

“Mister Roderick?” A voice called out to him. 

 

Roderick immediately lifted his head and was met with a saddened expression on the young children’s face, “What’s the matter?”

 

“Why are you crying?” Jack asked in a concerned tone.