"It's been three days, and I still can't believe that happened!" Farah tells the kids gathered around her with a wide smile, revealing her dimples.
"Yeah, yeah. We know your dad used your pants as a slingshot, and so does everyone in the village." says a young girl the same size as Farah with freckles and messy red hair.
"AHHH! NOT THAT PART!!" Farah immediately turns red and covers her face with her tiny hands, leaving only the edges of her face and her red ears visible. 'How did they even find out?! I didn't tell anyone, but all the kids asked me if it really happened the next day!'
"I meant when the monsters invaded, and everyone took care of it! I hate you, Jenny!"
"What a shame, I was going to share some crispies with you but now I'll have to find someone else to share with. Who wants some rice crispies?" Jane expressed her woes while making exaggerated weeping expressions, clearly teasing Farah.
"Gah! I'm sorry! I don't hate Jenny after all! Crunch, crunch. It's so good! I love you!" Ignoring the gang's giggles and laughter, Farah instantly goes back on her words and jumped to grab the snack to eat deliciously. Farah then goes in to give Jane a big hug after she's done eating.
"Hahahaha, people tease you because you're always like this, Farah. Why don't you try to be less reactive? Actually, don't, that'd be no fun." another boy spoke up. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and a tall build for a child.
"Agreed."
"Hey, come on now, Omar. Don't say that. It's not her fault being so easy to mess with." said a boy with black hair walking in, it's Jon!
"Thanks for the save, Jon! Wait, what's with the last part of what you said?! Huh?! Not you too!" Farah puffs her cheeks and turns away, intentionally letting her hair flutter into Jon's face.
"Achoo! Don't do that! Sorry, sorry, it's my fault. Won't you forgive me?" Jon sneezes and apologizes with a smile and his pinky held out.
"This better be the last time!"
"Yes, yes, pinky promise."
"Pinky promise!"
Looking at the scene, Jane, Omar, and two other kids who had just walked to the front, Arthur and Connor discussed between themselves loudly, enough for the two to hear.
"The lovebirds are at it again. Ah, I wish I had such a prince too~"
"Did you call?"
"Nobody called, Arthur. She obviously meant me."
"Omar, Art, Jane will never look at either of you the way Farah looks at Jon, accept it."
"Oh, shut up!", the two said simultaneously and continued fighting. Sometimes you could hear sentences like "Wait! I have a shield that can protect anything!" or "Oh, yeah?! Then I have a sword that can cut that shield!" leaking out, it seems the boys are fighting a battle of words.
"Hehe, these guys sure are energetic." breaking away from Omar and Authur's battlefield, Jane spoke up with a bright smile and closed eyes, but if they were open, they are sure to be shimmering with joy and adoration.
"Boys will be boys!" Farah crosses her arms and puffs her chest after she said so, attracting the attention of everyone around her, especially Jon.
"...Of course, boys should be boys." Jon sighs to himself and attempts to find the courage to go play with the other boys, however, he is interrupted by Farah's enthusiastic suggestion.
"Hey! Jon! Jane! Let's go play! It looks like they're playing freeze tag, it'll be fun!" Farah waves from 20 steps away, with the two not noticing when she started moving.
"Haha, freeze tag, huh. Let's go." Jon says to Jane and starts running to where Farah, who is now talking to other kids, is.
"Man, I'm beat! I played too much!" Farah, now home, says to the ceiling, knowing her parents will be able to hear her and that they would respond.
"Don't you ever learn? You always come home like this, Farah. I thought you'd settle down a little after that happened, but you just went out again the day after and came back like this! Know when to stop already! And if you have enough strength to shout, come and help mommy out." her mother scolded and asked her for help in one breath. Not minding the scolding at all, she walks to where the voice came from to find her mother sewing extra clothes.
"Mom, I don't know how to sew. I'm also shaking tired."
"I didn't say anything about helping me sew, here, try these on." Her mother hands over a new set of clothes made for her. It's a set of long-sleeved shirt and leggings with two layers of a rather elastic material.
"What's the occasion, mom? This looks expensive. Also, how do I put this on?" Farah asks in puzzlement, as she has never seen this type of clothing before, nor can she think of a special occasion that might warrant this kind of gift.
"Mommy and Daddy are giving you this set of clothes for when you might go to the forest in the future! Let's talk about it on dinner with your daddy there too, he'll feel left out otherwise." Barbara partially explains the reason for the clothes and instructs Farah on how to wear them.
"Okay~"
"Babe, dinner's done!" Barbara says as she finishes serving stir-fried monster meat, boiled and fresh vegetables, and four servings of mashed potatoes.
"I'm coming! I'm just having a little trouble putting this on." David's voice comes from the master bedroom, at times muffled.
After some amount of time, David walked out in a formal black suit with a red bow tie. Clearly, something was up. First the clothes, the food, then now, the suit. "Sorry I took so long, the damn tie was hard to get right." David grumbled and sat down at the dinner table.
"Don't swear!" Barbara scolds David and hits him lightly.
"Ow, ow, okay, okay! By the way, babe, you look handsome, you too, Farah."
"I'm supposed to be cute! Just die!" Barbara, enraged by the remark, summons boundless strength and starts pummeling David.
"That'll ruin the suit, no! Farah, please help daddy!" David shouts for help while struggling to defend himself from his wife.
Farah runs up to her father to save him from his certain doom by going between her parents and consoling her mother, "You look cute!" "It's okay to be handsome!" "Mom, you look amazing either way. It's a compliment!" she says many words of comfort such as these and gradually, Barbara calms down and moves herself back to her seat.
"Whew, I almost died there. Thanks, my little hero!" David thanks Farah with a wry smile and proceeds to fix his clothes.
"Man, and we're having a guest today, too. Babe, does my back look okay?" David casually said so and turns around for Barbara to look for anything on his back.
"All's good. Be more careful from now on."
"Eh, a guest?! Who is it?! Nobody told me about this!" Farah is visibly shocked, with her opening her mouth wide as if she has dislocated her jaws, having her eyes be as wide as a lemon, she asked in a fast, high-pitched voice.
Farah's parents, realizing their mistakes, covers their mouths and shook their heads simultaneously. "Mmmmn mmmmm mmm mmmm! Gah! It's nothing, Farah. I meant that me and your mother are going out to party as a guest, haha...." David lies, badly. Even children would know that there is something amiss.
"..."
"Ah, that explains the gift! That's a bribe, isn't it?! Hahahaha, I've got you!" perhaps not this child. Farah laughs it off and starts eating food, quickly filling her cheeks like a little squirrel.
"Don't eat too quickly! What if you choke, huh?!" Barbara scolds Farah with a fed-up voice. "You too, Dave. Why don't you help me out here? I'm struggling trying to educate her! What a stubborn child she is."
"Eh, ah, Farah, listen to mom, okay?" David says to Farah in a soft voice and mutters to himself, "How did I get roped in, sigh."
"Dear, did you say anything?"
"...Did I come in at a bad time?" Carter asked after walking in on the mother pouncing on the father, with a child trying to calm things down.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Please come in and make yourself comfortable first." David welcomes the guest to the dinner table after collecting himself, with Barbara following him to the table as if the scene earlier was just a lie.
Farah, however, was stunned. She stood in place without moving an inch, her eyes fixed on the old shopkeep, who is dressed formally. 'W-How is he here?! He looks handsome in that costume, w- wait,'
"Why are you here?!" Farah shouted out in genuine shock and disbelief, 'Didn't mom and dad hate him?! Why haven't they told me about this?! Awawawa I'm such a mess right now!'
"Haha, am I unwanted here?" While Farah's brain is running haywire, Carter is busy getting acquainted with her parents, commenting on the food, and talking about the recent news in the village.
"Did you not tell her about me?"
"We thought it'd be a nice surprise. Heh, but I guess it's too much of a surprise. I'll go get her, please don't mind us." Barbara stood up and took Farah to her bedroom.
In a dark room, two people stand, one is a tall lady, trying to call to the other, a child standing in a daze, swaying with the wind. Of course, it's Farah and Barbara.
"Can you hear me? Hey, Farah!" Barbara lightly slaps Farah's cheeks, jolting her awake.
"Ah! Eh? M- mommy? Mommy, why is he here? I thought you hated him..." Farah asks her mother with a confused expression and her hands tightly grasping on her pants.
"...It's going to take a long time, so let's go back to the living room first, okay? We'll talk about that at the table, remember? Sorry for keeping his visit from you, Farah. We didn't know you'd be this... affected." Barbara slowly apologizes in a soft voice, trying to calm her daughter down. After she said what she had to say, she led her child to the living room, gathering everyone at the dining table.
"The sleeping princess has been awakened! Hahaha!"
"Indeed, indeed! My precious daughter has been brought back to life! This calls for a celebration! Cheers!"
When the girls entered the room, they see two drunk men partying and drinking. They were none other than David and Carter. They drink and continue chatting like two old friends that haven't met each other in decades. They ignore the men and sit down opposite them.
"Hey! Where did all the meat go?!" Farah who hasn't eaten her share of food yet, shouts in confusion and frustration.
"Ahahaha, sorry, kid. I ate it! It was really delicious! Ma'am, won't you reconsider your choice of husband? It's not too late, you know?" Carter, drunken from drinking too much, said something thoughtless.
"Ha?! I'm sitting right here, you stupid mage! Are you looking for a fight?!" David gets enraged by the words and challenges Carter to a fight with a red face.
"Oh yeah?! Bring it on then!"
"Aren't you two lively?" A chilling, sweet voice sounds from the other side of the table.
"You wouldn't mind cooking for our hungry little Farah who hasn't had her fill, would you?"
"N- No, ma'am!" seeing the two men ran into the kitchen to quickly cook something up, Barbara turns around to Farah.
"Farah, after they come back, we'll be talking about something very important to you. Pay attention and speak out if there's something you don't agree with, okay?" she grabs her only daughter's shoulders tightly and said with a serious face and voice, though she seems to be on the verge of crying.
"Mom? Why are you crying?" the little girl continues to be clueless.