Andrea's slow tip taps as she went downstairs grew distant until they completely left silence throughout the stairway.
The two siblings could no longer hear anything anymore, so the pair sat up in their beds. Thiolana didn't look very well to Seran. As he spectated his sister's body language, he could tell something was wrong. Greatly annoyed by the situation, Thiolana furrowed her eyebrows from the conversation she overheard in the kitchen.
"Pssst, Lan Lan…Lan Lan," Seran whispered to his sister. "What were Mom and Dad talking about?"
"Mom and Dad are getting a divorce, "Thiolana replied. "That's what I heard."
"What's a divorce, Lan Lan?" Seran asked.
Thiolana turned, facing the wall, and pulled the covers over her head as she felt aggravated by Seran's questioning, she groaned, "Knucklehead, it's when two people don't like each other anymore so they leave."
Seran blinked his eyes frequently before conveying his thoughts openly. "So, are we getting a divorce?" he innocently asked.
"No dummy head, just stop asking me about it!" Thiolana groaned, more annoyed by his constant questioning.
"Does this mean… Do you still like me?" Seran questioned, blinking his eyes confused.
"You're my baby brother…"Thiolana sighed, "Sometimes I just get angry when you say stuff. It's okay to be mad sometimes."
"I don't want Mom and Dad to have a divorce," Seran whimpered, unwrapping out of his blanket.
He stood up and crawled into the same bed with Thiolana.
"I don't want them… to get a divorce either," Thiolana mumbled, feeling his tiny presence inching closer.
Hugging his big sister from behind her back Thiolana's frustrations melted away. A few moments later, Thiolana's breathing slowed, and a gentle whistling sound with calming exhalation came from her nose and mouth. She had drifted into peaceful sleep suddenly.
"L-Lan Lan, are you asleep?" Seran called, shaking Thiolana forcefully by the shoulders a few times, but she did not wake.
Rather than disturb his sister's sleep more, he took his pillow, exited their room, and climbed down the flight of stairs. Holding on tightly to the bottom of the stair railing. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, it was pitch dark, and Seran started to become scared.
Light emitted from the living room with a loud noise that sounded familiar to a news channel about Mamon. Seran scurried over to the doorway of the living room. There, sitting in the living room in the dark, was his father, staring idly into the TV screen with dark circles underneath his eyes.
"Pappa?" Seran softly whimpered and hugged the wall, eyeing in on his father.
Ivor took notice of his son's presence, patting the sofa to beckon him over. "Hey champ, you climb all the way downstairs by yourself?" he asked, smiling proudly at his brave boy.
"I did it all by myself. I brought my pillow too," Seran affirmed, his little legs shaking as he held his pillow and struggled to climb onto the couch.
Ivor helps his son by giving him a slight push on the bottom. Depressed by today's events, Ivor slouched on the couch.
"Can't sleep I see?" Ivor asked, "Are you afraid son?"
"Everyone went to sleep without me, so I can't sleep," Seran whined.
"Looks like we're night buddies, huh?"
"Night buddies!" Seran exclaimed and threw his arms up happily.
"Alright, not too loud, or Mom will wake up and put you back in bed," Ivor said, chuckling at his son's sudden happiness.
Laying on the couch, Seran mimicked his father's loosened posture stretching his legs across the couch. He too started lounging on the couch with his legs spread wide and far. As Seran loosened up more, sinking into the blue cushioned couch, he twiddled his fingers curiously.
"Pappa, do I have to go to school?" Seran pleaded.
"Of course you do," Ivor replied. "Schools important, son."
Seran fussed, "I don't feel like it is. It's too hard and it's boring. I don't know why we even go."
Ivor sat up a little bit to give his son an answer. "Well, you see, son, if we didn't have schools or places where we can learn things, we wouldn't have all the cool stuff you see today. The TV, sink, toys, and even the house we sleep in safely at night. All of those things were created by people who learned from the same place that you'll learn from."
"I always do badly at school and people laugh at me," Seran pouted his lips. "I don't think I'm going to ever be good at school."
Ivor's eyebrows lowered out of guilt, out of feeling his son's struggles with school.
Ivor advised his son, "I haven't been around to help with your homework as much as I used to have. Your mother does the best she can for you at home. At times, you'll get angry whenever you're trying to be good at something. You'll mess up a lot of the time, but if you give up, nothing will get better. So give it everything you've got every day. You'll see for yourself how much better you'll be."
"Lan Lan does good at school… it's easy for her. I want to be like that, maybe then you'll stay home more. And you and mom will like each other again," Seran dreamfully said.
Ivor sighed slightly, his pointing finger raised upward."Son, I've never said I disliked your mother."
"If you do like mom, then don't get a divorce," Seran replied, blinking with innocent eyes.
"I figured you two were eavesdropping on the conversation. It's not that easy son. Your mother made a choice right now and you're probably a little too young to understand it. It doesn't mean that I don't love your mother."
Ivor's fingertip touched the very tip of Seran's nose. Seran looked at the heavy dark circles underneath his father's eyes in confusion. His wistful smile on his face made Seran more puzzled by him.
His mouth opened up a bit before he spoke. "I can say wholeheartedly, I love you all without a doubt."
Seran crawled up by the threads of his father's gray sweatpants. Clinching onto his father's shirt, Seran's head relaxed flat against Ivor's chest, listening to the anxiety in his father's rapid heartbeat.
"Be smart if you'd like to be. But don't forget we're born in this world with our different talents. When your wits are at its end, use your talent. The gift you were born with."
"I will Pappa…" Seran said, silently shutting his eyes tightly as he continued to focus on Ivor's heart. That heavy rapid beat promptly transitioned into a complacent tempo, almost like a song to his ears. Seran began to give in to his fatigue before he could even think to say goodnight, his mind was already wrapped in dreams.
Ivor's thoughts became more clear with a strengthening resolve by his son.
"The pain I felt vanished…son...you're more special than you let off."
As he held his son into his arms, the twinkle in Ivor's ice-blue eyes swept away the depression latching onto him. Lowering into a state of serenity, Ivor's eyes followed his son into slumber.