After waiting for who knows how long, the two of them couldn't endure drowsiness, falling into deep sleep on the sofa.
When Alex felt something shaking his shoulder, he turned to the side for a second before realizing he was sleeping on a soft bed.
"Wakey wakey, mom's back home."
Hearing Mary's voice, Alex finally opened his eyes as he sat back up from the bed, looking still a little sleepy.
"Sophia, wake up. Mommy is back," Mary whispered as she shook her shoulder next.
"Hm?"
As Sophia got up from the bed, Alex was already out of the bed, trying to find his shoe, which was nowhere in sight.
"When did we sleep on the bed? Weren't we sleeping on the sofa?" Sophia murmured as she shook her hair a little to move it to her back.
"Mary, when did mom come back?" Alex curiously asked as he finally found his shoe.
"Um, I think it was during the morning..."
"You're up that early?" Sophia asked with doubt in her voice as she found her shoe on the side.
"I-I was the only one awake when mom moved us to bed!"
Mary crossed her arms in anger, causing Sophia to bend down to pat her head gently.
"My bad, you did a good job, Mary——"
"Ahem, let's go check on Mom." Alex interrupted the two's moment, not wanting to waste any more time.
"Okay!"
---
When the three left their bedroom and arrived in the living room, both Katherine and Amelia were sitting on the sofa.
Katherine was wearing a black robe that none of them had ever seen, and she wore a witch hat similar to Amelia's.
There wasn't any tear on her face, but tear marks were clearly visible for anyone to see.
"Mom?" Sophia nervously asked as the three walked up to the two sitting on the sofa.
The sadness on Katherine's face disappeared within seconds as she smiled back at the three.
"Hey Sophia, you guys hungry?" Katherine asked as she leaned down to hug all three of them at once.
"Mom, is Dad not here anymore?" Alex straightforwardly asked, wanting an answer to all the things that had happened.
Katherine hesitated for a second, then looked over to Amelia's face, who used her mouth to signal her to say the truth.
"Yes... Your daddy is not going to be with us anymore."
Mary looked a little confused as she couldn't understand what they were talking about, but Sophia burst into tears.
"It's okay, Sophia. Just let it all out."
As Sophia continued to cry on her mom's shoulder, Amelia was a little surprised at how calm Alex looked.
But she didn't question it, letting them resolve it among themselves as she watched it in silence.
---
The next day...
Everyone in town was in the house's backyard, standing in silence as a tombstone was erected in its middle.
The tombstone had the name 'Paul' right at the top, with no family name written anywhere near it.
After a short funeral speech by the town's chief, Paul's empty wooden casket was lowered into the hole.
As two knights started filling the hole back up with dirt, tears began falling down people's faces.
Even Mary started tearing up as she finally realized what was happening after Sophia explained it to her.
"You don't have to hold it in," a female voice suddenly said to Alex.
Alex quickly turned around, but everyone around him was either crying or looking down in sadness.
"I have to be the man... I have to tough it out." Alex thought to himself as he held in the urge to cry.
Although he initially never viewed Paul as his father, after knowing him for six years, he had long accepted him as his father.
Seeing someone so close suddenly die was the first time he had experienced losing a loved one.
---
After who knows how long, the funeral ended.
Everyone began leaving their house and went back to their lives. Life moved on as if nothing had happened.
Despite Katherine's attempt to appear as if she had moved past it, Alex could tell she still missed her husband every day.
But there was nothing Alex could do.
He had never even had a relationship, let alone comfort someone who had lost their loved one.
After staying for a few days to ensure Katherine wouldn't try something stupid, Amelia left the house.
The house was back to the four of them living together, but without a longtime guest who appeared at least once a week.
---
In the bedroom, Sophia, Alex, and Mary, who was too big for the crib, were all sleeping together on the same bed.
The three of them had just finished taking a shower with Katherine, who went back to her bedroom.
"Hey Alex, have you noticed Mom feeling a little different the past few weeks?" Sophia quietly asked.
"Past few weeks? She's been different ever since Dad was gone." Alex replied, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.
"There must be something we can do to help her. Come on, you're the genius in the household."
Sophia suddenly grabbed Alex's arm, shaking his shoulder for an answer.
"There's nothing we can do to heal someone who lost their loved one. Only time can heal those traumas, okay?"
Alex turned over to the other side of the bed, facing Mary, who had already fallen asleep on the bed.
"But... Mom looks so alone every day. Even when she's with us." Sophia murmured as she closed her eyes as well.
Alex didn't respond to Sophia's murmuring, but he couldn't fall asleep at all.
He wanted to do something about it. He really wants to see his mom be happy as well.
But nothing in his memories could fix this issue. He had been trying to find something to solve it ever since Dad's death.
"Mom's birthday is coming up too... I was thinking of——"
Before Sophia finished talking, Alex immediately turned back around to face her directly in the dark.
"When is it Mom's birthday?" Alex urgently asked as he held onto her shoulder.
"Next week... Let go of my shoulder. It hurts." Sophia complained as she tried to push his hand away.
"You're a genius, Sophia! I think I have an idea now." Alex murmured as he leaned forward to hug Sophia.
"Okay..."
---
Days quickly went by as Alex and Sophia began preparing for their mom's birthday.
Mary eventually caught on to what the two were doing and joined in, serving as the distraction role to get Mom away from the house.
As the day finally arrived, Sophia and Alex both sneaked out of the house to the town's bakery early in the morning.
After paying for the cake they had ordered in advance with the money they had earned from selling their toys, the two quickly ran back home.
Slowly, the two put the cake into their now-emptied toy box and close it, running back out to the kitchen as they get ready to prepare for breakfast.
"H-How do I cook?" Sophia nervously asked as she had never cooked before.
"Move aside. I can do this. Just cut the ingredients... Don't cut your hand."
As Alex lifted the pot with both hands, he quickly moved it to the firepit before dropping it onto the rack.
"Shit, I can't start a fire," Alex murmured, realizing Katherine had always started fire from her fingertip.
"Wait, I can do it."
Sophia pushed Alex back as she put her finger onto the wood, murmuring something as if she was casting a spell.
After a while, a small little spark appeared before disappearing. But it was enough for one of the sticks to catch on fire.
"You know how to use magic?" Alex curiously asked.
"A little bit... Just a little, okay?"
Sophia replied with a proud look as if she had accomplished something great. But in Alex's eyes, it was the greatest thing in life.
"Ahem, the fire had started," Sophia warned.
Alex quickly snapped back to the moment as he positioned the pot right above the fire, letting it heat first.
He instinctively reached over for butter, but he stopped at the last second after realizing he wasn't on Earth anymore.
"Right... There's not even butter or cooking oil in this house." Alex murmured as he ran back outside to grab a bucket of water.
After returning with the water, he poured it straight into the pot, waiting for it to heat up a bit.
"What do we do now?" Sophia asked curiously as she finished chopping the meat into small square chunks and vegetables that resembled potatoes.
"Just wait. We'll add the meat after the water isn't freezing, and then we'll take it back out to season after it boils."
"Season? What's that?"
"It's adding different flavor to the meat. It's what makes boiled meat taste good since we don't have cooking oil or butter to fry it."
Alex patiently explained to Sophia. His face didn't look annoyed by the question in the slightest.
"What's butter and oil?" Sophia curiously asked again.
"It's something that makes a sizzling sound when you cook meat with it..."