Chapter 4

Mom and Dad had bought a blueberry cake and a hat with a moon design. They had even thought about how to apologize to me.

It turned out that they still loved me.

Unfortunately, it was much too late.

…

The car drove through the residential area and stopped in its designated parking lot.

Mom grabbed the cake box while Dad carefully carried the car model. They smiled as they headed upstairs, discussing how they wanted to surprise me later.

I trailed after them, phasing through several doors before finally arriving home.

The lights in the living room were still switched on.

"We're home, Ash," Mom called out cheerfully. "Look what we bought for you!"

They didn't receive an answer.

Dad placed the car model on the coffee table, right next to the old, cracked one.

Although one was brand new, and the other one was old and worn out, they looked like identical twins.

"Is he asleep?" Mom whispered as she tiptoed to my room.

I followed her.

Mom gently pushed the door open and murmured, "I'm coming in, Ash."

The room was very quiet. There were only the sounds of rustling leaves outside when a gust of wind blew past.

"Are you asleep, Ash?" Mom called out again, softening her voice even more.

She waited a few seconds, but there was no response, nor any rustling of the blankets.

She switched on the lights in the room.

The bed was neatly made, while the blanket was folded into a perfect square.

Mom's breathing sped up.

"Gabriel! Come quick!" she shouted, her voice trembling. "Ash has gone missing!"

Dad entered the room and scanned the surroundings. His expression darkened as he angrily exclaimed, "His behavior is getting more and more unreasonable! How dare he run away from home just because I said a few harsh words to him!"

"Lower your voice," Mom muttered as she glanced at Freya and tugged on his arm. "You'll scare her."

Dad raised his voice even more and shouted, "We had to visit three different shopping malls just to buy the same toy for him! And how did he repay our efforts? By running away from home just because he was a little upset! He's so immature!"

Mom collapsed onto the bed. "It's so late… Where could he have gone?" she asked as she brushed her hand over the neat bedsheets.

"Where else could he go? He's just trying to rile us up!" Dad hissed as he paced around the room. "Don't worry. He won't get far. Once he's feeling cold and hungry, he'll come back by himself."

Freya stood at the door, hugging her remote-control car. "Where did Ash go?" she asked in a quivering voice.

"Ash was naughty and snuck out of the house," Dad said irritably. "We don't have to worry about him. Let him carefully think about his own actions."

"But—"

"But nothing!" Dad exclaimed, interrupting Mom before she could finish her sentence. "It's all your fault for spoiling him too much. He's just a kid, but he's bold enough to throw a tantrum and run away from home. It's utterly ridiculous!"

Freya's voice echoed from the living room.

"I'm hungry, Mom. Can we eat the cake?"

Mom rubbed her eyes as she stood up, murmuring, "Okay…"

Mom and Dad headed to the living room.

Mom opened the cake box.

The blueberries were placed in a circle on the cream.

Mom cut the cake into four slices. She gave one slice to Dad and another slice to Freya. She then stared at the slice with the most blueberries and whispered, "This slice is for Ash."

I watched them as they took their seats around the dining table.

Freya was enjoying her cake immensely, smearing cream all over her face.

Dad continued to brood as he ate his cake, his expression still troubled.

Mom took tiny bites of her cake, but her eyes were glued to the front door.