The Long Holiday

"Ah..."

After a long groan, Xilian dragged himself out of bed, still bleary-eyed.

Rain pattered outside. For all its noise, it sounded strangely peaceful, making him want to crawl back under the covers.

When Xilian opened his bedroom door, he found Ava sitting at the dining table with a cookbook in her hands and a troubled look on her face.

"What's bothering you?"

Xilian stretched and came up behind Ava.

Without looking back, Ava said, "I'm studying a new dish, but White Cliff Town doesn't have many of the ingredients it needs. I'm trying to think of substitutes."

"Oh, I see."

In White Cliff Town, everyone had work to do, and in their spare time, everyone had interests of their own to pursue.

They were people, not slaves.

Ava's passion was cooking. Whenever she had time, she tried new dishes, and Xilian had the honor of tasting them.

"So what's the dish?"

"Fried Shrimp Paste."

Ava held up the cookbook in confusion and pointed to a nearly faded illustration. "This strange thing is a shrimp? It looks so odd. Can you really eat it?"

"Haha."

Ava made Xilian laugh, though his amusement was quickly followed by helplessness.

Ava had never left White Cliff Town since the day she was born. In her world, all water was pumped up from underground.

She had never seen a river, much less understood what the sea was.

"I don't think there's a substitute for that," Xilian explained patiently. "Shrimp are animals that live in water."

Ava asked innocently,

"Can we pump them up from underground?"

"I'm afraid not."

"What a shame."

Still reluctant to give up, Ava turned the page, then tilted her head back to look at Xilian behind her.

"I remember you said that flowing water gathers together to make a river. But wouldn't the sun dry it up?"

"As long as there's enough water, it doesn't have to fear the sun," Xilian said gently.

Her eyes sparkled. "And when more rivers come together, they make what's called a lake?"

"That's right. Lakes are big, very big. Much bigger than White Cliff Town."

"Wow."

Ava set down the cookbook and looked out through the open door.

White Cliff Town had passed through the scorching summer and entered the chilly autumn. Rain had fallen for days, washing away the town's ashes and leaving everything clean again.

"And when countless lakes come together, they make what's called the sea."

Xilian frowned, searching for words. "How can I describe it to you?"

"The sea is vast. So vast you can't see its end."

"Could you spend your whole life trying to cross it and still fail?"

"Not necessarily. But it would certainly be difficult for an ordinary person."

Xilian went on, "Besides, the sea is dark and mysterious. No one really knows what lies on its floor."

"Wow..."

Ava was entranced.

Their conversations had been like this for a long time. Ava would ask about things she found in books, and Xilian would explain them as vividly as he could.

But no matter how detailed his explanations or how exquisite the illustrations, Ava still struggled to imagine what the sea truly looked like.

All that water... Wouldn't it be crowded?

A sense of loss settled over Ava. "I want to see what the sea looks like," she murmured.

"You will," Xilian promised. "There are many magnificent sights in this world besides the sea. We'll see them all."

"Hehe. Before, when you said things like that, I thought you were just trying to cheer me up." Ava smiled slyly. "But now I believe you, Xilian."

For an ordinary Xilian, those words would have been a daydream. But a promise from Xilian the Torchbearer was a future certain to come true.

"Of course," Xilian said confidently. "I take my responsibilities seriously. I never break a promise."

Ava closed the cookbook. "Then as a reward, you can decide what we'll eat tonight."

"I can't decide for everyone. I'll go ask them."

Xilian pointed overhead and climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Mick's and Tim's doors were both slightly ajar, which meant there was no need to knock. Still, Xilian deliberately made his footsteps loud as he headed to Mick's room first.

The bedroom was neat and tidy. Artwork covered the walls, though a closer look revealed that each piece was a completed puzzle.

Mick loved puzzles. He enjoyed spending long hours fitting broken images back together, piece by piece. No matter how restless he felt, the process brought him peace.

It was said that puzzles had helped Mick through the terrible grief of losing his parents.

"Hey, Mick."

Xilian greeted him, stepped closer, and glanced at the puzzle.

"Is this a new one you made?"

"Mm-hmm. It took a while, but it still wasn't hard enough." Mick sounded a little disappointed.

White Cliff Town had limited resources, and there were only so many hobbies it could support.

Xilian's bedroom might have been piled with books, but he had read them all countless times. Likewise, Mick had made most of his own puzzles.

He would find a wooden board, paint a picture on it, cut it into rough pieces, then put it back together.

Sometimes Xilian admired Mick's ability to entertain himself. At other times, it filled him with an inexplicable sadness.

"Of course it feels familiar when you're putting together a picture you painted yourself. That makes it easy."

"When I have time, I'll paint one for you to solve," Xilian offered.

As the youngest of the Sofluowa brothers, Mick was looked after by everyone.

Xilian and the others often used their clumsy painting skills to leave rough pictures on wooden boards, then cut them into pieces for Mick to assemble at his leisure.

He always had a wonderful time with them.

Xilian gave Mick's hair a vigorous ruffle. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Mushroom soup," Mick answered without hesitation. "I want it a little sweet."

"Got it."

Xilian turned toward Tim's room.

If Xilian's room was filled with the air of learning and Mick's held a childlike innocence, then Tim's was a barbarian's den.

There was no bed, only a mattress in the corner. A horizontal iron pipe served as a clothes rail, with garments hung haphazardly from it and piled high.

The rest of the bedroom was crowded with homemade exercise equipment.

As soon as Xilian entered, he saw Tim doing weighted squats. His muscles were swollen with exertion, veins standing out across his body.

Compared with the others, Tim's hobby was straightforward and rough. He wanted nothing more than to hone his body, steadily turning himself into a bear of a man.

But Xilian knew Tim wasn't a man who thought of nothing but muscles. His training was more like an obsession.

"You never saw Tim when he was little. He was even frailer than Mick is now."

Mayor Bohr had told Xilian that during a casual conversation.

"Then some things happened, and he changed so much."

At that, sorrow had shown plainly on Mayor Bohr's face.

"Back then, Tim was the youngest of the Sofluowa children. A failed Transcendent Ritual caused a large-scale incursion of chaos. He hid inside a house with the other children while demons shrieked and pounded on the door."

It had taken Mayor Bohr a long time to find the courage to say what happened next.

"Tim was too young and too weak to hold the door. The demons broke in and killed everyone."

"Tim survived because the collapsing door pinned him underneath it. But ever since, he's wondered whether things would have been different if he'd been stronger."

Mayor Bohr had finished the sorrowful tale.

"And eventually, he became the Tim you all know."

Seeing Xilian, Tim stopped exercising, wiped the sweat from his brow, and sat down in a corner to rest.

"Tim, you shouldn't just worry about how you look. You should give some thought to your bedroom, too."

Xilian teased him at just the right moment. "If you brought a girl in here, she'd run away screaming."

"If that's enough to scare her off or make her hate me, then she wasn't much of a girl for me anyway."

Tim grinned and held out a heavy dumbbell.

"Give it a try."

Xilian calmly lifted it over his head.

"How does it feel?" Tim asked curiously.

"A little heavy, but manageable." Xilian sounded impressed. "A transcendent's physical abilities really are far beyond an ordinary person's."

Tim looked delighted. "Now that's something to look forward to."

"What do you want to eat?" Xilian returned to the point. "Ava's waiting."

"Pancakes," Tim said, rubbing his stomach. "As many as she can make. I've got a big appetite."

"That'll be a lot of trouble for Ava."

They exchanged a smile.

The rain fell from morning until night, seemingly without end, as though time had frozen in place.

Mick dozed on the sofa downstairs. It was his turn to keep watch that night, so he was taking whatever rest he could get.

Tim had just finished bathing and washed away his sweat. With a towel draped over his head, he stared blankly at the rain beyond the door.

Ava busied herself at the stove, making a different dinner for each of them. Every now and then, she found herself wondering what Fried Shrimp Paste might taste like.

Normally, Xilian would have picked up a book and read while waiting for dinner. This time, he simply sat quietly on the stairs.

He listened to the patter of rain, peaceful and lovely.