After eating half a bag of newly bought raisin cookies, I finally remembered to ask, "Where are my dad and brother? How have they been doing these past few years? Are they still busy with their business?"
"It's fine, but I keep thinking about you."
My mother happily opened her purse, stuffed two bags of freshly baked honey cakes into our arms, and put the extra bag into the empty space in the basket.
Just now, the original flower basket was filled with all kinds of tea snacks and desserts. The slightly greasy sweet cakes were paired with the light and elegant tea, and then with various kinds of dipping sauces and cookies... All of this was carried by one hand, steadily and without causing the slightest ripple.
I tried to take over, but my mother refused. After she pointed it out, I realized that it was a spell with added [weight expression] and [direction fixation]. It only required a little magic to activate, so that the object could maintain a stable movement in one direction, and it didn't require much extra effort.
I should have noticed it sooner, but I don't seem to have been able to calm down yet.
The intense pounding in my chest was far more unsettling than I had imagined.
Despite the many changes that have taken place on the road before me, it still feels incredibly familiar.
Two blocks ahead, turn right and walk another block, pass through the small parks, and cross the fork in the road where we used to hide with our playmates. Soon, the familiar three-story building appears before us.
Without any further embellishment, its plain exterior, like its surroundings, has been freshly painted, and the small trees planted in front of the door are already in full bloom, providing shade.
As if sensing someone approaching, or perhaps just a coincidence, the door of the three-story building opened inwards at just the right moment as we stepped onto the steps, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man.
He was a middle-aged man with black hair. He used to be slightly taller than me, but he seemed to have become slightly hunched over due to his age, and his face was no longer as young as I remembered.
My father seemed to want to say something, his lips were half open when he looked up, but after noticing the person standing in front of the door, he suddenly froze in place. After a long while, he pursed his lips and turned around, leaving me with a serious back view.
"What's going on, Mr. Yumi?"
Hikari darted back behind me from my mother's grasp, tugging at my shoulder and turning half her body to watch the scene unfold with curiosity, asking softly, "Is that your father? He seems so cold."
I nodded, watching my parents' backs as they talked quietly. "Yes. But it wasn't coldness; it's just that my dad isn't very good at expressing himself."
Hikari nodded thoughtfully, then stared at me for a few moments before saying, "I must say, you really are a family, aren't you? You all really do look alike."
"What?" I didn't hear clearly at first.
“Whether it’s their personalities or their looks, they all seem like a family.” Hikari looked around, then suddenly asked, “Should we go in? No, I should say, can I go in with them?”
“It’s okay, come on over. My parents actually prefer a more lively atmosphere at home.” I nodded, but my feet seemed rooted to the spot. “Speaking of appearance, although I inherited my dad’s hair color, I actually look more like my mom, while my brother is the opposite.”
"Oh!" Hikari's eyes lit up again, filled with curiosity.
She first took a step into the room, looking around at the simple furnishings as if hesitating whether she should touch them. She raised one hand but left it hanging in mid-air. Suddenly, as if she noticed something, she turned around and looked straight at me.
"What's wrong?" I asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing~"
The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling, and extended her hand to me as if inviting me.
The posture looked like that of a butler serving a nobleman, or a preparatory movement for inviting someone to dance, with the left hand behind the straight back and the right hand slightly bent and raised upwards.
I don't know where she learned it from, maybe it's because she's been hanging out with Alice for so long that she's picked up some of that rascal rabbit's habits.
Shaking my head to clear my mind of the distractions, I accepted her invitation, mustered my courage, and stepped forward. Turning to the two people inside, I declared my return once again: "Dad, Mom, I'm back."
I could vaguely see shimmering colors flashing in the depths of eyes of different colors. My mother turned her head and gently wiped the corner of her eye, while my father just silently looked at me for a while and then reached out his hand to me.
His hand reached towards the top of my head, as if he wanted to gently rub my hair like he did when I was a child. But just as I was about to bend down to make it easier for him to place his hand, his rough, calloused hand moved away and landed on my shoulder, patting it heavily a few times.
"It's good that you're back. Stay a few more days before you leave."
He didn't say much, looked him up and down for a while, nodded, turned and went into the room, closing the door heavily behind him.
Even though he didn't show it outwardly, the stiff and taut muscles in his back still revealed his inner thoughts.
"Don't let your dad's bad temper fool you. He might not dare say it, but he still cares about you. Sometimes he can't sleep at night and keeps talking to me, wondering if our Mimi is eating well while she's away..."
My mother scolded me a few times, then fell silent again. She turned her head to wipe the corner of her eye, and when she turned back, she was smiling as she led me upstairs.
Hesitant footsteps came from the staircase connecting the upper and lower floors.
Looking up, a young man with short brown hair, brown eyes, and black-rimmed glasses stood frozen at the corner, staring at me intently.
"elder brother?"
I called out, and after a series of hurried footsteps, I was once again embraced by another warm embrace. I could vaguely hear a soft gasp behind me, but it quickly subsided.
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