Joseph stood frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Theo was standing in top of the stairs.
Why is he here? Why is he in our house?
Waves of frantic questions crashed through his mind before he could stop them.
"Sister!" Joseph hissed.
Jennifer appeared still wearing her cooking apron.
"Joseph, don't worry. He will be staying with us from now on," Jennifer said, her voice soft and reassuring.
She walked up to Joseph and leaned into his ear, whispering so the other children wouldn't hear. "Joseph, his mother was arrested because she was... hurting him. He's our new member in the orphanage. You don't need to be scared of him. Okay?"
Joseph let out a long, shaky breath. He was still puzzled. But he nodded. "Okay. Fine."
"Good." Jennifer patted his shoulder with a bright smile and headed back to the kitchen to finish the cooking.
"Now, come take breakfast," Jennifer said with a bright smile, patting his shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.
The moment she was out of sight, Theo's entire demeanour shifted.
He dropped to one knee. Head bowed. The posture was unmistakably formal — old-fashioned, almost medieval.
"Forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to startle you."
"Shh! Shh! Shh!"
Joseph scrambled forward. He grabbed Theo by the arm and yanked him upright, throwing a frantic glance toward the upstairs.
"Don't ever call me that," he whispered fiercely. "No titles. No gestures. Nothing. Just — just come to breakfast."
"Understood," Theo murmured, following him into the dining room.
They took their seats opposite each other at the long wooden table. The other children came and settled in around the table, the morning chatter filling the room with its usual warmth. Jennifer moved gracefully between the kitchen and the table, setting down plates.
"Today's breakfast is Sweet Buns," Johan announced, stepping in with a tray of fresh rolls.
The smell of cinnamon and honey drifted across the room immediately. One by one, the younger children brightened. Whatever tension had clung to the morning began to soften — that familiar magic of Johan's cooking working. Not a spell, but his talent for cooking.
Both Joseph and Theo found their hands shaking violently, the metal of their forks clinking rhythmically against the ceramic plates.
Joseph was nervous in front of Theo. The boy who just wanted to kill him a few days ago was having breakfast with him.
The same nervousness was worked on in Theo. The boy, who just tried to kill, is now sitting in front of him and living in the same shelter.
But they calmed down when they took the first bite of the buns. Their mind lost in the test of food.
Jennifer finally sat down to eat. Johan glanced over at her. "Do I have any appointments today?"
"Four," Jennifer replied, consulting a small notebook beside her plate. "Including our special patient. Emma."
Johan's face fell. He looked deeply, profoundly annoyed.
"Why? I thought she only comes on Mondays and Tuesdays."
"Don't say like that," Jennifer chided. "First of all, she is our childhood friend."
Johan said nothing out loud. But his mind — entirely unguarded — began to race.
Friend? She's a friend to you, Jennifer. She has... different feelings for me. Her mental health won't recover until she's successfully married to me.
Theo, who was currently attempting to swallow a piece of a sweet bun, suddenly choked. His telepatic powers activated. He had heard the thought clearly. He grabbed a glass of water, drinking frantically to clear his throat.
But Johan's mental monologue didn't stop there. Being a psychologist, I can't understand one thing: girls. Especially after what I watched last night... He vividly recalled Eloise and Jennifer sharing a passionate kiss amidst the ruins. That is the most annoying thing I've ever seen.
Theo's eyes went wide, he middle of drinking water. The water he was drinking sprayed out of his mouth in a sudden burst, hitting Joseph directly in the face.
GULP—PFFFT!
Everybody moved their plats.
Theo erupted into a coughing fit. "Joseph! Sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine," Joseph muttered, wiping water from his glasses with a look of utter defeat. "But I think I've lost my appetite."
Johan calmly cleaned his face with a towel, apparently oblivious to the telepathic catastrophe he had caused.
Jennifer rushed to Theo's side. "Are you alright? Did you choke?"
Theo nodded frantically, still coughing.
Jennifer leaned down, bringing her voice close to his ear. "Did Johan think of something... unusual?"
A sharp, subtle nod.
Jennifer turned her head slowly toward Johan. She was glaring furiously at Johan.
Johan immediately turned his face away, pretending to be very interested in a crumb on the table. "Aaaa... eat fast, kids! You have to go to school!"
Everyone redoubled their efforts to finish their breakfast. Amili, looking between them, asked innocently, "Dr. Jennifer, where did you go last night? You weren't here for the bedtime story."
"Ah... I had to go see a... a patient," Jennifer lied, her fork hovering nervously.
"She went to give CPR," Johan added helpfully, a mischievous glint in his eye.
This time, Joseph was in the middle, drinking. He sprayed his own mouthful of water directly back at Theo's face.
PFFFT!
He was the only one besides the adults who understood the 'CPR' reference.
Everybody again moved their plates.
"What you guys are doing. Are you kids now?" Scarlett shouted at them.
"JOHAN!" Jennifer screamed.
Johan didn't wait for the lecture. He bolted from his chair and ran toward the garden. Jennifer snatched up a spatula from the table and gave chase, her face a mask of comedic fury.
The sounds of the chase echoed from the garden—Johan yelling "Sorry! Sorry!" while Jennifer's threats drifted back through the open window.
"We will grow up someday, but they will never grow up," Arnold said.
Scarlett, the eldest of the girls, sighed and stood up, taking charge of the chaos. "Everybody, finish your food. We have school, teachers won't wait for a spatula fight."
After breakfast, the children headed out into the morning. Daisy, Joseph and Theo were on the same way.
"Are you two classmates?" Daisy asked innocently.
"Same high school," Theo replied.
Daisy tilted her head at Theo. "So you had a family before? "
"Daisy—" Joseph started.
"No, it's alright." Theo offered a small, unhurried smile. "I did. But now I have a new family again."
From afar, Daisy's friends called out, "Daisy, run fast! It's 8:40!"
"How much time is left until 9?"
Joseph checked his watch. "You can't count time yet. Almost 20 minutes left."
"Eeee!" She bolted. "Take care of yourselves!" she was already sprinting.
Joseph and Theo walked on in comfortable silence.
"So, she was Daisy," Theo said after a moment.
"The most fickle of all of them," Joseph confirmed.
Theo slowed. He glanced back toward the mansion, toward the large oak tree near the garden wall.
Johan was crouched on one of the high branches, folded almost completely into the leaves. He spotted the boys looking up at him. One finger went to his lips.
Don't say anything.
Under the tree, Jenifer was finding Johan.
"Ignore him," Joseph said flatly.
They kept walking. Talking about themself.
On the way, a cotton candy stall appeared around the corner of the main street, its coloured spools catching the morning light. Theo's steps slowed almost without him noticing. His eyes lingered on it for just a moment before moving away.
A voice came from his side."Do you like them?" It sounded familiar, like a person who really cared about him. An important in his childhood.
Joseph noticed. He didn't say anything. He simply stepped off the path, bought two sticks of cotton candy, and held one out.
"Joseph." Theo shook his head. "You don't need to do this."
"Don't worry about it." Joseph started walking again. "I know you and Hendrik both love these."
Theo stopped.
The word landed like a stone dropped into still water.
"What?" His voice was barely above a whisper. "How do you know about Hendrik?"
Joseph smiled and replied. "I see your memories. Your happiness, your paradise."