"I'm leaving," the young boy said as he closed the door, carrying a basket.
Standing outside the house, he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight.
It was the middle of summer. The air was scorching.
'It's hard to believe… that yesterday there was such heavy rain,' he thought to himself before looking back in case he forgot something.
After nodding briefly to himself, the boy put on a bamboo hat and headed out.
The young boy looked to be around nine years old, with short black hair and somewhat worn clothes.
"Good morning, Mister Jacob," he said with a smile as he noticed one of his neighbours who was cleaning his front yard.
The elderly man raised his head when his name was called. Seeing the young boy, he gave a friendly smile, "Oh, little Vincent. Good morning."
"Mister Jacob, please don't forget to wear a hat if you are going to stay outside. I don't want you to fall unconscious again, like before," Vincent said, his brows furrowed in concern.
"I know, I know. Sorry for scaring you. I'm going back soon, so it's fine. Don't worry." The elderly man smiled and casually waved his head, dismissing Vincent's concern. But inwardly he was glad that there was someone who was concerned about him.
"Are you going for mushrooms?" Mister Jacob suddenly asked.
"Yes. I expect a good harvest, but who knows. Maybe it's still a bit too early," Vincent replied with a smile.
"In that case, please wait a moment." Mister Jacob went back inside and returned a minute or two later.
There was someone beside him.
Upon seeing the other person, Vincent's smile grew a bit bigger.
"Alisia."
It was a cute young girl with blond hair tied in two long braids. She was around Vincent's age.
"Hi, Vincent," she said with a smile.
Vincent noticed that she was also carrying a basket. He guessed the reason, but still decided to ask, "Wanna join me?"
"I was going later, but if you're going, I'll come too," she replied.
"Sure. Let's go," Vincent nodded.
Seeing this, Alisia smiled before waving her hand to Grandpa and running to Vincent.
"Don't be too late, kids," Mister Jacob exclaimed as he watched the two walk away, chatting and smiling.
After they disappeared, worry briefly crossed his face. But he knew that they would only go to the outskirts so it would be fine. It wasn't the first time after all.
…
The branches cracked as the two kids searched the nearby forest. They didn't go too far away from each other.
"Found one!" Vincent shouted near a tall tree.
Alisia pouted, then brightened: "Me too! And it's big!"
Vincent heard it and weakly smiled. It looked like he would not win easily.
Before coming to this small forest, the two of them made a bet. The one who gathered less mushrooms will have to do one thing for the winner.
They almost always do this when going for mushrooms. And the count was 3–5 in Alisia's favor.
Still, Vincent didn't feel discouraged.
With this in mind, Vincent continued searching the forest with Alisia for the next 2–3 hours.
"Phew, it's so hot today, even in the forest," said Alisia, stretching her back and wiping the sweat from her forehead.
But looking at her basket full of mushrooms, her mood became much better.
She raised her head and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. It was time to go back. Her stomach rumbled softly.
"Vincent, time to go back," she shouted.
Vincent, about thirty meters away, straightened and looked at her.
"Yeah. Let's go." After saying it, he put the mushroom in the basket and went to her.
When he arrived, they both went back towards their village shoulder to shoulder.
As they walked, Alisia asked, smiling, "How many did you find?"
Vincent also smiled in return, "You first."
Seeing that he didn't want to disclose the number, she rolled her eyes, "Fine," then her smile grew bigger as she stated the number, "13". She felt very confident.
Meanwhile, after hearing the number, Vincent looked at her with a meaningful smile.
Seeing this, Alisia's confidence somewhat faded.
Without waiting for her to ask, Vincent said, "16"
"What? I don't believe you!" she exclaimed before taking his basket and started to count.
Vincent didn't stop her.
After counting all the mushrooms, Alisia gritted her teeth.
"My mushrooms are bigger than yours!"
Vincent found her reaction funny and somewhat cute before replying, "Yes, but we agreed on numbers, not the size."
"Hmph," she stomped her foot in dejection, not wanting to accept the loss. But she couldn't deny it.
"Fine, you win. So? What do you want? Another book?"
As Vincent took back his basket, he said, "Nope."
"Then what?" she uttered with furrowed brows.
"Well, actually, right now, nothing. But in the future, you'll have to do one thing for me and you can't refuse," he said mysteriously without looking at her.
Alisia looked at him with a weird gaze but didn't say anything as they continued on their way back.
…
After saying goodbye to Alisia, Vincent went back home in high spirits. Not only did he manage to get a promise from her, he also gathered a lot of good mushrooms.
"I'm home," said Vincent as he changed shoes before going to the kitchen.
"How was it?" asked a middle-aged woman with a gentle voice as she chopped a carrot, "I've heard that you went with Alisia again. Who won this time?"
"Me," Vincent said proudly as he washed the mushrooms.
The woman smiled, but didn't say anything else.
The kitchen became a bit silent as the two focused on preparing food for the dinner.
At one point, the woman suddenly stopped chopping and looked at her son, "Do you remember what day tomorrow is?"
"Yeah, I know. But, please, I don't need anything. There's no need to waste money on useless gifts," Vincent furrowed his brow. He mentioned it several times already.
"You'll turn 10 tomorrow. This is a significant date worth celebrating," calmly stated the woman with a somewhat urging tone which made Vincent feel somewhat odd.
"But mother, I-" Vincent was about to refuse, but was cut short.
"Even though we're not rich, we're not too poor, either. We can allow a bit of excessive spending from time to time," she said before mysteriously smiling, "Besides, when did I say I'd buy you anything?"
Vincent was surprised to hear it, "If you don't plan on buying anything then… fine. I don't mind celebrating."
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear," the woman nodded before adding, "By the way. I've invited Alisia."
Vincent blinked as he looked at his mother.
…
Vincent was lying on his bed, hugging the big pillow when his eyelids began to move slightly.
Shortly after, his eyes slowly opened. A pleasant dream lingered in his mind as he stretched, fixed the bed, and opened the small window, letting the fresh morning breeze from the forest drift inside.
Today he turned ten years old. But for some reason, he wasn't feeling like celebrating it. But since his mother was so persistent, he can only comply so as not to distress her with his stubbornness.
After fixing his mood, he went outside to wash up at a nearby river and gather more water.
Several hours later.
"Dear, Alisia should arrive soon. Go outside to welcome her. I still have something else to do."
Vincent nodded without replying and after placing 3 plates and cups on the small round table, he went outside.
*Crack*
The door slightly creaked upon opening and bright sunshine welcomed him.
Seeing no one nearby, he sat on a bench by the door and waited, gazing at the drifting clouds.
Vincent's thoughts were suddenly interrupted after hearing a very familiar voice.
In the distance there was a young blond girl with her hair tied in two braids walking in his direction while waving her hand with a smile upon seeing Vincent.
Vincent smiled and stood up.
"You didn't have to come. It's just a birthday, after all."
Alisia furrowed her brows, "Did a mosquito bite you or something? Why are you so gloomy? Moreover, Aunty Vanessa invited me so how can I refuse? But even if she didn't, I would still come," she said and showed him her pink tongue in spite.
With a sigh, Vincent pressed his lips together and didn't reply.
"Here. Happy birthday, Vincent," Alisia smiled and gave him a basket.
But before Vincent could ask what it was, she said, "You had to eat it all!"
Vincent raised his brows before moving away the fabric from the basket.
There were several small dishes carefully placed side by side.
He even spotted something that he quite liked to eat, "Did you make it yourself or aunty helped you?"
"Of course I made it myself," she said proudly and then added with an 'angry' voice, "I've spent several hours making it. What? You don't like how it looks?"
Vincent quickly shook his head, "Of course I know that you can cook. It's just looking way better than before."
His honesty made her both happy and angry.
"That was several months ago. Naturally, my cooking improved this time. Hmph," Alisia had no concerns in terms of cooking after learning from her mother almost every day.
She glared at him furiously, but then suddenly calmed down. This was his birthday after all.
But she will definitely remember this.
Vincent didn't know what she was thinking, but seeing her strange smile, his stomach felt faint pain.
Vincent shook those thoughts away, "Either way, thank you for the gift. I'll eat everything. Come inside. Mother will be back soon."
…
Several hours later, Vincent stood outside the house, waving at Alisia who ran back home, shouting, "In a few months, it will also be my 10th birthday. You had to come and bring presents!"
He was unable to see a faint blush on her face as she disappeared in the nearby corner.
When Alisia went back home, she told her mother that she wasn't hungry and was tired before going straight into her room.
Her mother narrowed her eyes upon seeing her overly excited daughter, wondering what made her like this.
Meanwhile, in one of the rooms, Alisia was already half-naked, lying on her soft bed under the blanket and tightly hugging the big pillow.
She was quietly mumbling something to herself as a smile couldn't leave her face, thinking about what Vincent's mother had told her not long ago until she gradually fell asleep.
…
Some time before.
Vincent looked at where Alisia disappeared a bit longer before turning around and entering home. The sun was almost completely hidden behind the trees by now.
"Mother, what did you say to her so she ran away so quickly?" he asked curiously upon entering the kitchen, helping with the dishes.
"Nothing serious," Vanessa calmly replied. But inwardly she couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
Vincent decided to not peek into this any further.
Shortly after, as he finished helping his mother, he went back to his room.
"Wait a moment," Vanessa suddenly said after she finished.
Vincent turned around, "Is there something else you need me to do?"
"Yes, wait here," upon saying it, she went to a certain spot in the kitchen and bent down.
Vincent watched curiously as his mother brought something from under the floor.
He didn't know that there was such a hidden place in the kitchen.
Holding a piece of old and dusty fabric, she spoke with a serious voice as she pointed at the chair near the table, "Sit down."
Vincent sat down and asked, "Mother, what is it?"
"I've told you that I have something special prepared for your 10th birthday. This is it," Vanessa carefully passed a fabric on a table in front of him.
Vincent looked at it with curiosity.
He had no idea what was inside, but by seeing his mother's serious expression, this was definitely something important.
Vincent held his breath and unfolded the fabric.
A small crystal rested inside, catching the light in strange, dancing colors.
It was some sort of transparent crystal. Aside from its beauty, he didn't see anything special about it.
"What is this?" he asked, looking at his mother.
"I'm not sure myself," Vanessa replied honestly.
"You don't? Then why are you giving me this?"
She replied, "It's true that I don't know its name. My parents didn't know either. But what I know for sure is what use it has."
"..." Vincent's brow furrowed, and his fingers twitched nervously. He couldn't make sense of any of it.
Not only did his mother not know what it was, but even his deceased grandparents, who knew about it, didn't know what it was called?
"Don't worry, dear. Soon you'll understand why I'm showing it to you," she said and took a knife.
Vincent's heart gripped.
"Give me your hand."
Vincent's breathing intensified, but he didn't give his hand.
"Don't worry, son, trust me."
"..." Vincent gulped and hesitantly moved his hand.
"Just a little blood," Vanessa said, gently pressing his finger as the knife hovered.
Vincent stared at the knife, eyes wide.
The next moment, he gritted his teeth from sharp pain, looking at how his mother cut his finger slightly.
Seeing the fresh blood, she nodded and said, "Now, let the blood touch the crystal."
"..." After a brief pause, he did as was told.
"Mother, what is going on?" he couldn't help but ask, feeling a bit scared now.
"Now we need to wait a few minutes."
"Wait for what?" he asked with confusion.
"I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
Vanessa explained, "On the day when I turned ten, just like you today, my mother did the same with me. I was also scared and very confused. But she didn't fully explain it to me."
Vincent studied his mother's serious expression, then turned to the crystal. Nothing had changed.
After around 5 minutes, Vanessa deeply exhaled before taking the crystal and wrapping it back in a fabric before storing it back under the floor.
Vincent can see that his mother was somewhat… disappointed?
Vanessa stood and looked at her son. Her next words left him utterly flabbergasted.
"Remember. One day, when you have children with Alisia, you'll do exactly this on their tenth birthday. Understand?" Vanessa saidbefore leaving the kitchen as if nothing happened.
"..."
Vincent didn't know how he should react to this but his expression was completely off.