What A Dream Wants

Without cultivation.

What were they guarding against anyways?

"Good morning, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Walter!" Steven greeted them.

"Hello, Mr. Estevan," Hughes greeted them. "You are... Olivia and you are... Lukas?"

"Yep, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Walter." Olivia acknowledged.

Lukas greeted them with a simple wave.

They entered the village.

. . .

The Miller cottage was bustling with noise. Was that... crying?

Steven knocked on the doors.

Footsteps, before Mr. Miller stepped out.

"Come on in, come on in." He was clearly on the verge of crying.

Steven and Friends walked in. Inside was the Miller family, along with the two elderly people... the grandparents?

Mrs. Miller was inside, sobbing, hugging her child as if it was the last hope in her world. She nuzzled his hair with his chin.

"I'm gonna miss you so much. Don't forget to brush your teeth and take a shower every day. Eat healthily. Don't forget to visit!" Mrs. Miller started nagging for a while. "Don't forget to visit!"

The granny was surprised at how much her daughter-in-law nagged. Even more so than her.

"Mom, I can't breathe." Max struggled against his mom.

"Breathing isn't important right now." Mrs. Miller sobbed.

"I might suffocate~" Max struggled.

"Breathing is important every day." The granny snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, then." Mrs. Miller released her child. "All of us will walk you out."

"Okay, we'll pick up Jess... I guess. Wait at the front door?" Steven said.

. . .

The Smith cottage was enveloped in a dreary atmosphere. Was that... the sound of crying?"

Steven knocked on the doors.

Mr. Smith rushed to the door and opened it for them.

"Hello, Mr. Smith." Steven and Friends greeted him.

Mrs. Smith sat in a chair, holding her child dear, not wanting to let go. Her eyes were brimming with tears, mildly red, and she hugged her son closer to her head, seeing "they" had arrived.

"..." Steven and Friends said.

"Oh Jess, what am I gonna do without you? Visit often when you have the time? Mom and dad will be so lonely without you..." Mrs. Smith burst into tears once more, waving her handkerchief around, as if it was the only action she could think of at the moment.

Mr. Smith coughed.

"Okay, well, let's head out, seeing that they're here." Mr. Smith pointed out.

Mrs. Smith glared, but she had no choice, but to head out with them.

. . .

Outside the village gates stood a decent crowd, perhaps everyone in the village.

Steven and Friends found the Miller family in the front of the crowd.

Once noticing everyone was there, an old man wearing a brown suit starter addressing the crowd.

Was he the mayor? Village chief?

"Jess and Max, please step forward."

Jess and Max stepped up.

"The village will miss you children so much. Don't forget about us."

"I'll miss the village, too," Jess' voice was shaky, and his eyes blinked away tears a couple of times.

"Thanks, Chief. I'll miss you too!" Max hugged the chief's legs.

"I remember when Jess and Max were both so small. It felt only like five years ago."

"It was five years ago." Max pointed out.

Chief ignored him.

"How they have matured. Time never waits for old people like us, and now, they set off on a journey to make their village proud. Oh, how glorious! Can the cultivators who are accepting Max and Jess as disciples please step forward?" The mayor beckoned for Steven and Friends.

Steven and Friends stepped forward.

"What are your names?"

Steven and Friends introduced themselves.

"Will you pledge to treat these children well?"

"Yes, sir," Lukas replied. Steven and Olivia nodded their heads vigorously.

"Here." The chief gave them a dull looking stone. "A cultivator gave us this as a reward for tending to his wounds. This village has no use for this, but perhaps, you and your friends will find a use for it."

Steven received the pebble. He identified it. It was a pebble. Steven put it in his inventory.

"Well, it is time to part. Still, I am saddened, and I can't bear to see them go." The mayor blew in his handkerchief, saddened... and with that, he walked away.

"..." The village said.

"Goodbye, mom! Goodbye, dad!" Jess cried out.

"Oh, goodbye son." Mrs. Smith started crying, sobbing, all sorts of melodramatic motions in one session. "Our son has finally grown up..."

"He's five." Mr. Smith pointed out.

"Dear, don't ruin this moment for me." She said, bending over to hug her child.

Currently, Jess was being squashed... hugged by his mom.

Max, on the other hand, ran to his parents and hugged their legs.

"Remember to visit!" Mrs. Miller shouted.

"I know. You already told me..." Max shouted back. "A lot of times!"

Mrs. Miller reached down for one last hug.

Max and Jess struggled against their parents for air.

Once Max and Jess broke free from their parents' embraces, they walked out of the village with Steven and Friends. It was still morning, and the sun was still shining, but a bittersweet mood still loomed in the air...

As if unwilling to part.

Mr. Miller watched Max walk further and further away.

"Goodbye son... on whatever journey you'll embark on."