Two days later.

The day before Margie would proceed to the castle on the hill, the sisters were feeling tensed and agitated.

They can't reconcile with the fact that their frail aunt would indeed go ahead with the journey.

"Aunt, please, reconsider your decision!" Kate urged her aunt. "Let me be the one to go, just stay here with Ella. I'm much younger and much healthier than you. I can travel on rough roads without any problem," she insisted.

Ella hugged her aunt. "Please, Aunt, change your mind. I am deeply worried about your health condition," she pleaded.

Margie released a deep sigh. "Enough girls! I won't change my mind. So, stop trying to make me change my mind. I already hired a wagon for my trip. I will start my journey early morning tomorrow."

Ella and Kate's face filled with apprehension.

The girls left the room and walked out of the house wearing a crestfallen looked on their faces. They settled on their favorite spot, under the shade of the red cedar tree.

"Let's just stop forcing Aunt to change her mind. We're just wasting our time," Ella said.

Kate nods her head in agreement. "Yea, I think you're right," she murmured.

"Let's just sleep early tonight and wake up at 5 in the morning to prepare Aunt's food for the trip," Ella told her sister.

"Okay..." answered Kate.

Distressed was all over the siblings' faces.

They returned to the house.

Kate went to her aunt's room. "Aunt, let me help you pack your clothes for tomorrow's trip," she offered.

Margie shook her head. "Don't bother child, I'm not going away for too long. Within three days I will arrive on the castle on the hill and after seeing your sister with my own two eyes and making sure she was alright then I will return home immediately. So, all in all, I will be gone for one week only."

"Are you sure, Aunt?" Kate asked. "Did you already packed your things?" she asked again.

"Yeah. That bundle over there, that's all my clothes. That's all I need for my journey," Margie answered.

Kate looked at the bundle for a long time. A plan suddenly materialized in her mind. What if she will hide away the bundle, would her aunt still go on with the trip?

But then she crushed her plan right away, she doesn't want to anger her aunt.

Margie looked at her niece in the eyes. "If something bad happens and I can't go home after one week then don't waste your time and money finding me," she said. She rose to her feet and went to the cabinet and opened the drawer.

She picked up the pouch which contains the rest of the gold coins and placed it on Kate's hands.

"Keep that gold coins with you. I already took enough coins with me for one week rental of the wagon and my food expenses along the way," said Margie.

Kate took a peek of the gold coins inside the pouch.

"B-but, Aunt, you should bring more with you. I will only take ten gold coins, that will be enough for us until you come back," Kate handed back the pouch to her aunt.

But Margie pushes the pouch back into Kate's hand. "Don't be stubborn, child. You needed the gold coins the most," she looked at her niece sternly not allowing any more rooms for debates.

Kate stared at the pouch in her hand and gripped it hard.

Margie patted the girl's head affectionately. "Take care of Ella. You take care of each other and never be apart from each other. Okay?" she said misty-eyed.

Kate nods her head and hugged her aunt in desperation. "I will, Aunt. I swear... I will take care of my sister. So, please stop worrying, about us," she said.

Margie smiled feeling satisfied with her niece's promise. "Good! I can finally proceed to my journey tomorrow with a peace of mind."

Kate stared at her aunt's face with a rising dread in her heart. What if her aunt won't also return just like Ivy? What she and Ella will do?

Margie motioned her niece to leave the room. "You go now and prepare dinner so that we can rest early," she ordered.

"Yes Aunt," Kate obeyed and left the room.

She went outside the house and saw Ella tending to their backyard garden, teeming with the vegetable plant.

Aunt Margie planted the vegetable last two weeks ago, a few days after the lake appeared mysteriously in the village.

Ella stopped tending to the plants and looked at her sister. "She didn't change her mind?" she asked.

Kate sighed heavily. "Yeah, she didn't. I will go now to the kitchen to prepare the dishes so that we can eat early for dinner," she said and went back inside the house.

Ella continues tending to the garden. From now on, she will take good care of her Aunt's vegetable garden.

Two hours later.

Early evening.

The food is ready, they gathered around the table and began eating in silence.

After finished eating, Ella washed the dirty dishes in the kitchen, while Margie and Kate went out of the house for a breath of fresh air. They sat on the wooden bench under the shade of the red cedar tree.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, the stars are shining brightly in the sky above," Margie observed.

Kate looked heavenward. "Beautiful night indeed!"

Margie looked at her vegetable garden. "Water my garden every afternoon when the sun already sets in," she told her niece.

"Yes, I will, Aunt," replied Kate.

"Let's go back inside the house, I'm going to rest early," Margie said.

The women went back inside the house.

Margie was already resting on her bed preparing to sleep.

Inside the siblings' bedroom.

Kate and Ella were looking at each other, contemplating if there's still something they can do to make their aunt ditch her trip before the morning comes.

They were now feeling the loneliness covering the entire house.

First, it was Ivy.

Now it's Aunt Margie leaving tomorrow.

Ella was already crying silently in her bed. She covered her face with the blanket.

"Stop crying, young lady! You're too noisy!" Kate scolded her sister. On the other hand, she was also trying her best to prevent her tears from falling her face.

Ella pretended to stop sobbing. She looked at her sister with her tears soaked eyes. "Can I go outside? I will cry there instead?" she asked permission.

"No, you cant! It's already late. You'd better sleep now, we will wake up early tomorrow to prepare breakfast," Kate responded.

"Okay," Ella wiped the tears from her eyes and covered her whole body with the blanket. She was still crying inside, this time she tried hard not to make any noise, not wanting to disturb her sister.

Kate released a deep sigh. "Goodnight," she said to her sister.

"Goodnight," Ella replied softly.

Three hours later, the sisters finally succumb to a night of deep sleep.