Yesterday was really exciting. Ri and I got our first contribution points! Um, Ri turned in the head for ten thousand points, and the lady at the front desk, Elder Money Grubber, gave me one hundred bonus points for helping. I traded them for some spirit stones, and then I traded those spirit stones for snacks! Snacks are very cheap; I bought ten kebabs for one spirit stone, and I got one thousand spirit stones for one point. I have a lot of kebabs now.

Um, that was yesterday, and today is today. There’s a problem though. I can’t wake up again! It’s the same dream again. There’s a giant man painting in the sky with his fingers. He’s so tall; I can’t even see his face. He’s painting a kebab, the same kind I bought yesterday. I can tell what it is even though he’s not done because I’ve seen so many. Um? The kebab is a bit big, and it’s falling from the sky. It’s growing even bigger. Is it going to squish me!? “Mommy! Help!”

Boom!

…Um? I’m not squished? The kebab hit the ground. It’s as tall as a house! I’m trapped! There’s a giant wall of meat around me; it’s a very big circle. Um? Did I make this circle? I thought I was going to be squished, but the kebab had a hole just for me to not be squished. This is a dream; this is my dream. Can I control it? Um! I can fly! I can—

“Sophia?”

Mommy? Um, it’s dark. Where’d the kebab go? “Am I awake?”

“You slept in again,” Mommy said. “The sun’s about to rise.”

The sunrise! “I didn’t miss it, right?”

“No.” Mommy kissed my head. “I came just to make sure you didn’t. You didn’t cultivate yesterday? It looks like you were asleep.”

“Um, I had a weird dream, but I can’t remember it anymore.” I didn’t cultivate because I ate too many kebabs! They made my tummy feel weird, so I went to sleep instead. Sleeping always makes me feel better. “Let’s go see the sunrise.”

“Alright,” Mommy said and carried me. With a whoosh, we were on a balcony. One day, I’ll learn to teleport too! Then I don’t have to walk around as much. “We can stay for longer than usual. School has been cancelled for today. All the teachers are more interested in capturing invaders than teaching, and Sister Ilya agreed to the temporary closure of the school.”

No school? The sunrise really does bring good news. Um? Why do I think school closing is good news? That’s because I’ll have more time to spend with Mommy! “Let’s go find Mommy in the kitchen! I want to help her cook.” I’ll cook all day with her! Um? What about cultivating? Um, cooking is more fun. I can cultivate whenever I want, but I can’t always cook with Mommy.

Mommy sighed. “I don’t know what you two find so fun about cooking, but I’ll take you there.”

There was another whoosh, and a familiar smell appeared: blood. It’s Mommy’s kitchen! I should’ve brought Ri here, but yesterday, she went back to the orphanage instead of sleeping over. She said she had to think about some things when I asked, but I don’t think her answer makes sense. Why couldn’t she think about things here? I didn’t want her to think I was dumb or anything, so I pretended like her answer made sense even when it didn’t.

“Gah!” There was a clanging sound because Mommy dropped something. “Don’t suddenly appear out of nowhere! What if I bump into you with a boiling pot of stew or something?”

“Sorry,” Mommy said and put me down. “Sophia wanted to spend the day cooking with you.”

“Oh? Great! I got a whole bunch of mystery meat from the invaders’ interspacial rings!” Mommy picked me up and placed me onto a chair behind a counter. She placed a bowl of something in front of me. “Here, try some of this.”

Um, I can use a spoon to eat this. “It tastes like tiger.” Delicious! I can eat this all day!

“Tiger, huh?” Mommy went to the fire and threw a wok on top. “I shouldn’t have ground it; tiger meat should obviously be seared.”

Too bad Ri isn’t here to eat this with me. I bet she’d like it a lot. “Mommy, you eat some too.”

“Mm?” Mommy turned around. There was already a piece of meat in her mouth. It looked very red still. “Don’t worry about me. I’m eating a lot while testing the flavor.”

“Um, I meant Mommy.” I pointed at my other mommy who was sitting across from me, watching me eat. She likes doing that a lot. She says it makes her happy.

“Oh! Yeah, Softie, eat some too.”

Clang.

Another bowl appeared in front of Mommy. When my other mommy went back to cook, Mommy switched my bowl with hers and winked at me. Um, I guess she’s not hungry. I’ll eat this one too.

“Here’s some more! Tell me what this is.”

More already? Um…. “It tastes like sheep.”

Clang. “And this?”

“Aurochs.”

Clang.

“Monkey.”

Clang.

“Gorilla.”

Clang.

“Ostrich eggs.”

Clang.

“Spider eggs.”

Clang.

“Um, some kind of bird.”

Clang.

“Horse.” Um, I’m getting a little full. I can still eat more. It’s still only morning!

“Here, try some of this.”

This is a vegetable. Maybe it won’t be bitter? Um! It’s super bitter! Ew! “Um, I’ll be right back.” If I don’t finish a plate of food, Mommy won’t give me more. I don’t like this plate at all though! Um, whenever this happens, I go outside to the courtyard where Mommy’s special tree is, and I feed the food to the tree. “Here you go, Mrs. Tree. Eat up quickly before Mommy notices.”

Mrs. Tree wiggled, and one of the acorns above me bloomed. I’ve never seen that happen before. Um? It’s falling? Um!? “Ow!” Where did it go? It hit my head, and now it’s gone. Um? I feel tired. I think I’m….