"Welcome! Welcome!"

Mr Kerr greeted his guests with hugs and handshakes.

"Do come in! There're plenty of seats in the living room and in the kitchen."

"John! It’s been a while!" Mr Hughes cheerfully greeted and patted Mr Kerr's back. "I hope you haven't grown rusty on your gun skills."

"Hah! I may be older now, but I bet I can still get ahead of you at bird hunting," Mr Kerr guffawed.

There were 32 guests that attended the Kerr's dinner party. Miss Mirko and Mrs Hughes had arrived at Mrs Kerr's house since the morning to help out with the cooking. Fifi tagged along with her mother. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to play with Rozo's older sister, Naomi, ever since she heard from her mother that Naomi had a stash of toys that she grew out of.

Wellor came into the house and said hello to the other guests. The living room was crowded with people chattering away and sipping at their drinks. A circle of people sat on a mat in one part of the room, surrounding the plates of rice and a pot of chicken curry at the center of the circle. Wellor carefully tried not to bump into the people in the room.

"Wellor!"

A voice came from behind a cluster of four. Rozo stood on his toes and waved at Wellor. Wellor apologized to someone he bumped into and pushed through the crowd.

"Hey Rozo," said Wellor, "Where's Auri and Reefa?"

"Auri is in my room and Reefa hasn't turned up yet. There’re too many people here. Follow me."

Mr Hughes and Mr Kerr entered the kitchen to greet the ladies who were serving the food.

"How are the noble ladies of the night?" Mr Hughes said endearingly as he smelled the aroma of spices in the kitchen.

"We're doing just fine," Mrs Hughes stirred the one of three pots of meat stew, boiling above the cracking fire of the wood stoves.

"No, you're not Martha," Mrs Kerr said sternly. She pointed a ladle that she was holding towards the two men and blew the strands of her bronze-coloured hair that were covering her eyesight.

"If only our husbands know how much we mothers have to carry every single day, they would be willing to give us a hand."

"Honey, I would gladly take your place if we didn't have this many guests to take care of," said Mr Kerr as he gave his wife a straight face.

"Oh, stop scolding your husband, Lisa," said Miss Mirko as she smacked Mrs Kerr's back. "You've got enough help on your hands. See! You've even got Robert to come and cook with us. He's already a wonderful cook."

Robert, who was slightly younger than Miss Mirko, jumped at the mention of his name as he sliced the marinated beef on a wooden platter.

"Oh... Uh... Yes," Robert gave a shy smile and chuckled, "Thank you, Miss Mirko. It's my pleasure to be here."

"He's got the skills of a strong parent, I see," Mrs Kerr beamed at Robert. "As expected of our third elder."

"Well, cooking has become a second nature to me," Robert was flattered by Mrs Kerr's comment.

Robert Till was the third elder of Detra. He was put in charge for matters on ghost trading and yearly rations for the village. He lived with his wife and his two sons, Elias and Tobias. Robert's wife, Anna, had become paralysed at the age of 50 after succumbing to an inherited disease from her side of the family. Since then, Robert started learning how to cook for his family, with the help of his youngest 20-year-old son, Tobias. Although he found his life to be tumultuous at times, he still managed his role as a supportive husband and a hard-working elder.

All of a sudden, a small boy with tousled ginger hair stood on a chair and clinked a spoon to a plate four times. Everyone's attention in the living room was brought to him. The small boy cleared his throat before speaking aloud.

"I know you all came here for my mother's meat stew!"

Several people in a cluster cheered after the boy.

"Yeah, bring on the meat stew!"

"Thank you, Mrs Kerr!"

Mrs Kerr smiled at the ruckus she heard from behind her as she sprinkled oregano and salt in the pot of stew. "My goodness."

"What the hell is Luis up to again?" Naomi stomped out of her room as soon as she heard Luis's shrieking voice faintly reach her ears.

Luis cleared his throat once more. "We all know that every good meal is made with love from a good maiden's heart."

The people in the living room started to get confused.

"Huh? I thought Mrs Kerr was married."

"Since when were maidens the only ones who can cook?"

"Kid! Get down from there! No one wants to listen to you!"

Luis' temper rose after he heard the last comment come from a young boy who was making fun of him with his group of friends. Luis put the plate and the spoon down on a table beside him. With his hands on his hips, he took a deep breath and shouted, "And since this food was made by my loving mother, you all must pay up! It'll be 5 Pisces per bowl!"

Everyone in the living room stared at the little boy and was silent for a moment. A few people started to glare at Luis.

"What a rude boy."

"Is he serious? Do we really have to pay?"

"What's Pisces?"

Naomi appeared next to Luis and pulled his ear until it turned red.

"Ouch! Naomi!"

"I am so sorry everyone," Naomi announced. "This is a misunderstanding. No one will be paying for the stew. So please, eat with your hearts delight and enjoy the party!"

Naomi ducked her head and whispered angrily at Luis. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm trying to make profit. It's called making business. Our family can benefit a lot from it."

"They're not here for your business, you brat. And did it ever cross your mind that what you just said was very insensitive?!"

"No. All I want is money."

Naomi rubbed her temple and let out a huge sigh of stress.

Wellor, Rozo and Auri were sitting on the floor with a few plates of peaches and figs, a glass jar of hot cinnamon tea and four mugs in front of them. Wellor made sure to take one more mug for when Reefa had arrived at Rozo’s house. Reefa had reached his house after an hour had passed since the party had begun. She wore a traditional dress of mustard colour and floral embroidery around parts of the sleeves and bodice. She knocked three times on Rozo’s bedroom door before letting herself in. The three boys’ eyes lit up as she gently swung the door open. Although her dress was as lively as the party, her face said otherwise. Everyone noticed that Reefa looked droopy and tired. Her puffy eyes made it obvious to Auri that she had cried a lot after he overheard the argument from the night before, in which he decided not to interfere and simply leave it as it was.

“Sorry I’m late”, said Reefa. “I hope I haven’t missed anything.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Wellor asked with concern.

“You look sick,” said Rozo.

Wellor poured the tea into the empty mug he had designated for her. Reefa sat down beside Wellor and leaned against the wall, feeling embarrassed as she looked down at her lap and tried to hide her face from the others.

“It’s nothing. I think it’s just my allergies,” Reefa mumbled.

“Here,” Wellor gave the mug of cinnamon tea to Reefa. He noticed that she was still trying to avoid their gaze.

Rozo continued the conversation he was having with Auri. He was pestering Auri to introduce him to a girl he knew that lived in Auri and Reefa’s neighbourhood. Auri could only respond apathetically to his irritating requests.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” Wellor murmured to Reefa as he blushed. He hoped that the compliment would at least give her a little boost of joy. “I’ve never seen you wear formal dresses like that to the previous parties we’ve had.”

“I was hoping that the dress could cover up the ugly mood I’m having,” Reefa said and gave a pathetic smile. “But it’s really obvious, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. You want to talk about it?”

Reefa looked into Wellor’s eyes for a while. At the same time, she was asking herself whether or not she should tell Wellor about her premonitions. What kind of reaction would he make if he knew that the village will be destroyed in the near future? She knew that with Wellor’s growing homesickness, he would never turn back if he was ever given the chance to leave this place. The chance to leave Detra was very much open now that Reefa was aware about the premonition that was yet to come.

“You can always talk to me anytime if you need to get something off your chest,” he said in the gentlest tone.

“Thank you, Wellor,” Reefa gave a chuckle of relief and Wellor felt at ease as he saw her smile again.

“Oi! Reefa,” Rozo called out to her and Reefa turned her attention towards him. “Do you know a girl in your area who has short brunette hair? She wears those hooped earrings.”

“You mean Eliza? Eliza Castro?”

“Yeah! That’s her. I forgot her name,” Rozo laughed guiltily.

You always forget people’s names, Auri thought as he rolled his eyes. How can you forget your own crush’s name?

“Eliza. Eliza! Eliza,” Rozo practiced saying her name using a deep voice, as if he were in some sort of stage play. Wellor tittered whilst Auri gave him a dirty look and Reefa cringed at him.

“If you like her so much, why don’t you go and ask her out yourself?” Wellor asked.

“I’m planning to but before that, I need to know if she’s taken,” Rozo rubbed his chin.

“She is,” Reefa blatantly admitted.

Rozo paused for a moment. For a second, it felt like his heart had shattered. “With who?” he growled.

“Elias. I thought everyone knew that,” said Reefa.

“You mean Elias Till?!” Rozo shrieked.

“Who else? There’s only one ‘Elias’ in Detra,” said Auri.

“Oi! Quiet down, Rozo! He might be here at the party,” Wellor shushed at him.

“Ar-Are they ma-married?” Rozo stuttered and then pouted like a little puppy.

“No, they’re just lovers,” Reefa chuckled.

“But even if they are just lovers,” He cried as he planted his face on the side of his bed, “she was the woman of my dreams!”

Then the door swung open with a loud thud to the wall and everyone except Rozo was startled. Luis came barging in, followed by Fifi. Fifi had an armful of toys and she dumped them all next to the food. Auri, Wellor and Reefa quickly grabbed the plates and mugs before the toys would touch them. Luis was wearing an eyepatch and a small pirate’s hat whilst holding a wooden toy sword on his right hand.

“What secret treasures are you all hiding in this room?!” Luis flung the sword at Rozo, who was still sulking on his bed. “Youch!” Rozo yelled as Luis hit the toy sword near his ribcage.

“Oh god,” Auri sighed at the ruckus being brought by the two kids.

“Our space has been invaded by the little ones,” Wellor laughed.

“Sorry, guys,” Naomi stepped into the room, trying to catch her breath. She looked like she ran a few miles chasing after the kids. “They’re… really… uncontrollable. They didn’t want to… play outside with other kids too.”

“It’s alright, Naomi,” said Reefa as she patted Fifi’s head and smiled at her. “Fifi, did you want us to play with you?”

“No, I just came to show off my new toys. You’re not touching any of them.”

“Oh… Uh… okay”, Reefa gave Fifi a straight face. “Naomi, come in and sit with us.”

Naomi sat next to Reefa and hugged her. “Why have you grown so much? I could still remember like it was just yesterday that you kept falling from your horse,” she giggled.

“Please don’t embarrass me like that, Naomi,” Reefa pouted.

Naomi noticed Reefa’s puffy eyes. “Did you cry yourself to sleep last night?” she whispered to her.

Reefa was surprised that she guessed it correctly. She had cried for two hours before her tear sacks and her eyelids became exhausted. She could still feel the pain lingering in her chest. Reefa nodded to her question.

“Oh, sweetie,” Naomi hugged Reefa to the point of squeezing her lungs. “Just say his name and I’ll kill him for you!” she said ferociously.

“Eh! No, It’s… It’s not what you think!” Reefa stammered and became flustered. Wellor peered curiously at Reefa, wondering what the commotion was between her and Naomi.

Fifi was playing with a teddy bear and an antique doll. She then glanced over her shoulder and saw Rozo trying to grab the toy sword from Luis. Fifi pointed at Rozo and said, “Red-haired pervert.”

“Huh? Pervert?” said Wellor.