Ed woke up refreshed, as per usual. It was his first night on a proper mattress since before being yeeted into a new body. This called for session of laying in like a sloth he was organizing his thoughts.

‘Cool. I’ve got some proper shelter and human contact now. And a job. Also, this town looks better than any human settlement I’ve been to on Earth.’

Linden realized the reason right away.

‘Every place I’ve ever visited had a certain feeling to it. They felt like there is only one direction for them to go – the direction of more concrete, higher buildings, more people, and dirtier air.’

‘Expansion and suppression.’

‘ Even places where designers wanted to preserve aesthetics, or squeeze some grass, looked… fake. Like a woman after a hundredth plastic surgery.’

‘But this? Town of Promise? It looks like something torn from Natures’ hands through effort and sacrifice, instead of overwhelming force.’

‘From what I gathered, this place is a stronghold of humanity in these parts. A place of rest for weary travelers.’

Edward Linden was someone whose favorite authors were people writing about venturing into places untouched by hands of modern man.

The very first book he had ever read was about an expedition catching animals alive for the purpose of selling them to a zoo in early 1900’s.

He smiled brightly. He had his life taken away, but maybe he would live a dream of his younger self.

‘Maybe all of it is a blessing.’

He looked at Melodia, who was still asleep. The way she was snoring when her head had fallen off the pillow was actually pretty funny. And cute. Sounded a bit like a rabbit with a runny nose.

She moved as he chuckled lightly. ‘Oops.’ Linden started quietly getting up. He washed his body yesterday, and received a piece of clothing resembling pajama. Probably a hand me down from Mark, judging by how it was repaired in the past.

Ed moved to rinse his teeth and face. At this point, Mel woke up as well.

‘Maybe she will be falling asleep again’ He thought, and simply exited the room without greeting her. Children should sleep a lot.

Ed went to the bathroom, and when he was done, headed towards kitchen.

Ms. Lisa was already up, awake, and almost finished preparing breakfast.

“Good morning, Ed”

“Good Morning.” Linden answered her greeting. “Did you sleep well?”

She chortled. “Yes, I did, thank you.” “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you this?”

Oh shoot. Cultural nuances.

“Maybe?”

“Well then, how was your night?”

“Great. Nice to finally sleep under a roof.”

Ms. Lisa turned to him with a serious expression.

“Kids didn’t pry into your circumstances, but I would appreciate some information about yourself.”

“Because you can’t simply let a stranger from nowhere follow your children around?”

“I’m glad you understand.” “Could you start by telling me where you are from?”

“Far away.” Answered Linden. “I can’t imagine how far exactly.” He paused. “I think the name of my place of origin would tell you about as much as ‘Town of Promise’ would tell folks back home.”

“Nothing, I take it?”

“Yes. And I don’t think I can ever come back.”

“Why?” Ms. Lisa was merciless in her questioning.

“First, I don’t know how to get there.” Answered Linden truthfully. “Second, is that they are most likely not in the same world anymore”

How to lie without lying.

He implied his fellow earthlings to be dead, when in fact he suspected himself to be the one to have passed away.

“I… I see.” The woman hesitated to continue pressing, but continued.

“Where did you learn to shoot? Mark praised your skills in that regard.”

“No great story here. I had guns, and trained a lot.”

“And your resistance to maelodor?”

“I was living in Wandering Rocks for a while. I guess it was good for me after all.”

Ms. Lisa pondered on something for a moment.

“So, what are your plans for the future?”

“This explorer business is pretty tempting.” Ed answered. “This world is quite pretty, you know?” “I want to live in it, not simply nearby.” “I want to be a part of that beauty, to see and touch all it has to offer.”

“What if you die trying?”

“I’ll try not to.” “And if it happens anyway, then it’s what I’ve chosen for myself.”

“Even If you get eaten alive? Become a nest, or a seedbed?” Asked Ms. Lisa.

Linden looked her in the eye and smiled.

“If I become a seedbed, I wish for beautiful flowers to bloom out of it.”

The smile vanished from his face. “That being said, are you okay with your children meeting such fate?”

“Of course not. And I never will. But you know, this town… There is a reason you don’t need parental permission to set out.”

“Cultural reasons?” Asked Linden.

‘Maybe some kind of taboo against blocking your child’s way to adventure?’ He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

“That too. But practical as well.” She hesitated. “But it’s not like a kid could understand” She muttered under breath.

“I’ll try.” Said Edward. He wasn’t a kid, after all. Not entirely.

Ms. Lisa sighed.

“You know, there was a woman a couple of houses away. Her situation was similar to mine. Her kid was very enthusiastic about exploring, just like You, or Mel and Mark.” She paused. Linden didn’t interrupt.

“The thing is, She absolutely forbade her Mike to go out of town. ‘I lost my husband to exploration, I won’t lose my only child’ She said.”

Ed could see where it was going, but stayed silent.

“She was strict to the point where her son was even forbidden to play with kids who wanted to be explorers.” “‘They’re bad influence’ She said.”-

“Of course, little Mike was curious. He even said something along the lines of ‘I want to know what was it, that my dad loved so much he died for it, leaving mom and me alone’” Ms. Lisa paused.

“And then he snuck out. Without equipment, without knowledge, without companions. You can imagine how that went. She moved out shortly after.”

Linden digested the story in silence. “And you’d rather give yours a chance.”

“I would be a hypocrite otherwise.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I began working as an explorer at early age as well.”

Wait, what?

“Weren’t you a tailor?”

“I am now. That was originally my husband’s job. He was staying at home with Mark, and later with little Mel. However, contrary to expectations, He was the one to die tragically, not me. And I had to make a choice. Ditch exploring, or my kids.”

“Wasn’t the choice obvious?”

“Believe me, it wasn’t.”

Right. Linden almost forgot how even his old world was full of shitty parents.

“You are a good person. And judging by how Mel speaks of you, a good mother, I think”

The woman shrugged. “I’m trying.”

“Now, why aren’t they awake?” Ms. Lisa changed the topic, and reached for a soup ladle, undoubtedly with the intention of making noise.

“Should we really wake them up? The journey was exhausting.”

“You don’t seem exhausted.”

“I had easier time sleeping while we were traveling.” “Also, they just returned home. Of course they want to sleep in.”

……………………………..

‘Right. They returned. He didn’t. As far as this kid’s concerned, this home of hers could very well just be another cave. And He probably feels the need to stay on guard just as much as in the mountains.’

Lisa remembered all those people who pushed further and further, in order to forget that they have nowhere to return to. They either found home, or met their end. Quite gruesomely, some of them.

‘It’s not right, to not have a place to return to. A kid this young should not be burning out. Eventually, everyone passes away, but dying from loneliness is wrong, even worse than getting eaten.’

She would have to be evil to not at least try to save this one child in front of her.

Lisa set her big ass spoon away, moved closer to Ed, and swooped him for a hug.

He stiffened for a moment, but quickly relaxed, and hugged back. Quite tightly, if Lisa was any judge. They stayed like this for some time, until he finally let go.

“Sorry.” He said, tears already wiped with her apron. “It just kinda felt calming.”

She managed to successfully comfort the weird child. ‘Good job, Lisa.’ She mentally high-fived herself.

“And thank you, I needed this.” He added.

“It’s okay.” She replied in her best |Comforting a child| tone. “I’ll be there for you if you need me again.”

She patted his head. Ed made a move like he wanted to back away, but didn’t.

‘Any more than this might be too much’ Lisa concluded in her mind. ‘And while it would be great if that was enough, what he needs right now, is time.’

She again grabbed her Soup Ladle of Motherly Authority, and turned away to call the rest of her children for breakfast. In the corner of her right eye, she saw Ed touching the top of his head with an expression of disbelief.

‘What a cute kid.’