Chapter 13: Father and Son

It is a beautiful morning in a small town that seems abandoned, the birds with two heads sing and the giant squirrels take care of their families

In the center of town we can see a 10-year-old boy, white-haired with pale skin and green eyes.

he was wearing a white shirt and overalls with black boots

He was chopping wood with an ax and laying it in a pile in front of a cabin that has a large shed next to it.

The cabin looked dilapidated, but it gave off a homely atmosphere, except for the mutated animals and the destroyed cities around it.

The boy continued to chop wood enjoying the silence, he did not seem tired at all

This silence lasted until a girl about nine years old, with black hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes came out from inside the cabin.

The girl was wearing a purple summer dress and black shoes.

She had two glasses with orange juice in her hands

"Hey neeerd, Simon says you need to rest, I brought orange juice, it's your favorite~"

"Ahh, it's alright princess, we already have enough wood for the oven anyway"

The boy stuck the ax in the ground and went to drink the orange juice, sitting next to the girl on the porch of the cabin

"*sip* ah~ nothing like a good dose of vitamins and citrus"

"Haha you always talk like a nerd, Blanchie"

"Haha I know, I do it on purpose"

The children stood quietly looking at the forest and enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

"Hey princess, do you want to learn how to use an axe?"

"Woow, really? I always wanted to learn how to decapitate oozers"

"Haha, not like that, silly...although you could use it like that"

"Come on, first you have to take the axe"

"When you use the ax you should do it at an angle of approximately 45º to 60º"

"Remember Marcy, you must hold the ax by the handle with enough force to make sure you don't let go"

"And finally, you should always keep your eyes on the place where you want to cut. In this way you will have a better efficiency in the cuts, understood?

"Yeah~, always worry too much, now let me cut something hahaha"

Marcy swung the ax and cut off a few strands of my hair.

"....looks like you're ready"

I took an uncut log and placed it on the ground in front of Marcy, who was excitedly waiting for my signal to cut.

"OK, cut to 1...2...3, now!"

Marcy swings the ax at the trunk and cuts it right down the middle, it looks like she's talented at this too.

"Haha I did it, take that log, I am the goddess of axes!, thanks for teaching me Blanchie"

"Haha, always at the service princess"

This warm moment was interrupted by a third person who came out of the cabin

"Phew~, that was a great cut Marcy dear, I wouldn't want an ax pointed at me haha"

"Simon! Is the food ready? I'm hungry~~"

"Haha, that's right dear, why aren't we going to eat something and then Blanche can take a bath, not to offend but you smell bad son, haha"

"You smell bad man, *sniff* I do need that bathroom though."

"Hah you smell bad~ Blanchie"

This peaceful atmosphere is something common that we get during this year

After the big fight against the oozers and Marcy's 8th birthday

I realized that we didn't have much time left with Simon, only a couple of years, so I decided to spend them in peace with them in a quiet abandoned town.

All I had to do was say that I wanted to take a long break and that we needed to settle down somewhere peaceful and safe for Marcy.

We remember a town we visited a while ago that seemed intact enough to be habitable.

So we packed up all our stuff and got here in no time.

The first thing we did was renovate a cabin that was almost intact so we could spend the night

The days passed and we already had a small garden that I made myself thanks to my knowledge of herbology that I learned thanks to alchemy

I planted different types of vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, oranges, carrots, onions, etc.

A month passed and we already had a large shed where we kept many of our things, along with our motorcycles and my alchemy/research equipment.

The cabin was already fully repaired and each of us had a room, although some nights Marcy sneaks into my room because 'a nerd like me sure is afraid to sleep alone'

So I spent a peaceful and happy year, with me and Marcy hunting, Simon cooking our prey with my vegetables and me training my body from time to time

The truth is that I would rather spend my time playing with Marcy and talking to Simon than spend it training, I didn't want to waste the time we have left together

Even so, every day I completed my routine early, training my use of martial arts and bladed weapons.

After the bridge fight with the oozers, I realized that I would be defenseless without my ice and magic powers, so I trained much more in my martial arts and use of bladed weapons.

I even forged a dagger that I then enchanted to be sharper and harder in case I couldn't create my ice weapons

But other than that I've chilled out and spent time with Simon and Marcy.

Now I am 10 years old and Marcy 9

Simon is fine, but his nose got longer and his powers are starting to get out of control, he freezes things by accident and sometimes calls us Gunter

I know there is little time left, maybe a year before he decides to leave, that's why I enjoy every moment we spend together

I know that he will keep his sanity for a while after his departure, but with his powers out of his control he will prefer not to put us in danger.

So we come to this moment, we are all happily eating at the table, drinking freshly squeezed orange juice

I wish these moments would last forever

But reality is cruel

Soon the sky darkened, it was time to sleep

Marcy went quickly to her room, although she probably stayed up playing with an old video game console that I repaired.

Me and Simom stay cleaning the table and washing the dishes respectively.

It was a quiet moment...until it was broken by the sound of a plate breaking.

When I turned around, I only saw Simon with a slightly depressed look looking at a broken frozen plate.

Looks like his powers went haywire again.

Neither of us said anything as I walked over to pick up the plate and then throw it in the trash can.

The silence was broken by Simon

"Son...we can talk outside for a moment, I have something to tell you and I don't want Marcy to hear us"

He spoke softly to me and then walked out the front door without waiting for my reply.

I know what he wants to tell me

I went out the door and I saw him sitting on the porch, he was tuning a guitar that he used to practice and that he left there a few days ago

I sat next to him in silence, waiting for him to speak.

"Listen to me son... I know you're a smart kid and you probably already know what I'm going to say, but before you say anything let me finish talking"

"I....I'm slowly losing control and I don't think I can get it back, the voices are louder and I freeze things by accident"

"I'm afraid of waking up one day to find...everyone around me frozen"

"So...I know I promised you that we would bring our family together...but, I don't think I can do it."

"I thought the crown was showing me images of the future and that I would surely see Betty again.....but I think the crown was only showing me what I wanted to see"

"So son...my little snowflake, I need you to promise me that when I'm no longer here to protect you both, you'll keep Marcy and you safe."

"Can you promise me that son? I know you're strong, but I need.....you promise me"

Even though I knew this would happen and I prepared myself for this... still... I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.

I wanted to say a lot of things like that we still have time or that I would find a way to cure him in no time, but the words didn't come out the way I wanted.

"I promise"

A smile spread across Simon's face when I gave him my promise.

"Okay...thanks son"

Everything was silent, but Simon spoke again

"You know son...I've been working on a song for you, I may not have as much talent as you and Marcy, or such a beautiful voice, but would you like to hear it?"

"I...I'd love to dad"

"Okay here goes, don't make fun of your old man if he's not good, okay?"

-Father and Son-

(Cat Stevens song)

It's not time to make a change

Just relax, take it easy

You're still young, that's your fault

There's so much you have to know

Find a girl, settle down

If you want you can marry

Look at me, I am old but I'm happy

I was once like you are now

And I know that it's not easy

To be calm when you've found something going on

But take your time, think a lot

Why, think of everything you've got

For you will still be here tomorrow

But your dreams may not

How can I try to explain?

When I do, he turns away again

It's always been the same, same old story

From the moment I could talk, I was ordered to listen

Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away

I know I have to go

It's not time to make a change

Just sit down, take it slowly

You're still young, that's your fault

There's so much you have to go through

Find a girl, settle down

If you want you can marry

Look at me, I am old but I'm happy

All the times that I've cried

Keeping all the things I knew inside

It's hard but it's harder to ignore it

If they were right, I'd agree

But it's them they know, not me

Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away

I know I have to go.

A/N: what did you think of the chapter? I hope you liked it

And I'll leave an image of the MC in the comments, it's not the final one but it will work until I get another one