The midnight had come, and so along with it arrived the usual, unpleasant smell of manure, an indication of his father's presence. He would give them a visit for about an hour each night, taking some rest before preparing the carriage and starting the usual nightly transports as his second job.

Xander's bony face reflected the fatigue and weariness he carried along with himself. His eyes looked red, with deep dark circles appearing under them. He more resembled a corpse rather than a living human, being completely worn-out and hardly standing on his feet.

Met by a warm welcome from his wife Emine, Xander took a sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen, staring at the fireplace. He was going to get a sleep before Emine began speaking to him, while Aydem, pretending to be playing with the toys on the floor, listened carefully to how she talked about today's events.

Xander was too tired to show a strong reaction after hearing those revelations, but emotions of stress, along with anger, kept pressuring him from within.

After a faint sigh, he asked, "How much food do we have for now?"

"Enough to meet our needs for a year, barely," she said.

"I see," Xander said. "I'll look around to see if anyone needs labor."

Emine moved close to Xander, facing him while taking his hands. "Let's forget about these problems for a moment," she said. "You seem tired. Come and rest for the night. We can find a solution tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is a special day, after all."

The stairs creaked as he moved upstairs, entering Emine's room dizzily.

Emine came near Aydem and kissed him on the forehead. "Time to sleep, sweetie," she said, leading her son to his room and laying him on the bed. She then went up the stairs, joining her husband.

Meanwhile, Aydem, lying on the bed, contemplated about various things at the same time. Of course, Alicio's threats had a huge role to play in his thoughts, but beside that, he was desperately trying to decipher the meaning of that word in the book, which constantly kept puzzling him.

It didn't take long before the pressure over his eyelids made them close gradually, making Aydem fall asleep.

In the morning, an argument between Emine and Xander in the hall forced him to wake up.

"Why do you insist on going through all this alone, my love? Let me do my part as well. This way, you don't have to work all the time."

"I've told you before. It's my duty and obligation but not yours. I hate it when I see you tiring yourself because of my weakness."

"So it's all because of your selfishness and that foolish male pride?" she said, heating up the exchange.

Aydem left the room after what his mother said, looking at his parents staring at each other, failing to recognize their son's presence.

"No," Xander responded, "it's because we now have a child. If you also work yourself to death, who's supposed to take care of Aydem?"

"He is a smart boy," she said. "I'm sure he would be fine."

Xander intended to respond but stopped as he noticed Aydem standing beside the stairs. A look of shame became apparent on his face, quickly changing to a loving expression. Emine went through the same changes in looks.

"Ah, darling, you're already awake?" she said, approaching and giving him a morning hug as she bent down to his level.

Xander put a hand on her shoulder. "You know what," he said, "I have something planned for today."

Surprised, she turned back, looking up at Xander, and so did Aydem.

"I think we all need to take a break. Let's go travel and just relax in the nature, for no particular reason of course," Xander said, stealing a playful glance at Emine. "The usual place, if you remember, my love."

A look of realization appeared on Emine's face, followed by a light smile.

"I will prepare the carriage and horses then. We will move in an hour."

Aydem had spent most of his time in their humble house. He would sometimes go out and wander through the streets, but never did he travel outside of the town.

Emine went up the stairs to dress up and get ready. She came back in a verdant silk gown, which surprised Aydem. The majority of the peasants had only one set of clothing for outside purposes, which was mostly woven from rough wool since they could hardly afford expensive fabrics.

Xander, however, still wore what he had used to wear every single day for the past three years.

Wearing their clogs, they stepped outside. Aydem could see the two-wheeled, roofless carriage on the street, which more looked like a farmer's cart, driven by two horses in the front. His father would use it both in the farm during the day and transferring goods at the night.

While Emine and Aydem sit behind, Xander went ahead and took the lead. One could feel the remains of crops still attached here and there on the surface of the cart. However, Aydem was in his mother's arms, being protected from those uncomfortable sensations.

The carriage would continually shake on the rough roads, which was unbearable for a first-timer like Aydem. Still, the soft shiny fabric of his mother's gown worked like a smooth pillow, helping him to sleep despite the cart's constant wobbles and sways.

When he woke up, there was no trace of sun's light or the timber cart on which they had sat on. In fact, he could only see darkness, feeling a soft touch against his eyes, with the only familiar sense being Emine's embrace keeping him warm.

A deep bang, loud but not sharp or irritating, repeatedly resonated through the air. At that moment, the darkness stopped shrouding Aydem's vision, letting him see the scenery that lay ahead.

Waves of glowing golden sparks lit up the pitch-black night sky, flowing like a fluid in harmony and surges that resembled all different shapes and things, from roaring lions to swimming fishes, princes and princesses dancing in streams, or knights holding swords and shields.

It was like a firework, but alive, with an everlasting spirit, one that shone bright even from thousands of miles away. Every once in a while, a dazzling flame would fly into the sky, producing a deep boom before getting shattered into hundreds of new smaller flares, which came together and formed a new shape to join the dance in the sky with the others.

Below this magical scenery, he recognized majestic castles built great and vast on a land, illuminated by thousands of lights from within. A large distant sea came in-between him and the land, as he realized how much distance was between the striking scenery and him.

Albeit difficult, Aydem's eyes regained focus of his surroundings instead of staring at the far away fireworks in the sky, finding Xander sitting beside Emine and him on the grass near the edges of the coast.

"Happy birthday," they said.

That came as a surprise to Aydem. Today was the last day before winter's arrival, truly a day one couldn't forget, but still, he had failed to remember his own birthday. Perhaps, the lack of a proper calendar at hand was to blame.

Aydem didn't expect the low-born parents to even know their son's exact birthday or celebrate it. That's why the first birthday gifts he got also came as a surprise. After all, peasants barely afforded their basic needs, making it hard to celebrate the birthdays of their children, especially in families with multiple sons and daughters.

He caught a glimpse of what his father held, three balloons made of paper with an opening at the bottom and a flame lightening up its inside, identical to sky lanterns in Aydem's previous life as he could recall.

Xander gave one of them to Emine and another to Aydem, while holding the last one himself. "Now," he said, "wish and release!"

"Here," Emine said, looking down at her son, "let me show you how to do it sweetie."

She covered his eyes with her hand once again. "First, close your eyes. Think what you want the most, and just wish it in your mind. Then, release the balloon."

Minutes passed until he finally decided what to wish. "So," Emine said, "did you come up with anything?"

"Yes," he responded.

As Aydem released the sky lantern, his parents also did the same. The three balloons flew together up into the sky, touching each other while turning around. Once gone up enough, it was impossible to tell whom each lantern belonged to.

They all kept staring up, right into the sky, watching the balloons travel high in the deep darkness of the night. One of the lanterns started to distance itself from the other two, going in a totally different direction. Meanwhile, one of the remaining two lanterns moved atop of the lower one, setting it aflame.

"Does the wish still become true, if, well," Aydem said, "that happens?"

Emine and Xander chuckled hearing what their son had asked.

"In fact, they say that if your balloon starts burning, it's the sign that your wish will be fulfilled by the goddess of light," Xander explained in an excited voice, looking animated and lively the whole time. He then directed his stares towards Emine. "Isn't that right, my love?"

"Of course," Emine confirmed, "it seems my darling little son is going to get his wish."

"Apparently, unlike Aydem, our balloons are still flying," Xander said.

"Well, our wish will still become true."

"Right, since..."

"We wished whatever you wish to become true," they both said together. Ensuing that, the other two balloons also went ablaze.