I cut down a few trees into boards to fix the windows before giving the windows a real good clean. It was amazing what a bit of boards, cleaning, and good old fashioned game logic could do to an old window. It practically looked brand new.

I fixed the ceiling, too, with a few boards. Once the ceiling was done, I also put the appropriate boards into the door that I didn’t realize was there before. Once it was restored, there was an obvious change between the beautiful brown wood and the walls. It matched the beautiful new door of the storage unit, too.

“Whoa.”

I glanced over, not aware that Theo had come in until he gave his quiet exclamation. I smiled, straightening.. “Amazing what a few hours of hard work can do.”

Theo turned his head all around to get a better look. “It’s… completely different.”

I nodded, trying not to swell with pride. “This is why I keep telling you the house is completely different.”

Theo nodded. “And this is probably the closest I will ever feel to believing you.” He started unloading the scrap metal. “But I’d rather wait.”

“That’s fine.” I took a piece of metal and placed it into the screen door. “Take your time about the house, Theo. We’re clearly going to be here for a while.”

Theo chuckled, then slowed to a stop when he watched me stuff the second scrap metal into the door. “Can I try?” Theo asked.

I shrugged, backing away. Theo picked up one of the metal scraps and it plinked against the door. Theo pushed it a few times, but nothing happened.

“It’s probably because you don’t have level four clothes meant for cleaning,” I said.

“Uh, no,” Theo said with a smile, handing me the metal back. “No, I do not.”

I took the metal again and put the rest in. It needed boards for the door frame, so I walked back outside toward a tree.

“Do you need any more scrap metal?” Theo asked.

“I can always use some scrap metal. But let me give you some food for what you’ve already given me,” I said.

“I mean….” Theo glanced at the newly renovated back porch as I chopped down a tree. “This benefits me as much as it does you, so I figured-”

“I’m giving you food, Theo. I’ve taken way too much of your scrap metal already,” I said.

“It’s not that hard to get, to be honest. I’m just as committed to making sure this place is safe as you are,” Theo said.

“And I am curious to know what comfort food does on your side. So, I’m thinking I give you some fish and chips and some chicken wings. Unless you want chicken tenders.”

Theo was surprised. “No, chicken wings. That… sounds delicious. Yeah, that’s great.”

I nodded, then glanced around again at the newly cleaned project before pointing to the board leading to the basement. “I don’t think the wolf can fit down that hole, do you?”

Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve learned not to trust any monster. Sometimes they can shrink.”

“I’ll leave the kitchen door unlocked, just in case,” I said.

Theo smiled. “That sounds great. Thank you.”

I cooked some more food, mostly comfort food. My to-do list was done. This was going well. They wouldn’t break through the fence tonight, and I had the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted.

Before Theo left to get more scrap metal, I handed him a few comfort foods and wished him well. I then entered the house and finished repairing what I could of the furniture in the entertainment room. I would have to wait until I got a sheep to repair the couches and the recliner. I moved onto the bedroom, and at long last was able to stick the closet door back on the frame. After an entire season of seeing that hanging weird, it was amazing to have it back in place. The dresser holding the mirror was replaced with a few boards, looking less scuffed. I put more boards in for the door and doorframe. It completely transferred the room. Putting boards in the bed gave it a far more structured look, though it asked for wool, and I only assumed that was for the blankets. I stepped back, smiling at what I had. This looked so much better. I really loved it. And when I hit the maximum cleaning level, I was going to do the floors. I could already imagine the gorgeous hard wood floor underneath, and I was going to choose a soft, blue-gray rug to really make the lilac walls pop.

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I opened my arms and closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment to enjoy this space. It was such a lovely house. Part of me felt bad that such a horrible act happened upstairs.

The hallway didn’t have any furniture to replace, and I assumed the stairs were more defined as floors. I probably wouldn’t be able to replace those until I could do the floors. Which meant the first floor was done as far as I was able. Once I got sheep, that’d be different.

Instead, I moved to the second floor and went back to decluttering the blue room. It was a huge contrast, seeing the difference between the second floor and the first floor. I had every intention of making this second floor as pretty as the first floor.

With my inventory, I was able to speed through my decluttering of the blue room. The sun made its journey, and I only stopped in order to switch out bricks with stone blocks. Tomorrow, when I got a new to-do list, I would see if I needed the tool for those jobs. If not, I would make glass during the day and the night.

I worked the rest of the day, dropping junk in the dumpster. The blue room was quickly getting decluttered, and I was loving it.

I was dropping stuff in the dumpster when Theo came out of the trees. I smiled, waving at him. He waved back, approaching me.

“Hey, um… yeah. Comfort food? Is that what you called it?” Theo asked.

“Yeah.”

“Super valuable. It was able to knock some of the corruption out of me,” Theo said.

“Oh, perfect. I have a feeling it does the same for you as it does for me, though. If I eat too much of it, it grays out some of my stamina. Makes it so I can’t get some of it back.”

Theo’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah, I had a feeling it had a catch.”

“But I’ll make sure I have a huge stock of it,” I said.

“That’d be great, thank you. I’m happy to give all the scrap metal in my inventory for four plates of chicken wings,” Theo said.

“I’ve got two plates of chicken wings left and four fish and chips. I’ll need to get more chicken tomorrow, though.”

“I… will take the chicken wings and two fish and chips,” Theo said.

“Perfect.”

We made the swap, and Theo glanced at the sky. “Alright, I think we’ve done all we can with the back porch. I’ll go see how much more I can grind, then I’ll be here before the sun sets.”

I nodded. “I’ll be cleaning.”

Theo smiled before heading into the forest. I gathered the scrap metal, putting it in the office chair, then the computer. The computer also requested a single pane of glass, so I’d have to do that later. I put the rest in the tv, and that, too, requested three panes of glass. I wasn’t sure how important it was to upgrade the furniture, but I had a lot of it done already, which felt great.

By the time the sun sank below the horizon, I finished decluttering the blue room. I met up with Theo, who was making himself comfortable on the back porch with a sword in one hand and a crossbow in the other. I doubted it would save him if the wolf did come, but no doubt it gave him some comfort.

I quickly pulled out the stone blocks from the tool and replaced it with five bags of sand.

“I’ll keep cleaning. The wolf should arrive in ten minutes,” I told Theo.

He nodded, eyes focused as I slipped back inside. I headed up the stairs and started wiping down the walls. This was a charming room. It’s where I heard Theo singing in. Perhaps it was his bedroom. Maybe they attempted to paint it that blue color for him. Though there was blue in this room, it also had paint splotches all over with other paint. This room, too, had a thin carpet. It was only the pink room that had the hardwood floors that I was hoping was the same hardwood floor in all the other rooms.

I wondered, as I wiped down the wall, what Theo slept on. I hadn’t seen a bed the entire time I was decluttering. Though I did see a mattress. Did Theo just sleep on a mattress the whole time?

They were poor. Theo had already mentioned that. Beds were expensive, no doubt.

I kept wiping away at the walls, hearing ghost Theo’s singing start up. It was enough that I kept an eye on my sanity. They were attacking tonight. I couldn’t let it drop too far. Also, since they were attacking, the hauntings were far more powerful. Killie refused to come up the stairs, and I heard her hiding in the bathroom.

Once my sanity reached eighty-two percent, I headed down the stairs. I took a deep breath, mustering my courage, and stuck my head out the back door into the covered back porch. Theo was there, leaning against the wall. Killie was on his lap, asleep. Theo smiled up at me.

“I’ve always wanted a cat,” Theo said.

“I get the feeling your grandma hated them,” I said, walking into the small room and shutting the door softly behind me. I opened the storage room door and walked inside. Seeing Theo here meant the wolf couldn’t reach us here. I would have heard, of course, if the wolf tore down the door or anything, but I hadn’t.

“She absolutely despised any animals of any kind,” Theo said, still running his hand over the sleeping cat. “I think she was allergic.”

“Huh.” I grabbed one of the few remaining fish and chips. “And out of curiosity, did she go completely crazy if an animal ever entered the house?”

“Absolute bat-shit crazy,” Theo said.

I chuckled, settling down across from him. Now was as good of time as ever to hear more stories about his grandma.