He was hesitant to knock on the door. He had fought through hell and back for this moment. Yet, now that he stood before his home, he could not bring himself to knock on the familiar door. 

The door creaked open nonetheless. 

“Ah! Who…. Dad…?”

She never saw him of course. He left before she was born. But there was no one else who could find this place if she didn’t want them to. 

That, and the pendant that matched with the one her mother has.

“Are you… Allison? Where is Sofia?”

“She died, dad. A few years ago.” She looked up and stared into the old warrior’s eyes.

“She told me to let you know that it’s not your fault. She hid her disease away from you because-”

He pushed her away slightly as he bent down a little to enter the house. 

The house had changed. A couple more bookshelves, a new table and chair, a proper kitchen. But, it was still the home he remembered. The home he fought for. 

The pack he was carrying let out a large thump when it hit the ground. He wobbled over to his usual chair and gently caressed it. Spotless. 

He tenderly sat down and let out a sigh of satisfaction. He found himself unable to resist the call for rest. There was no need to hold back. After all, he’s home.

X

Both the smell of the soup and his daughter’s singing woke him up. Still closing his eyes, he hummed along with his wife’s lullaby. Allison was surprised, but she didn’t stop until it ended when she served a bowl of soup on the table.

“Mom says this is your favourite soup. Give it a try.” 

She sat across him as he peeled his eyes open. The setting sun illuminated the house through the tableside window. 

He took a good look at her again. Then, he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You look nothing like her.”

“Yeah, mom said I look more like your daughter than hers.”

“Still, you kept her hairstyle.”

“I thought it would be the only way for your to recognize I’m your daughter.”

Both of them grinned at each other.

He lifted up the spoon in the bowl and gave the soup a try. 

“It’s delicious.”

“Does it taste like how mom used to make it?”

“Does it matter if it’s my daughter who made it?”

This time, it was her turn to chuckle.

“I think I’m starting to know why mom loves you.”

His smile gradually faded as he took another sip.

“I always knew that I would never see her alive if I ever returned. I don’t know why, but when I left this place 20 years ago, I always knew.”

“Why did you still leave then? Mom said you both loved each other like nothing else mattered in this realm.”

“I left so that others could reunite with their loved ones.”

The room fell silent. He continued to drink the soup.

“I always thought about what I wanted to say to you, if you ever returned. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t angry that you left and that you two couldn’t even write a single letter to each other because mom was afraid it would distract you. But, I also felt proud that you were the reason why we won time and time again.”

“When mom died… All the anger and pride was pushed away. I was alone. And, the only thing I could think about you from then on was that: I wish you would come home.”

“How do you feel, now that I’m back?”

“Conflicted, I guess.” She awkwardly scoffed. “Isn’t it weird? My wish came true! And yet...”

“And yet you don’t feel happy.”

The room fell silent again. 

“I guess...I just didn’t know what I expected. Mom told me that you are a cheerful person. ‘An eternal sunshine’ she said. Someone who I can always be happy with. I never really thought that the war would’ve changed you, as it did for everyone.”

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“I thought the same.” 

She perked up as he finished the soup.

“I thought the war would never change me. I thought I would still be the Arthur she loved, and the father she hoped I would become. Turns out seeing a sea of bodies would change someone permanently.”

“I-I don’t--”

“It’s fine, Allison. It’s fine.”

“Is the path to the lake still there?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes! It’s still there.”

“Should we take a walk, then?”

She nodded. The defensive spell on the house was activated when they left for the lake. At the backyard, there was a small cleared path leading further into the woods.

“Are you a full-fledged witch now, Allison?”

“Almost. I’m currently on my university break. I was worried you would come back when I wasn’t in the house.”

“That would be rather disappointing indeed.” He smirked. She did too.

“Did you learn your mother’s spells?”

“Most of them, yeah. She was apparently one of the best mages in the Eastern Realms before she settled down with you. It was a bit of a shame that she left that life. She could’ve been the best.”

“She was talented, yes. A gift to humanity once every hundred years. She could rule the realms if she wished for it. Yet, all she wanted was to be a housewife. Many of my sisters-in-arm would’ve despised her for saying that. Of all the things she could choose with her power, she chose to be a nobody.”

“Couldn’t say I don’t understand them.”

“That power has caused nothing but strife in her life. She… saw the ugly side of humanity at a very early age due to her aptitude. She would’ve been a weapon of mass destruction--”

“If she didn’t meet you?”

He chuckled. “No, that was not the reason she made her decision to leave. She told me that, one day, she just didn’t want to do any of it anymore.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s it? She just decided to leave like that? Not because of love or something else? Like in those fairy tales?”

“Do you really think she was ever that predictable?” He raised his eyebrows too.

She scoffed gleefully. 

“No, I guess not.”

“She simply came to realize that her power had grown beyond what her authority figures could control, so she just left. Who’s going to stop the mighty witch Sofia? After that, she decided she wanted to find her true love, so she took on a fake name and became an adventurer. One day, we coincidentally took on the same job from the guild and, well, I’m confident your mother has told you the story of how we fell in love.”

“Every year on you two’s wedding anniversary. I bet I could even recite the whole story, heh.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

She brushed her hands on the passing trees. “How could I not? You should see her face every time she tells that story. She never stopped missing you.”

He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. He forced himself to smile dryly. 

“The first time they told me that the war is going to be longer than expected, it tore my heart apart. I could not abandon my duty, and my longing only grew stronger. After the hundredth time, all I had was the regret of meeting her and getting her to fall in love with me. I couldn’t fulfill her wish-”

“Dad. Look at me.” She stopped dead in her tracks right before they exited the woods.

He stopped and looked at her curiously. 

She took a deep breath. “Dad, I’m sorry.”

“Wh-”

She reinforced her fist with with magic and lobbed it to her father’s face, sending him flying a little.

When he sat up, still confused about what happened, she stood in front of him, cleared her throat, and shouted. 

“‘Allison, if that stupid father of yours do come home, and you hear him say things like he regretted meeting me because he couldn’t fulfill his promise to me or fulfill my wish, give him a big punch and tell him this: YOU BIG FUCKING KNUCKLEHEAD! DID YOU FORGET WHAT I TOLD YOU ON OUR WEDDING DAY?! I TOLD YOU I LOVE YOU, AND THAT I WILL NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER, REGRET MARRYING YOU, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! EVEN THE MOST CATACLYSMIC STORM WILL NEVER BREAK MY LOVE FOR YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?!’”

Allison was panting when she finished.

He was initially stunned, but it promptly turned into an uninhibited laughter with crying tears rolling down his eyes. 

Allison eventually kneeled down beside him to heal his wound as the laughter died down and he wiped away his tears.

“I miss her Allison. I would do anything, even challenge the gods, just to see her again. I wish I could tell her how much I love her one more time.”

“Well, technically I am half of her, so you could tell that to me instead.” She snickered.

To her surprise, he pulled her close and gave her the tightest hug she ever had.

 “I love you, Allison. There wasn’t a day gone by that I didn’t think about you and your mother.”

She could feel her tears welled up. “I love you too dad. Mom and I also never stopped thinking about you.”

Their hug lasted a long time before he let go of the hug. Allison used her magic to clean themselves up before arriving in front of the crystal-clear lake.

“You may not look like her, Allison, but you are definitely her daughter.”

“Yours too.” 

They grinned.

“What are you going to do now, dad?”

“You could tell me about you and your mother’s life after I left. I also wouldn’t mind having a tour around the town and your university.”

“I would love to!”

Allison touched his hand with hers, and he held it lovingly. 

“Do you still feel conflicted, Allison?”

“About what?”

“Me coming back.”

“Not anymore, I think. How about you?”

“Not anymore.”

“Glad to hear that, dad. Say, how about we visit the spot you used to spend time with mom? I think it is over…. There, right?” She pointed to the left of the lake.

“Yep.”

They started sauntering towards their new destination. Allison hummed the lullaby again.

“I heard universities are where people tend to find love nowadays. Were there any boys that caught your eye?”

“Actually, there was this girl that I liked a lot.”

“Oh? I don’t know if your mother ever told you this, but I fancied a couple of boys before I met her.”

“Really?! She never told me about that before. Tell me more!”

“Let’s see… So, there was this guy……….”

The camera gradually pans away/zooms out from the duo.

The End.