Rei moved a little faster when he noticed the approaching town—Taiyo was only a few steps ahead.

“Don’t go too far,” Mama warned.

Rei only half-heard it; at this point, he was ready for the promise of vacation. That’s what these trips meant to him and his brother. Mama didn’t walk any quicker as Rei and Taiyo silently challenged each other to get there first, so a guard followed behind them after a while.

What greeted them when they got to the town was the beginnings of the autumn festival—the usual time Rei and Taiyo visited their uncle, or at least the time they spent the longest.

Rei slowed down until he was standing near the entrance of the town, and Taiyo did the same. They waited until Mama and the other two guards came up with them.

“You two need to stay close,” Mama said with a frown. “If you do that on our way home, I’ll have to let your father know.”

Both boys nodded, this time understanding clearly. Rei knew Mama just wanted them to stay safe—she wanted everyone to be safe—so he tried to repeat it in his head so he would remember. He’d get it one of these days.

Mama smiled kindly, then gestured for the guards to stay there. “Let’s head over to your uncle’s house, then,” she decided.

“Okay!”

She chuckled when they managed to say it at the same time. Rei and Taiyo walked a few paces behind her, occasionally greeting the people they kind of recognized—a lot of Papa’s family lived around here.

Uncle Tezo lived in one of the smallest houses Rei’s ever been in—granted, he’s not usually a houseguest, and he lived in a palace so his expectations were high. The house itself was awkwardly placed in the rough center of the town, only marked as being special because it was slightly bigger than the rest.

Mama went up to it, giving a small knock. “It’s just me and the boys this time,” she called. “Please don’t do whatever you planned for Sorai.”

When Uncle Tezo emerged, he almost looked disappointed. “You could send me my brother every now and then, you know.” Rei knew his frown was faked; the Fujita family talked very gently to Mama, for reasons Rei didn’t understand yet.

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“I’d rather go myself,” Mama replied. She glanced at the twins before looking back at Uncle Tezo. “Regardless, I can try to send Sorai to pick them up. Sorry for always putting them on you, I just…would rather them be here for a little bit.”

Uncle Tezo smiled. “You’re fine, Kyoumi. We were shoved on your folks—I don’t mind making up for it. The twins don’t mind it, either.” He turned to the boys. “Isn’t that right, you two?”

“As long as Aunt Jun isn’t here!” Rei replied.

“And no one’s mean,” Taiyo added.

“Fortunately for you,” Uncle Tezo said with a chuckle, “Your least favorite and most crazy aunt is actually away for the month. Your mother or father should be able to take you back home before she gets here. Can’t make any promises on everyone being nice, though.”

Taiyo frowned, but Rei was satisfied. Mama bent down to hold them for a moment, then pulled away.

“Try to stay safe,” Mama said. “Listen to your uncle and aunt; be nice to your cousins.”

Rei and Taiyo voiced their agreement, and Mama fully pulled away with a smile. Uncle Tezo invited them inside while Mama went back to leave.

Fortunately, it looked like Uncle Tezo was the only one home—the place was as quiet as the palace at night. To Rei, it made the tiny house feel larger; Taiyo didn’t like silence, though, so he looked at his older brother and tried to talk with him.

“Oh, I dreamt of that lady again!” Taiyo declared, almost proudly.

Rei tried to be patient, but he had heard the story almost every day for the past…how old were they? Six? Six years? Suffice to say, Taiyo dreamt of ladies a lot. It was weird.

Uncle Tezo entertained conversation instead, inviting the boys to sit down. “Which lady?” He asked curiously; Rei could almost recognize the kind tone overlapping actual disinterest. He was probably as tired as Mama was.

“Don’t get him started,” Rei said in vain. “He’ll talk forever—”

Taiyo almost certainly ignored him in order to tell yet another person of his weirdness. “She has long, kind of dark brown hair,” Taiyo explained. “She plays with me and chats with me. I don’t know who she is, though. Mama dyes her hair blonde, and no one else that I known has dark hair like that. Uncle Tezo, you know people—do you know who it is?”

Uncle Tezo paused for a moment, but shook his head. “Can’t say I do, kid. Why don’t you ask her what her name is?”

“I’ve tried!” Taiyo replied, frowning deeply. “I don’t think she remembers—and when I do ask, I always wake up. I feel kind of bad for her.”

“Dream-people aren’t real people,” Rei pointed out bluntly. “You probably just made her up.”

“She’s real—I’m sure she is!” Taiyo protested. To further prove his dislike of the comment, he moved a bit closer to Uncle Tezo.

“Boys,” Uncle Tezo said patiently, “Let’s not get in a fight literally minutes after your mother leaves. I want to be able to tell her that you were good.”

Rei didn’t think he was really wrong, so he didn’t actually apologize; Taiyo noticed, frowned, but didn’t continue arguing. Uncle Tezo calmly changed the subject to something equally engaging—what they’ve been doing since the last visit, which was before their birthday. At least that didn’t get the close-knit boys annoyed.