Terra-Esterna Supercontinent, Province of Mhasgara

In a little town close to the bay area just east of the middle sea, lived a simple family of three: The Ishida family. The father worked as a water-print craftsman, making prints that would later be used in paper blinds for windows and doors. He worked out of his own house. Once every week, a representative from a trading company would come and take whatever the father managed to make for the whole week. In return, he would get a couple of hundred Cuivres.

These trading companies were actually working for an even bigger company, which mainly made its profit from exports and outsourcing. This particular water-print craft would actually find its way as far as Dai Province, at the furthest north of the Terra-Esterna Supercontinent. Over there, these half-finished products would be made by world-renowned craftsmen into luxury products and goods that could be sold for thousands of Gaels a piece. Even though the difference in the value of labor was so stark, the father did not mind this one bit as this was how he managed to keep his family fed all these years.

As the income from this kind of work couldn’t be considered much, the mother of the family also had to help out in case of rainy days. She mainly worked as a small salesman, taking orders from local businesses around them that needed water-print products. Her husband would then make these custom orders with his skills, to be sold at a slightly higher price than he would normally charge the trading companies.

Although the profits from this couldn’t be considered a lot, this was how they managed to get through difficult straits many times in the past.

The third member of the family was the 19-year-old son. It was around one year ago that he graduated from compulsory education. These days he spent his time either helping with his parents' work, helping with other people’s work, or reading books. His name was Satoshi Ishida.

The Ishida family had been living in the Mhasagara province for many generations. Their predecessors came from out of the province into Mhasgara looking for opportunities for a better life, and they found that opportunity in the form of stones.

If there was anything Mhasgara did not lack, it was salt and stones. The whole province was said to be submerged under the sea a long time ago. It was only during the Last Collapse of the Third Era that the province came to the surface and became part of the Terra-Esterna Supercontinent as it is today. Thus, the province of Mhasgara was littered with salt lakes, salt mines, and stone quarries.

The ancestors of the Ishida family found their opportunities precisely in these stones. Although these stones were especially hard, since they were part of the ocean floor back in the day, the will of the Ishidas was even sturdier. Thus, they began making their names as one the most prominent stone sculptors in the Super Continent. It was even said that their family wasn't even “Ishida” in the first place. They only became known as the Ishida Family when they became famous for their stone works.

The glorious origin of this name was precisely how Satoshi’s father had been bugging him all this time.

On this particular evening, Satoshi was reading a book in his room. Right now he was reading a book titled "On the Physicality of Werebear". He found this old book accidentally on his last visit to his regular library. He found the rare topics to be fascinating, that was the first time he ever heard of a thing such as a Werebear.

Satoshi looked relaxed and at ease while he read. For as long as he could remember, he had always liked reading. For him, reading was like breathing, he would be at his calmest when he was reading something.

He found the very concept of reading itself to be mind-blowing; via a combination of simple symbols in a particular order, you could invoke something into existence. It's almost like spontaneous existence. Even better yet, these creations could expand indefinitely. Albeit only inside one's mind, that was enough reason for Satoshi to never shy away from any kind of reading.

This evening, Satoshi had planned to calmly enjoy this book while waiting for night to come. Later tonight, he got a plan to meet his childhood friend who's just returned home after a period working outside the province. He was looking forward to seeing his friend and hearing stories from other provinces.

Just as he was about to immerse himself deeper into his book, Satoshi heard the sound of his father calling him. He stood up and walked toward the family room, where he found his father sitting in front of the fire hearth.

"Did you call me?" Satoshi asked.

"Who else is called Satoshi in this house?" his father answered.

Satoshi frowned upon hearing this answer. His relationship with his father had always been stern, but ever since he graduated, it got worse. Satoshi just couldn't figure out what his father was thinking most of the time.

"Sit down," his father said, so Satoshi took his seat on his left. In his hand, he was still holding the book he was reading.

"Are you reading again?" the father asked.

"I am," Satoshi answered.

"It’s good that you like to read, but it's probably time you focused more on actually doing something instead of just reading about it. Most of those around your age have either worked for a company, become government employees, or get married and have children. How long are you going to spend your days just cooped up in your readings?"

"I also help with your work sometimes." Satoshi argued

"That’s not what I'm saying," his father replied. "When are you going to do something for yourself? Don’t you want to be able to have something you can claim to be your own?"

"I haven’t really thought about that," Satoshi answered.

At this time his father was almost out of words. "You..how could you have not thought about that? How is that even possible?"

"Well, I really just haven't thought about that," Satoshi honestly replied.

"Why haven't you? Are you perhaps confused about what you should do, or are you just afraid to do it?

"No, I just haven't really given it much thought, that’s all."

Satoshi’s father looked at him sternly and began talking slowly, but little by little, his voice got more passionate and louder. By the end of his sentence, he was practically screaming.

"You should not be seized by your fears. So what if it's difficult? So what if it's hard? We have seen more difficulties, we have seen harder. Our will is the hardest! Remember that the men of Ishida are as hard and sturdy as the rocks that they shape. Only by facing these hardships can we realize our true selves!"

"These days we make paper, tho", Satoshi refuted.

Satoshi’s father was so startled, he almost jumped up from his seat. He helplessly looked at his only son. He could never win a debate against this son of his. In the end, he could only sigh.

"You do what you do, but there will come a day when you need to stop reading and begin to write."

Satoshi furrowed his eyebrows at his father’s sentence. He seemed to understand something, but also not. He wanted to refute but he is not sure. In the end, he chose to keep his silence.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Luckily, before this silence among father and son became suffocating, his mother walked in with food she had just finished cooking. So, Satoshi took this as an excuse to get up from his seat and began helping his mother with dinner.

—

It was the following day and the sun had been up for hours. Satoshi had been awake for several hours but he decided to stay in his room. There wasn’t book in his hands like usual, but there was a bag of money with a couple hundred coins inside. Two hundred Cuivres to be exact, and Satoshi had been looking at it while his mind wandered this whole time.

The money, which represented a considerable amount of his household weekly income, was given to him by his childhood friend when they met last night. Although it could not be considered much, it also could not be considered small. Satoshi himself only earned around 400 Cuivres each month from helping his father work and other kinds of work he did on the side.

But it was not this gift that had been weighing on his mind. Satoshi knew that his friend himself did not earn a lot from his job, yet he still gave Satoshi this much money. Considering their relationships and the things that they had been through, he could simply see this as his friend caring about him. It was what his friend said that has been weighing on his mind.

A faint sound of ruckus could be heard from outside and it took Satoshi away from his deep thoughts. Satoshi put away the money bag and prepared himself to leave his room. Since this was the weekend, he knew what the ruckus was. It had to be his relatives coming to visit their family as they always had.

Satoshi was actually kind of looking forward to this weekly tradition they had. Since he was an only child, Satoshi really valued his cousins and nieces. Even more so because their parents had taken such good care of his family all this time.

Even though they were from his mother’s side of the family, they treated his father as they would their own siblings, and treated Satoshi as they would their own son.

Amidst the hardships of life, this kind of family was like an oasis in a desert. You would always cherish it and pray it won’t go away.

“BOOO!!”

A middle aged-man jumped out at Satoshi as he walked out of his room. Satoshi acted as if he was startled even though he knew it was going to happen, as this middle-aged man always did this whenever he came to visit.

“I knew you were there, Uncle,” Satoshi said while smiling.

“Hahaha, you don’t need to pretend, I know I got you good there, kid.” the middle-aged man teased.

“Haha, yes, you got me.”

Satoshi could not even count how many times this same kind of exchange had happened over the years, but he would still go through with it every single time. It had become a little silly thing he cherished.

Di Zheng, the middle-aged man, was his mother’s younger brother, and since he was but a child had treated Satoshi as his own son. When their family was in a very difficult place, it was him that helped them the most, even though he wasn't doing that much better at the time. Coupled with Satoshi’s rather strained relationship with his own father, Di Zheng had become another fatherly figure for him growing up.

“Is little brother coming with you?” Satoshi asked his Uncle

“He is. He must be greeting your parents right about now. Are you going to tell him stories again?”

“Yes, I’m going to tell him about the Werebear.”

“What’s a Werebear?”

“It’s a secret.” Satoshi smiled mischievously

“Aww come on..you should tell your Uncle first so I could act as if I knew about it all along. Make your Uncle look good.” Di Zheng pledged

“Haha that would be deceptive Uncle Di” Satoshi simply laughed at his Uncle’s antics as they walked together to the family room.

“Tsk, this punk, won’t even do this for his Uncle, what would I do to you.” Di Zheng pretended to be angry

In the family room, there were already several people. Di Zheng’s wife, Lian Guo, Xiahn Zheng the first son, and Xiling Zheng the daughter. Satoshi’s parents were also there, making small talk with the guests. Even though it is mostly his mother who was talking, his father looked like he was content being a good listener on the side.

“Big brother! Have you got any new stories?” Xiahn Zheng excitedly jumped at Satoshi as soon as he saw him.

“Slow down, at least let your big brother sit down first.” said Lian Guo to his son

“Greetings, Aunt.”, said Satoshi. Even though it was a simple greeting, his respect was genuine

Lian Guo smiled at Satoshi and said, “Xiahn has been hurrying us this morning, he just can’t wait to see you. I hope you get some sense of him. These days, I swear he hears you out more than he does his own parents.”

“Hahaha, that can’t be true, but I’ll try regardless.” Satoshi replied,

“Big brother, do you have new stories this time?” Xiahn eagerly asked.

“Of course! Today I will tell you about the Werebear!”

—

The day went by and night came. After having dinner together and talking about various things, his Uncle’s family said their farewell. Satoshi was lying in his bed, reading a novel called “Seven-colored Legionnaire”, but his mind was elsewhere.

The thing that had been weighing his mind since the night before was not fading, but now there was more.

When they were talking before, his uncle Di said that it was only two more years until Xiahn would finish his compulsory education. Di Zheng had been pushing him to think about what he was going to do next. Di Zheng did not mind whatever it was Xiahn chose to do in the end, as long as he would be doing something better.

Whether it would be preparing for the Court Exam, the Academia Scholastic Trials, or even the Merchants and Artisans Union Apprenticeships. Di Zheng’s only wish was for his son to be able to do something Di Zheng himself had not got the chance before.

Like most parents, he wanted his son to have a better chance at life than he did.

But the kid in question, Xiahn himself, had been reluctant. Like most youths his age, he still could not see the bigger picture as his father did. Besides, his main worry about moving out from home was because he was not sure whether he could stand being away from home on his own. In his words, if the things of the future were equally unsure and being away puts me at more risk than now, wouldn’t it be better to stay?

For Satoshi, all these things did not matter. It was not because he didn’t care and wasn’t concerned about what had been worrying his cousin. What he had been pondering was something his mother said in response to Xiahn.

“You shouldn’t take those things to mind, even if you are away from here, home is where the heart is.”

His mother rarely said things that make people wonder, and this sentence seemed like she was just trying to comfort Xiahn. Nonetheless, this sentence piled up on top of what he had been thinking since Satoshi met his childhood friend and made his thoughts more convoluted.

“Home is where the heart is,” Satoshi unintentionally blurted out, while still reading.

With that, the night drew deeper.

—

Satoshi is slowly waking up from his sleep. There is a tightness pressing down on his chest, making it a little harder for him to breathe. His blurred vision is trying to find its focus, the ceiling looks unfamiliar to him. His mind is still hazy, he looks down.

“What in the world…”

When Satoshi looks down at his chest, wondering what's making his breathing so hard, he is startled by what he finds. A cat is sleeping soundly on his chest, curling up with its face on its folded paws. There is a faint vibration coming from its purr, rhythmically rising up and down in sync with Satoshi’s labored breathing.

Satoshi doesn’t own a cat.

Satoshi wonders to himself whether this cat snuck to his room through his bedroom window and curled up on top of him looking for warmth, but when he looks at the window he realizes another strange thing: this is not his room.

Satoshi is lying in a stranger’s bed, in a strange room, with a cat he doesn’t recognize. The cat wakes up when Satoshi gets up from his sleeping position and gives a little meow as if protesting. Now that he is sitting, Satoshi realizes there is more than one cat in here, all sleeping in different positions across the bed, and more importantly, there is someone: a woman.

If Satoshi was surprised before, now he is entirely confused. “Did I get drunk and get in her bed?”, he thinks to himself.

Satoshi looks at the unfamiliar woman, sleeping in such a position, that obviously, comes as a result of sharing the bed with several cats. In a half-sober state, Satoshi blurts out to himself, “Should probably get a bigger place.”

“I am fine wherever.”

Expecting no response from his comment, Satoshi is startled when he hears the woman replies, so he looks at her.

The woman returns his gaze and continues, “As long as I am with you. Home is where the heart is.”