Only I Am A Reader

"Haaaaa…"

'I did myself in…'

Letting out a large yawn, Donald couldn't help but blame himself for being too active in his recent years. He was happy about it, but he didn't expect his third child to require much effort!

In reality, his third child wasn't especially needy, it was just Donald's misperception. Things had been calm in the last five years with his simple horse raising business, so having a child or two didn't raise any trouble. However, having recently started a transportation 'company' based on his original business, things had been so hectic that the sleepless nights brought by his newborn became unendurable.

Ding…

"Hm?"

Just as the weary man was about to doze off on his chair, the door's bell rang to notify the arrival of a customer, but the drowsy Donald failed to notice someone going in.

'Am I hallucinating?'

"Excuse me."

It was only when a young but firm voice reached his ear that Donald noticed the customer who he thought was invisible as he lowered his eyes, a cloaked youth that seemed to be no more than 15 years old entering his vision.

"Y-yes, how may I help?"

"Ahem, I had rented a horse carriage from this shop about 9 months ago. Sorry for going beyond the agreed renting period. I believe the rent code was 99?"

"Oh? Let me check…"

Taking out his register book, Donald tried to jolt his memory as he flipped the pages, his mind lighting up as soon as he reached the page he searched for.

Although the youth seemed to have been through a growth spurt, his face barely recognizable and his height incomparable, Donald remembered the day he visited his shop almost a year ago.

Back then, he thought the boy was kidding when he talked about renting a horse carriage for half a year, but his mocking smile could only turn into a genuine one when the boy dropped a sack holding a dozen gold coins on his desk.

'He returned?'

In Donald's business, one could rarely guarantee that horses rented for trips out of town would be returned, which was precisely why the deposit was so expensive. At the very least, half a dozen gold coins coupled with the renting fee would cover the cost of the horse without much loss.

Of course, once they managed to catch a glance of the 'thieving customers', they would wring them dry for the total amount of 'delay'.

Before the sixth month had even passed, Donald had already considered the horse 'sold' and spent the deposit on his recent project. However…

"Oh… you are three months late, half of the deposit will be taken as an additional payment. Is the carriage outside?"

Donald simply couldn't afford to return the rest of the deposit! Other than his daily expenses, all of his coins were already running within the project. For once, he hoped that either the horse or the carriage were damaged so that he could lower the money he owed!

"Yeah, but there is no need to check it or return the deposit. I would like to buy both the horse and the carriage if possible. How much do you want for it?"

Just as Donald's head was spinning to find a solution to his predicament, the youth's words sounded like the music of salvation, only paling when compared to the clinking of gold coins as the youth pushed his hand into his pouch!

"Six gold coins…?"

Blurting out the lowest price he could think of as relief filled him, Donald only came out of his daze under the doorbell's ring, his eyes staring at the extra three shiny coins laid on his desk…

Ring…

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

Less than a kilometer away, a lovely kitten was flailing its small paws at the fast-moving green stalk. Its tiny face had a heart-melting look of determination, it would definitely tear the green thingy apart once it captured it!

Meow!

However, the determination on the kitten's face soon faded away, replaced by visible confusion. It seemed to have sensed something…

Meow…?

"Hehehe... Little kitty, you are so adorable! Oh?"

The culprit behind the movement of the green 'enemy', a child, who was just as 'small' and lovely as the kitten, suddenly paused her laughs as she noticed that the kitten's attention had shifted from her for some reason.

Turning her head to look in the same direction as the kitten, the little girl knew why the kitten was distracted. A big horse was coming their way!

Just now, she was simply distracted as she played with the kitten, otherwise, she would have heard the sound of the horse's hooves hitting the ground even earlier than the cat.

'This is…?'

As much as the little girl was excited about playing with the big horse, she was slightly wary of the reason it approached them. She felt conflicted as she resisted the urge to run at the approaching horse.

'If only big Brother was here!'

However, it was then that the horse stopped before the driver jumped down from his position, he was previously hidden by the carriage ceiling's shadow, but both his stature and face were now clear.

'...'

The little girl stood up at what she just saw, quickly rubbing her eyes as they widened. She turned her head back and opened her mouth to the maximum like she was about to shout something, but…

Thud!

The sound of small wood logs falling to the ground reverberated, causing the little girl to promptly stop, her mouth's muscles relaxing by reflex.

Behind her, a woman far exceeding her adorable height stood rooted to the ground, her eyes seemingly in a trance as something transparent dripped slipped from one of them.

"I…"

Being locked in this 'frozen' situation, the youth that just jumped down from the carriage bitterly opened his mouth, but he couldn't continue what he planned to say as the woman quickly advanced forward, almost running towards him.

Seeing this, the youth slightly lowered his eyelids down, bracing for whatever was coming for him as the woman finally stood before him, but all that he met was…

"Welcome back."

…Nothing but a hug. A big warm hug.

Feeling something warm trickling on his left shoulder, Leo swallowed back the apology he prepared as he moved his arms to return the gesture, only three words leaving his mouth before silence pervaded.

"I'm back…"

He might have turned '13' a few days ago, but his heart could only turn warm at this unexpected reunion…