It was a cloudy morning in the northern part of Wuhan, where Alfie and his family lived. Two days had already passed since Falco, their father, departed on his journey.
"Good morning, Mama," Alfie greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning, my little boy. How did you sleep?" Margaret replied warmly.
"My night was fine, Mama. But you really should stop calling me 'little boy.' I'm ten years old now," Alfie said with a serious look.
Margaret laughed. "Even if you turn thirty, you'll still be my little Alfie. That'll never change."
"Don't worry, Mama," Alfie said with determination. "I'll prove to you that I won't stay little for long."
She smiled. "I don't mean you'll stay small forever. I mean even if you become the man you dream of, in my heart, you'll always be my little boy."
"Oh Mama, that doesn't make sense. How can someone be a man and a boy at the same time?"
"You'll understand when you're older," Margaret said as she headed outside to gather grains from the garden for breakfast. "And where are you going this early?"
"To Papa's forge," Alfie answered as he stepped toward the door. "I need to perfect my skills before he returns. I don't want him scolding me for slacking off."
"Alright, take care and don't hurt yourself," she said, smiling.
"I promise, Mama!" Alfie called back as he ran out.
"And keep it down," she added. "Your brothers are still asleep."
"Yes, Mama!" he said over his shoulder.
Once alone at the site, Alfie grinned. "Yes, yes, yes! Time to begin the real work. First, I'll forge a small sword for myself. Then a bow and arrows. I'll use them to hunt down darkside spirits."
This had been his plan all along—learning forging from his father just to make weapons for his dream of becoming a Shinra.
"Alright, heat the metal... then forge. I'm halfway to becoming a Shinra," he whispered excitedly, trying to keep his voice down.
Meanwhile, Elijah woke up and greeted their mother. "Good morning, Mama."
"Good morning, Eli. How was your night?"
"I had a terrible dream... I couldn't sleep peacefully," he replied with a worried look.
"What did you dream about?" Margaret asked, concerned.
"I don't remember it clearly... just blood, people screaming... and Papa was there. I don't know what happened to him. It scared me so much I hid under my pillow," he said, starting to cry.
"Shhh... don't cry, my little boy. Papa will be fine. He'll come home safely," Margaret said, comforting him with a warm hug.
"Okay, Mama," Elijah sniffled.
"Good boy. Now go wake up your brother. I'll finish making breakfast."
Margaret turned toward the kitchen, but worry was written all over her face. As Elijah walked back inside, she stepped outside, looked up at the clouds, and whispered, "Oh, you clouds... protect my husband."
Back at the forge, Alfie was struggling.
"Forging is harder than it looks. How does Dad make big swords so fast? He's really strong," he muttered. "But I have to finish this sword and make my bow and arrows before he gets back."
Fifty minutes passed. Alfie was still hard at work when Elijah opened the door.
"Big brother, it's time for breakfast."
"I'm coming," Alfie replied without looking up.
"Hurry up," Elijah said as he walked back to the house.
"I better go before Mama gets mad. I'll continue working on the Sword of Justice later," Alfie said, putting down his tools.
After breakfast, Alfie stood and said, "Thanks for the food, Mama. That was delicious!"
"You got two slices of chicken while we got just one," Elijah grumbled.
"I'm ten years old—two digits in my age—so I get two slices. You've got one digit, so one slice," Alfie replied with a cheeky grin.
"That's not fair! Mama, is that even true?" Elijah asked, frowning.
Margaret shook her head and grabbed both boys by the ears. "Enough arguing. You two should behave more like Marcus sometimes."
"Ouch, Mama! We promise not to argue anymore!" they both said.
She laughed. "That's more like it. I'm off to the shop now. Alfie, take care of your little brothers."
"Leave it to me, Mama!" Alfie said with pride.