The golden light of dawn slowly crept upward, gracefully slipping through the gaps between the wooden windows of our cabin in the Forbidden Forest.
The morning breeze flowed peacefully, accompanied only by the faint songs of mystical birds echoing from the distant cliffs.
Inside the kitchen, the savory aroma of meat soup blended perfectly with the fragrance of freshly baked buttered wheat bread that Charlotte had just taken out of the stove.
That familiar, homely scent filled the entire room, driving away the lingering chill that had remained from the night before.
At the simple wooden dining table, I sat comfortably while enjoying a piece of bread.
Beside me, Yuno, our little fox daughter, sat on a high chair with a small cloth apron wrapped around her neck.
Her chubby cheeks moved adorably as she happily chewed her breakfast, her eyes sparkling with joy.
“Today, I plan to start building a new storage shed in the backyard,” I said, breaking the silence as I glanced at Charlotte, who was busy organizing the kitchen equipment. Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
“The temperature has been fluctuating a lot lately. Before winter truly arrives, we need extra space to store our food supplies and firewood.”
Charlotte turned around and gracefully walked over, placing a bowl of warm soup in front of me with a smile as gentle as spring itself.
“That’s a good idea, dear. But before you get busy swinging that axe around and dirtying your hands, you should clean yourself first. Look, our child hasn’t even taken her morning bath yet.”
Charlotte gently pointed at the tip of Yuno’s tiny nose, which was slightly stained with wild berry jam.
The morning routine continued in the bathing room.
I carried my little daughter into a large wooden bathtub filled with warm water, thin steam rising gently from its surface.
For someone like me, who had once lost the true meaning of family back on Earth, simple moments like this were the greatest luxury I could ever receive.
Watching Yuno happily play with soap bubbles in the water, occasionally splashing my back with her tiny wooden dipper, was worth more than anything I had ever possessed.
The exhaustion that had been deeply rooted in my soul seemed to disappear every time I heard her bright and cheerful laughter.
In this new world, beneath the roof of this humble cabin, I had finally discovered the true meaning of the word “home.”
To be continued