The morning sunlight slipped through the window glass and shone straight onto his face, waking him up.
It blinded him for a second—
and in the very next moment—
he saw Ember standing right in front of him.
Anna stood beside her, pointing straight at him, her expression sharp.
"Why did you insult her father?" she demanded.
"Why did you hurt Ember?"
Samy panicked.
"I didn't mean—"
But Ember didn't let him finish.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"I'll never forgive you for hurting me…"
Her voice trembled.
"And you didn't even apologize to me."
Before he could say anything—
she turned and walked out of the room, quietly crying.
"Wait—!"
Samy rushed after her—
but his feet got tangled in the blanket.
He stumbled—
and fell straight off the bed.
Anna's voice rang out again.
"Why did you do it?!"
"Answer me!"
Samy covered his head, trying to shut her voice out—
but suddenly—
thud..!
Something hit him on the head.
Hard.
He flinched—
and his eyes snapped open.
Anna stood over him—
holding a book.
"Finally awake?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
Samy blinked.
He was on the floor.
Still tangled in the blanket.
Still breathing a little too fast.
"Where… where is Ember?" he asked immediately.
Anna frowned.
"Ember?"
She looked around, then back at him.
"If you miss her that much, go meet her. Why are you lying on the floor like that?"
Samy didn't respond.
He just stood up—
still not fully processing—
and rushed toward the door.
"I have to stop her—!"
He stumbled on the way—
tripped once—
then again—
but didn't stop.
Anna stared at him like he had just lost his mind.
"Hey—what are you doing? Calm down!"
But Samy shook his head, almost desperate.
"No—she left crying… I have to stop her. I have to apologize."
Anna paused.
Watched him for a second.
Then it clicked.
"...You were dreaming, weren't you?"
Samy froze.
Just for a moment.
Anna let out a small sigh.
"Samy… it wasn't real."
And just like that—
the room felt quiet for a moment.
Samy remained silent for a while not sure what happened.
Anna picked up the book again and slapped Samy on the face with it.
"Are you fully awake now, or do I need to hit you a few more times?"
Samy, startled, quickly replied,
"I'm fully awake now!"
Anna nodded.
"Good. Freshen up a bit. We'll talk later."
Samy nodded in agreement.
"Alright."
Anna walked out of the room, leaving him behind.
Samy sat there for a moment, his heart still racing—
unsure if it was because of the dream…
or because of Anna.
He took a deep breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Again.
Slowly, his heartbeat began to settle.
After a while, he got up, washed his face, and headed straight to the kitchen—
only to find Anna already waiting for him.
She leaned slightly against the counter, arms crossed.
"Wanna explain?" she asked.
"Why did I hear a loud thud and find you on the floor having a nightmare about Ember?"
Samy looked at her, a bit annoyed.
Thinking to himself, things wouldn't have gone this wrong
if she had just told him earlier—
that Ember was Uncle Joe's daughter.
"I did something to Ember without knowing," he said.
"But you're also partly to blame for it."
Anna raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
"Oh?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Care to explain what you mean by that?"
Samy sighed.
"After the performance, I walked her for a bit. We ended up near the stall, and… one thing led to another."
He hesitated.
"And I ended up insulting Uncle Joe… without knowing Ember is his daughter."
Anna blinked.
"I always thought Amy was his daughter," Samy continued.
"And you never clarified that Uncle Joe's daughter is Ember, not Amy."
Anna stared at him for a second—
then suddenly burst out laughing.
"I guess your love story ended before it even started," she said, still laughing.
Then she calmed down slightly.
"But seriously, you can't blame me for that. How was I supposed to know what you assumed?"
She crossed her arms again.
"You never told me either. That's on you."
Samy frowned.
"But you could've just used her name when talking about Uncle Joe's daughter. You always said 'client.' If you had said 'Ember' earlier, I wouldn't be in this situation."
Anna's expression changed.
The laughter faded.
She gave him a sharp look.
"Or…" she said calmly,
"you could just accept your own mistake instead of pushing it onto others to lighten your guilt."
Samy went quiet.
"I'm here to help you," Anna continued, her tone softer—but still firm.
"I'll share your burden when things go wrong."
A small pause.
"But you need to learn to carry your own faults."
That landed.
What's wrong? What's all this commotion about? their mother asked as she walked into the kitchen, completely clueless.
Anna brushed it off immediately.
"Nothing. He's just being unreasonable and trying to blame his own mistakes on me. Don't worry about it."
Grace looked between the two of them for a moment, clearly sensing there was more to it, but decided not to press.
"Alright, if that's the case, carry on with… whatever this is," she said with a small sigh.
She adjusted a few things on the table before adding,
"Oh, your dad and I will be leaving for church a little early today, so try not to be late."
Anna nodded.
"Don't worry, we won't."
Right on cue, their father walked into the kitchen.
"Is my breakfast ready?" Daniel asked, adjusting his sleeves.
Anna looked at him and replied,
"It's ready."
Daniel gave a satisfied nod and took his seat.
Samy sat there quietly, still processing everything—
his nightmare, Ember, Anna's words…
and now breakfast.
Daniel looked at Samy, who was sitting there unusually quiet. "What's wrong, son?"
"You planning to renovate that wall? You've been staring at it like it owes you money."
Anna replied on his behalf, "Don't ask. He had a nightmare and somehow decided it was my fault."
Daniel looked at Anna, then slowly turned back to Samy.
"Was Anna in your nightmare?"
Samy, still half lost in thought, replied,
"…Yes."
Daniel gave a slow nod of understanding.
"I see."
He took a sip of water like a man preparing to deliver wisdom.
"Seeing Anna in your dream could absolutely qualify as a terrifying nightmare."
Anna stopped mid-bite.
Daniel continued calmly.
"But even then, you probably shouldn't blame her for it."
Anna stared at him.
"Wow. Thank you for the support, Dad."
Daniel nodded once.
"You're welcome. I believe in honesty."
Grace, standing nearby, tried—and failed—not to laugh.
Samy sat there in silence.
For the first time that morning—
his emotional damage had company.
"We should be going now," Grace said to Daniel.
Then she turned to Samy and gave him a gentle look.
"Come on, it's Sunday. Don't come to church looking like that—cheer up a little."
Samy let out a small sigh.
"I know," He smiled a little "is it better?"
Grace smiled softly.
"Good. And try not to be late."
Samy nodded.
"I won't. But Anna might take some time getting ready."
Anna immediately looked up.
"Excuse me? I do not take that much time."
Grace and Daniel exchanged a look.
Then both of them said at the same time,
"We know."
Daniel added calmly,
"Just try not to make 'not that much time' turn into forty-five minutes."
Anna frowned.
"It's never forty-five minutes."
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"History disagrees."
Grace laughed softly.
"Alright, behave, both of you. We're leaving now."
With that, the two of them headed out.
Samy then went back to his room to get dressed.
He picked up his Bible, fixed himself up, and went to the hall—ready.
And waiting.
After a while, he called out,
"are you done yet?"
From inside the room came the predictable reply—
"Not yet!"
Samy closed his eyes for a second.
Of course.
After another 20 minutes, he gave up.
He stepped outside to get some fresh air while waiting for her.
The morning was calm, the street quiet.
Honestly, peace had never looked so attractive.
"Samy?"
A voice came from behind him.
He turned around.
It was Amy.
"Are you going to church?" she asked.
Samy smiled slightly.
"Yeah. You too?"
He walked a little closer.
Amy looked at the house behind him.
"This is your house? Why are you standing outside like you got kicked out?"
Samy let out a dry laugh.
"I'm waiting for my sister. She said she was 'almost done'…"
He glanced at the door.
"…that was thirty minutes ago."
Amy laughed.
"Oh, I see. She's one of those people."
Samy nodded like a man who had suffered greatly.
"Yes. Professionally."
Amy smiled.
Samy shrugged.
"You know what? you came at a perfect timing, I guess we should just leave her and let her win her battle with the mirror. Why don't we go ahead?"
Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a good idea? Won't she get mad?"
Samy waved it off.
"Don't worry. She'll forget it soon anyway."
He paused.
"…Probably."
Which, honestly, sounded like famous last words.