"Ren... Ren, wake up."
A gentle voice whispered through the quiet garden, carried on the spring breeze, tickling the boy's ear. The little boy, leaning against his mother's shoulder, wrinkled his nose and slowly blinked his eyes open.
"What is it, Mom?" Young Ren clearly hadn't had enough sleep; his eyes, though open, were still heavy with drowsiness.
"It's time. We should head home."
Feeling his mom gently stroking his head, Ren contentedly closed his eyes again, savoring the touch. Only then did he rub his eyes with small fists, chasing away the lingering sleepiness.
He didn't notice that as he rubbed his eyes, a faint golden glimmer faded away with his waking.
His mother, of course, saw the subtle change. Watching the boy struggle to pull himself together, her eyes held an unshakeable worry, though she quickly hid it when she looked back at him.
"Mom, I had that dream again."
"What did you dream about?"
"A tree... a shiny golden tree. It was so, so tall. My neck got sore trying, but I couldn't even see the top." Now more awake, little Ren didn't get up, instead greedily leaning against his mother's warm shoulder. He hadn't learned many fancy words yet, so he tried his best to describe it his own way.
"It was like... like the ocean."
The vast ocean stretching out before them was the biggest thing little Ren had ever seen, and the tree seemed like it was rooted right there in the water.
This wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of the tree. He'd dreamt of it countless times, ever since he could remember. Mom had taken him to a therapist, but the doctor just said it was a child's imagination.
Yet, as he got older, the dreams didn't fade; they actually became more frequent.
"A tree as tall as the sky? Maybe the moon lives at the very top! Little Ren is so mischievous, maybe one day you'll climb up there and pick the moon." His mother didn't get annoyed by his rambling; instead, she gently poked his chubby cheek with her finger.
"No way! Dad and Mom live on the ground. I wouldn't climb a tree all by myself."
"Is that so? I knew my Ren was a good boy~"
The blue sea shimmered, reflecting the dusk of the spring day. The park was quiet today, filled only with the pleasant warmth of the sun and the wild bloom of hydrangeas covering the ground.
Little Ren and his mother sat together on a park bench, their shadows stretching long as the sun descended.
Newly awake, Ren basked in the sunlight, feeling warm all over. Without realizing it, his eyes closed once more.
As his eyelids shut, the world fell silent again.
The blooming flowers suddenly looked withered and frail. His mother beside him started coughing, the coughs growing harsher until she had to cover her mouth and nose with her hand.
But scarlet blood still seeped through her fingers, staining the golden sunset the wrong color.
...
"Even this memory... did I block it out too?"
In the quiet bedroom, Ren's voice broke the silence. Lying in bed, he slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling.
While creating those anchors, large chunks of his memory had been sealed away. Now, returning to his true self, these buried memories came flooding back like a tidal wave, almost drowning him.
"Well, at least it proves I succeeded."
Shaking off the weight of the past, Ren stretched and sat up in bed.
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've slept like a human like this." Although the puppets and his main body were essentially the same, whenever a puppet slept, the Ren connected to the Imaginary Tree was always awake. That disorienting perception always made it feel like he was watching someone else sleep.
He walked to the window. Morning sunlight had already found the gap in the curtains, casting a golden sliver across the floor. He casually pulled the curtains open, and the vibrant autumn scenery, bathed in the morning sun, filled his view.
Opening the window for some fresh air, he took a deep breath. It felt like his head cleared considerably.
Ren didn't have the habit of checking his phone first thing, so the alarm clock on the nightstand told him it was exactly 6:00 AM.
Pushing open his bedroom door, his gaze instinctively fell on the door across the hall. It was still tightly shut; clearly, its occupant wasn't up yet.
He went into the living room. The sizzling sound of frying eggs came from the kitchen. Ren glanced over and saw Wendy, who had basically become the dedicated chef, sitting in her wheelchair and expertly flipping eggs.
Even though a whole bunch of people lived here, hardly any of them could actually cook. If Himeko or Kiana ever set foot in the kitchen, you could forget about eating for the rest of the day.
So, over time, Wendy, despite her limited mobility, had become the household cook. With a customized stove and utensils, cooking wasn't inconvenient for her. In fact, the lingering remnants of her wind powers seemed to make the task quite effortless.
Not wanting to disturb her, Ren started tidying up the living room. The Eden puppet had visited last night and had apparently been drinking with Himeko until who knows when. The table and sofa were practically buried under empty bottles.
Walking around to the front of the sofa, he found, unsurprisingly, two figures in disheveled clothes, huddled together under a single blanket, dead drunk.
Ren rubbed his chin, looking puzzled. Since when did the boss become the errand boy around here?
Snap.
With a snap of his fingers, the two figures vanished, presumably tossed into his Theater of Domination. Once the sofa was clear, he snapped his fingers again, and they reappeared right back where they were.
The brief trip seemed to have sobered them up somewhat.
"Morning, Little... uh, Ren." Himeko mumbled a greeting, still looking dazed. Thankfully, she remembered Ren hated being called "Little Ren" and quickly corrected herself.
Ren glanced at her but didn't respond, simply picking up the trash bag and heading out the door.
When he returned, Himeko and Eden were gone, probably having retreated to their rooms to clean themselves up. Wendy emerged from the kitchen carrying plates of breakfast. Ren glanced at the wall clock: 6:28 AM.
"Ren, go wake Kiana up, would you?" Himeko called out, peeking her head out from the bathroom, a hair tie looped around her wrist as she put her hair up.
"Two more minutes," Ren replied, shooting her an annoyed glance as he walked over to Kiana's bedroom door.
Himeko didn't seem bothered, just chuckled. "Who wakes someone up exactly on time? Besides, Kiana always sleeps in. If you go in early, you might catch her sleeping all sprawled out."
Although Ren was slightly curious about Kiana's sleeping habits, he had no intention of peeking. He waited until the clock showed exactly 6:30 AM before reaching out to knock.
"Kiana, time to get up. Breakfast is ready."
"Mmm~ Nooo, lemme sleep just ten more minutes..." came the girl's muffled, sleepy mumble from inside.
Ren didn't buy her 'ten more minutes' nonsense for a second. He waited just a few moments after her reply, then pushed the door open and went inside.