The next day, Aaron and Luther received their very first “gift” from the pumpkins.

  When Aaron went to get some water from the fridge, he had almost stepped right into a blackish lump sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

  “What the heck is this? It stinks so bad!” Aaron wrinkled his nose and clamped it shut with one hand.

  He dashed off to grab a dustpan, scooped up the pile, stuffed it into a trash bag, tied it, and tossed it into the bin outside.

  “Poop in the toilet.” Luther gestured to show the pumpkins. “Here. You go in here. Then you flush the water like this.”

  The pumpkins blinked their round eyes.

  “Squeak!” Jack-O seemed to understand.

  He hopped onto the toilet and demonstrated. Squashy and Pompo crowded close to watch. A few small black lumps plopped into the water, and when he was done, the round pumpkin even remembered to pull the flush handle.

  “Good job, Jack-O! And after that, you also have to clean yourself with toilet paper,” Aaron said, wiping the round pumpkin’s butt.

  “Squeak squeak!”

  “Come to think of it, they don’t really poop that often. This is the first time since Saturday,” Aaron remarked.

  Luther nodded in agreement.

  “They’re actually pretty smart, too. Just one explanation and they get it right away,” Aaron added, ruffling Jack-O. “If it were a dog or a cat, you’d have to train them for a while. Paul’s corgi still poops inside the house whenever he is in a bad mood.”

  “Smart,” Luther praised.

  “Squeak!” the pumpkins squeaked in excitement.

  “Luther, can you use the cloak to hide them?” Aaron asked as he picked the pumpkins up; Luther nodded and sprinkled a few raven feathers over them.

  “Alright, let’s go,” Aaron said.

  “Go where?” Luther asked.

  “To order a proper house for them. They can’t sleep with us forever,” Aaron said.

  For the past few days, since they don’t have their own bed yet, the three pumpkins have had to squeeze in and sleep together with Aaron and Luther.

  “And we’ll get Mr. Acher a new bed, too. His one is tiny,”

  Luther:

  “…”

  Tiny? It cost him twenty-five dollars!

  His face grew even more puzzled when Aaron led him to a large store on Lexington Avenue. The sign read “Little Angels.”

  The entrance hall was decorated like the lobby of a five-star hotel. Well-dressed customers strolled about with all kinds of pets: dogs, cats, and even rarer creatures like ferrets, foxes, spiders, earthworms, cockroaches…

  “Welcome to Little Angels! How may I help you today?” a receptionist asked.

  “Hello, I’d like to place an order for a pet house,” Aaron replied.

  He pulled a platinum card from his wallet and handed it to her. She took it, scanned it, and after checking something on her screen, she said:

  “Please follow me.”

  They were soon introduced to a man dressed in flamboyant colors who looked every bit like a fashionista. In the span of an hour, Aaron had arranged for the pumpkins to have a redwood house with three bedrooms and a living room. Acher, too, would get an elaborate bird-nest-shaped bed.

  “Thank you for visiting! They will be delivered in two days,” the man said, shaking Aaron’s hand as if he never wanted to let go.

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  As soon as they stepped outside, Acher croaked in approval.

  “Heh heh heh. You’re quite considerate, kid.”

  It was only then that Luther snapped back to his senses.

  “Wait. We forgot to pay,” he said, tugging Aaron’s arm and heading back to the store.

  “It’s free. This place is my aunt’s business. That card’s the highest-level membership she gave me years ago. I just never had the chance to use it until now,” Aaron explained.

  Luther:

  “…”

  Why does it seem like every store in New York is somehow connected to his family?

  When the pumpkins’ house was delivered, Aaron looked around and asked:

  “Where do we even put it? It’s huge.”

  Luther thought for a moment, then decided to move the bookshelf from the corner of his bedroom into his grandfather’s room to free up some space.

  “Dust,” Luther murmured when he walked into David’s room, frowning a little.

  “It’s not that dusty, really,” Aaron replied.

  “Usually, I clean every two weeks. I forgot to do it lately,” Luther said.

  Ever since Aaron stormed into his life, he had taken up almost all of Luther’s attention.

  “Watch this,” Aaron said.

  He opened the window and snapped his fingers. A soft wave of light rippled through the room, sweeping every bit of dust out into the open air.

  Luther:

  “!!!”

  “Cool, right? I learned it from the Ethernet! There are bunches of common spells available for free, and there’s even a spell for washing dishes, I’ll show you tonight,” Aaron said with a wide grin.

  “Amazing. Can you teach me?” Luther asked.

  “I don’t think you can learn it. These spells are variations of light-type purification magic. Anyway, you can just let me know if you need anything cleaned!”

  After that, Aaron and Luther spent more than two hours putting the pumpkins’ house together and put it at the corner of the room, right next to their bed.

  “Here’s your brand-new house!” Aaron announced.

  “Squeak squeak squeak!”

  The three siblings peeked around their new home. Inside, the floor was covered with soft carpet, and little scented pouches hung in the corners, exuding a faint floral fragrance. Even though each pumpkin had its own separate bedroom, all three ended up curling up together in the largest room every night. Besides that, they would often sneak onto Luther and Aaron’s bed to sleep with them.

  Acher’s bird-nest bed, which looked almost like a tall ornate cradle, was placed near the window just as he had requested.

  “Leave it right here so I can sunbathe in the morning,” the raven instructed, nodding in approval.

  “Good Aaron,” Luther said.

  “Of course I am!”

  That afternoon, he came home carrying a large cardboard box.

  Luther stepped over to take a look as Aaron opened it. Inside was a pile of photographs, already framed, most of them taken during their recent trip to Mariana. There were many shots of the two boys, some of the pumpkins, and even a huge portrait of Acher.

  Only now did Luther realize why Aaron had asked Acher to show himself for a picture a few days ago.

  Aaron began hanging the frames on walls all over the house, saying:

  “This way it makes the house feel cozier! My mom loves to do this.”

  “Squeakk it’s me!” Squashy ran over, pointing at one of the pictures.

  Aaron scooped her up in his arms and said:

  “That’s right, it’s Squashy, the best girl!”

  Luther couldn’t take his eyes from Aaron, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

  Oh, and there was one more thing worth noting: the pumpkins had never seen Mr. Raven.

  “Mr. Acher, you don’t want to show yourself to them?” Aaron asked.

  “Go play with them,” Luther added.

  “Shhh, as if I’d waste my time playing with these little brats,” Acher scoffed.

  Luther:

  “…”

  But despite what he said, Jack-O realized something was off just a few days later.

  One evening after dinner, Aaron served each of them a generous slice of pudding he brought from his house, the top covered in a tempting layer of brown caramel that looked super delicious.

  “Yum!” Squashy said after taking a bite; Pompo also squeaked in satisfaction.

  Seeing them, Jack-O quickly turned back to his own plate, only to find nothing left.

  “Squeak! Where did it go???” he cried out.

  “Acher, don’t steal food,” Luther said.

  The raven licked his beak and kept watching his EPhone.

  Aaron shook his head with a smile and cut another piece for Jack-O. This time, the round pumpkin carefully used his vines to weave a little cage, covering both himself and his plate.

  But it was useless. How could Mr. Raven be stopped by such a small trick?

  “Squeak squeak squeak!!!” Jack-O cried again.

  Just within a blink, his plate was empty once more. He ran to Luther and clung to him, tears forming in his eyes.

  “Stop messing with him,” Luther warned, reaching out to give Acher a light pat on the butt.

  The touch from the Ascended One forced Acher to reveal himself.

  Jack-O, Pompo, and Squashy all jumped in surprise when a large black raven appeared on the dining table out of nowhere.

  The round pumpkin stared at Acher for a moment, then spotted a smear of pudding still clinging to the side of his beak. In that instant, he understood everything.

  “Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak bad bad bad!!!” He pointed his vine at Acher in accusation, his little mouth spilling out a stream of complaints.

  “What are you pointing at me for? Kid, having your food offered to me is a great honor you should be grateful for,” Acher said, narrowing his eyes at him.

  “No bullying!” Luther warned again.

  In the end, Aaron had to cut two slices of pudding and serve them to both Jack-O and Acher at the exact same time. Only then did the round pumpkin get to eat in peace.

  “Why do you only steal from Jack-O?” Aaron asked.

  “Heh heh heh. The way this boy looks so desperate for his food makes me want to mess with him,” Acher replied with a raspy chuckle.

  Luther and Aaron:

  “…”

  From that day on, the battle over food between the two began. Of course, the round pumpkin was no match for Mr. Raven, and most of the time it ended with Jack-O running to Luther in tears to complain.

  Until one day, Aaron leaned close and whispered something to him.