“Looks like Pompo on top of Jack-O!” Squashy commented.

  Aaron and Luther couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

  “It actually does look a little bit like that,” Aaron admitted, still chuckling.

  The pumpkins decided to join in as well. But instead of just building ordinary snowmen, they began making snow-pumpkins.

  They built two figures that resembled humans and three round shapes lined neatly in a row.

  Jack-O even added a long lump of snow that looked suspicious in the strangest way.

  Aaron tried to hold his laughter and asked:

  “What’s this supposed to be?”

  “Acher!” Jack-O declared proudly.

  “What the hell? You think I look like a pile of crap??” Acher shouted.

  “Not poo-poo. It’s Acher!” Jack-O insisted with all of his seriousness.

  “Let me fix it for you,” Aaron offered.

  Under his skilled hands, a snow raven gradually took form. Every feather was sculpted with visible detail, and the head lifted upward, gazing proudly toward the sky.

  “Wow… that’s beautiful!” Jack-O gaped in awe.

  “So beautiful,” Luther agreed.

  “Now this is more like it. You aren’t a disappointment after all, a true descendant of that boy. Seems you have a bit of his artistic blood,” Acher said, nodding in approval.

  “You are talented,” Luther praised.

  “I am!” The brown-haired boy tilted his chin upward, his face shining with smug pride.

  “Let’s take off and fly,” Aaron suggested.

  The idea immediately lit Luther’s eyes up.

  “Yes!”

  “Let me borrow your flying spell. I want to be the one steering. I’ll take everyone to a place that’s truly breathtaking.”

  Aaron wrapped his arms around Luther, gathered up the pumpkins, and soared into the sky.

  The entire world turned into a dazzling white canvas. Snow drifted wildly in every direction, filling the air like petals from cherry trees in full bloom being swept away by the wind.

  Aaron lowered so they skimmed just above the treetops, and he adjusted his pace to a gentle speed, slow enough for everyone to take in the scenery.

  “What is that thing?” Jack-O asked.

  “That’s a snowboard,” Aaron explained.

  The three pumpkins kept pointing at anything unfamiliar. And whenever they spotted something that they recognized, they would shout in joy.

  “Doggy!”

  “Walmart!”

  Aaron turned to Luther and said with a smile:

  “Serenity is coming soon. Let’s go to Sicily! I’ve heard the Moonlight Festival is really fun.”

  “How is that place now?” Acher asked.

  “These days it’s only a mid-sized city on the Dark Side,” Aaron replied.

  “It’s too far. How do we even get there?” Luther asked.

  “I already checked everything; we’ll take the Orion Express. Of course, we could sneak on a flight using your cloak, but that wouldn’t be comfortable at all.”

  “The Orion Express? You mean the Orion Route? It’s still running?” Acher raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, it is. It used to be called the Orion Route, but they changed it to Orion Express a couple of hundred years ago. It’s still operating, and there’s even a station in New York,” Aaron explained.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Interesting, I thought that route was also abandoned, just like most things on the Dark Side.”

  “They say the Council kept it running as a kind of living memorial,” Aaron answered.

  They reached Central Park, and a winter wonderland unfolded before their eyes. The ground, the pathways, and every branch of the old towering trees were blanketed beneath thick layers of snow. The wide lake had not yet frozen, its calm waters rippling softly, catching and reflecting the pale glow of a winter morning.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Aaron grinned brightly.

  “It really is,” Luther admitted, gazing at the view.

  “A few years ago, my dad once brought me and my mom here on a snowy day. That’s how I knew about this. But back then, the snow wasn’t as heavy. If it had been like today, reaching here would have been impossible. It’s lucky that we can fly,” Aaron said.

  “Squeak squeak, let us down!” Pompo squealed with excitement.

  “All right, all right,” Aaron answered, lowering them to the ground.

  The pumpkins leapt out like wild horses breaking free from their reins.

  “Hey! Not that way, go left!” Aaron called.

  After a while, they finally reached a small snow-covered hill. There were already more than ten people scattered about, skiing and sliding down.

  “This is Pilgrim Hill,” Aaron said. “You go ahead and play with them for now. I’ll go buy some snowboards so we can have some real fun together.”

  “No need.” Luther stopped him.

  The shadow beneath his feet shifted and stretched, reshaping itself into several pitch-black, long, flat, slightly curved boards. Aaron took one in his hand, surprised at how real it felt.

  “This is so cool!” he cheered with genuine amazement.

  He then began teaching everyone how to play. They slid and tumbled, laughing and chasing each other all the way until noon. Afterward, they went to eat at a nearby restaurant, cheeks still red from the cold.

  “Was it fun?” Luther asked while patting the pumpkins.

  “Fun!” they chorused together.

  “I love skiing!” Squashy said.

  “Aaron’s amazing! Luther’s amazing, too!” Jack-O said.

  Luther chuckled and picked up another piece of steak, dropping it onto Jack-O’s plate. The pumpkin swallowed it down in one big gulp. Some time ago, he had discovered a simple trick: if he showered people with compliments, they would spoil him and give him more food. Since then, his mouth had grown super sweet.

  “Can we go out and play again after lunch?” Pompo asked.

  “No.” Aaron shook his head, though his tone remained gentle. “You’ve been playing since morning. After this, we’ll head home and rest a bit. Luther needs to take his afternoon nap; he already had to wake up early this morning. While he’s resting, you can play games, and it won’t count toward your playtime. Then in the afternoon we’ll head out to play again. The snow will be here for a few days.”

  “Okay!!!”

  Pompo and Jack-O agreed in an instant without protest. Luther only allowed them two hours of gaming a day. The rest of the time had to be spent doing other things, like watching movies or going outside to play.

  …

  One evening at the Ravenswood house.

  Luther was lying in bed with a math book open in his hands. Beside him, Squashy and Pompo had curled up, their round bodies nestled comfortably as they watched a movie flickering across the wall-mounted EtherTV. Jack-O, meanwhile, had claimed the cozy bird’s nest along with Acher, both of them snacking while watching a food Nymphnester on the phone.

  Nymphnest was one of the largest social networks on the Ethernet, founded by nymphs themselves and focused on short video content.

  “Next week we’re going to Sicily. The festival starts on Friday night,” Aaron said as he took his sleepwear from Luther’s closet, now half overtaken by his own clothes.

  “Alright,” Luther nodded.

  “Where is Sicily?” Squashy asked.

  “It’s where the Moonlight Festival happens, one of the biggest celebrations on Earth. People say it’s amazing,” Aaron explained.

  “Yayyy!” the three pumpkins shouted in excitement.

  “Next Monday is the start of the winter break, so we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves.” Aaron grinned widely. “How about we leave Wednesday night? The train ride to Sicily takes more than a day anyway.”

  “Sounds good,” Luther agreed.

  Until now, Aaron had always been the one to make the plans. Luther just let Aaron take him wherever he wanted. As long as they’re together, it doesn’t matter where they go.

  Aaron slipped into a sleeveless shirt, reached for the light switch, and leapt onto the bed.

  “Put that book away, please, it’s movie time! Who even studies after ten?!”

  With a playful move, he yanked the book out of Luther’s hands and rolled on top of him.

  “So heavy!” Luther groaned.

  …

  Aaron finished his final exams with results so surprising that both the teachers and his parents were left stunned.

  “It’s all thanks to Luther! But to be honest, I never took studying seriously before. With him tutoring me and keeping me focused, my grades shot up in no time, like this is nothing to be surprised about,” Aaron boasted to Michael and Helen.

  “And what about Luther’s results?” Michael asked.

  “Perfect scores across the board!” Aaron announced, puffing out his chest. “He ranked first in the entire sophomore class. Isn’t that amazing?”

  “Then I suppose you still have a long way to go if you want to catch up to him,” Helen teased.

  “His grades count as mine too. We’re best bros!” Aaron declared with a wide grin.

  “So that means your grades count as his too, right?” Michael pressed, well aware of Aaron’s little tricks.

  “Uh… well… not exactly. That’s not how it works,” Aaron said, scratching his head. “Anyway, you two won’t be home this weekend, right? Dad, you’re flying to Korea tomorrow, and Mom, you leave for that conference in Washington the day after. So I was thinking I could stay at Luther’s place for a few days, starting Wednesday.”

  “Alright, but make sure you guys eat properly and don’t wear yourself out,” Helen agreed without a second thought.

  “You’ve been saying yes pretty easily lately,” Michael said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Only for certain cases. Ever since Aaron started hanging out with Luther, he’s been more well-behaved and stopped wasting time with the Wilsons. His grades have improved, and he even started helping with chores. Haven’t you noticed?” Helen smiled. “I hope he’ll pick up a few more good habits from Luther. Aaron, take him out somewhere nice to eat, and buy him something as a thank-you, okay? Do you still have enough money?”

  “I’ve got some, but a little extra would be amazing. Thanks so much, Mom!” Aaron said, grinning.