Lylia sighed as she looked out the window of the Vanderbilt estate. It had already been a few months since Michael left their home, but she had already been feeling quite lonely without her son since day one.
Feeling bored, she got up out of her bed and started to wander around their mansion.
Everything reminded her of him.
She walked to the kitchenhouse and saw the maids washing the dishes using the faucets Michael made.
She went outside to see Sebastian and the other butlers playing chess during their break times. There was a clear absence within their group, with the middle chair remaining vacant for Michael.
Then, she went to the backyard to look at the training yard. She used to have early morning magic sessions with Michael here every day. And even though she had nothing left to teach him, he still patiently absorbed her teachings without feeling bored.
She walked to the hot springs, and the hot steam coming out of the roof reminded her of the daily baths with Michael. He would always act shy about entering the women's section, but would always end up caving to her whims and bathing with her.
She didn't have any mood to take a bath right now, so she returned to their bedroom and lay down on her bed.
Perhaps the thing that she missed the most about Michael was all his strange stories and ideas that came to him in his dreams.
Every night, before they went to sleep, Michael would visit the master bedroom and tell them about a parallel world he dreamed of in his sleep. In that world, humans lived without any sort of magic in their bodies and were entirely reliant on technology.
And despite the simpleness of life without magic, he would always describe that parallel world as something even more amazing than magic.
Creativity reigned supreme rather than strength. Over there, people worshipped and idolized men and women who could sing or dance much better than others.
He even said that if she had been born there, she would have been quite popular as an 'actress' or an 'idol' in the entire world.
He told them all about the special occasions in that world including a day for lovers, a day for independence, a day for the birth of some kind of god, and a day for the advent of a new year.
During those occasions, everyone could see glowing flowers in the skies.
This captured Lylia's imagination. She even wished she could peek through Michael's mind just so that she could see the magnificence of those glowing flowers that exploded out into the skyline.
Michael's stories made her wonder what she would have been like in that parallel world.
Would she have been able to witness those flowers blossom on her birthday?
She chuckled at herself for thinking about such foolish things. Michael was so good at storytelling that it made her want to see something that was only present in fantasy stories.
"Ha~~~ I miss Michael…I hope he's here tomorrow…"
Her words were just something she uttered to herself. But…
"Of course, I'll be here Mom. It's your birthday." Michael said as he suddenly appeared behind her.
Lylia was so surprised that she ended up jumping out of her bed. Her eyes widened as she saw Michael present in the flesh.
She slowly approached him, with her hands stretched out to touch his face.
And as she made contact with his cheeks, she felt his warmth in her hands.
This was real. This wasn't a hallucination.
Michael was back in the mansion!
She jumped towards him, embracing him with all the pent-up energy she had from his months-long absence.
"Uh…mom? Having..trouble breathing here…"
But she ignored him and kept him in her embrace.
Finally, after she filled her yearning for her son, she let go of him and grabbed his shoulders.
"I knew you wouldn't forget my birthday!" she said ecstatically.
"Of course, Mom. I wouldn't miss it," he replied, scratching his nose with a little bit of a blush.
"How did you get here?" she asked. "Did you travel for days in your automobile?"
Michael cleared his throat. "Before you ask me that, Mom. I would like to show you something first. It's my birthday gift to you."
He led her out onto the balcony of the master bedroom, which overlooked the entire estate and all the forestry around it.
The sun had already set a few hours ago, and there was only darkness in the distant skies.
Strangely enough, the entire estate was enveloped in darkness as well. The lamp posts that were supposed to be lit with fire around the estate were completely snuffed out.
"Did Beretta forget to light up the oil lamps?" Lylia asked herself, looking down at the garden.
"No, mom. I asked her to extinguish all the lights for tonight. I want to show you something," Michael explained.
"What are you planning?" she asked, a little bit suspicious.
Michael pointed at the sky and said, "Keep your eyes there, Mom."
She did as he said and heard him whisper a countdown for himself.
"...3…2…1…"
TSHHH!
Suddenly, a single line of fire emerged from the darkness of the forest and soared up into the skies.
And as it reached the zenith, the fire suddenly exploded into a beautiful amalgamation of reddish colors, blossoming into a full flower in the skies.
Lylia gasped. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Before long, a few more lines of fire shot out from the forest and exploded into the sky, creating a bouquet of colorful flowers for Lylia to enjoy.
After discovering sulfur in the Parched Lands, Michael was able to create the infamous gunpowder!
With just a couple more ingredients, he was able to create fireworks!
His gift to Lylia made her heart feel warm inside, tears welling up in her eyes.
This looked even better than in her imagination. She couldn't believe that Michael was able to show her something she thought she would never be able to see.
She kissed Michael on the forehead and smiled.
"Thank you, son. I love it," she said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
And so, the mother and son enjoyed the fireworks show for the rest of the night with nothing but silence—
"Wait a minute, Michael," Lylia said. "You never told me how you got here."
Michael laughed awkwardly as he scratched his head. "Umm…I have my own clone shadow attached to Michael Too all this time as well. This allowed me to take its place and arrive here in an instant, hahaha…Isn't that cool, Mom?"
Lylia went silent.
"...mom?..."
"So, you're telling me that you could have always been here this entire time?" Lylia uttered with a low voice, with her blonde hair masking her expression.
Michael started backing away. He needed an excuse.
"Uhh…absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
That wasn't a viable response.
The chaos in the mansion was masked by the sounds of fireworks blowing off in the skies.
As a punishment, he was forced to visit them at least three times a week to continue his stories about the parallel world from his dreams.