The next day, Avandale

• Yu! exclaims Léo.

He runs up the stairs, stepping over the marble steps two at a time. He takes the right-hand corridor and hurries to the last door on the left. He knocks three times, then twice, then three times more slowly. It's a code they've set up after a prank played by their dear cousin. She had pretended to be Leo and poured the juice of the oil-producing Yagianlegg plant right into Yu's face. 

• Yu, are you up?

• Yes, I'm coming!" replies the young girl before opening the door.

• Guess who's going to accompany you on today's outing? asks Leo.

• Erm. . Reflects the little girl with dark blond hair with golden highlights. Is it Mom? 

• No. . . Try again, he says, his eyes shining with joy and his smile rising to his ears.

• Uncle Louis? replied Yu.

Léo, surprised that his little sister hadn't guessed, didn't lose his smile. He stoops down to the level of his sweet sister's beautiful eyes and tells her the good news: 

• It's me! 

• But what about the martial arts school?

• They've agreed to give me the day off. They even say it's good exercise. Because, you know, if we go with you, it's to make sure you're safe. So I have to stay on the lookout. he explains, foolishly imitating a predator to amuse Yu.

The young Naterelli, now reassured, doesn't fail to show her joy. She throws herself into her big brother's arms. After a brief moment of joy and brotherly love, Leo takes his little sister's hand to go downstairs for breakfast. 

This time, it's wiser to take the marble staircase to the kitchen. This room, continually perfumed by the sweet aroma of the good food prepared here, is opposite Yu's bedroom. They descended the stairs at a brisk pace, but cautiously so as not to fall. Arriving at the wooden door resembling a sucupira, they knock to announce their presence and open it.

They are welcomed into a warm room where meals are prepared. It's a fairly large room, with a fireplace equipped with a rack glued to the right-hand wall. And a second worktop with a sink runs along the left wall under the window.  Rhita, the family's head cook, is in the middle of preparing the dough for this lunchtime meal. She's busy on the worktop that runs along the back wall, with storage cupboards underneath. Her smile is matched only by her kindness and tenderness. With her firm, tender gestures, she resembles a human in every way, except that she's a ghostly creature who can take on the appearance of whatever she comes across. However, she has never changed her shape since adopting the features of the human he rescued her from. Rhita wished to continue living in the guise of this now deceased person, to keep her memories alive. Grateful for the love the gentle Naterelli family has shown her for decades, she wanted to participate in the life of the house. That's how she came to be the head chef.

Rhita, knowing the children and their habits well, prepared breakfast for them and placed everything on the table in the center of the kitchen. The window lets in the soft, warm first light of the day. The warmth of dawn settles on Yu's and Leo's delicate faces, with their refined, harmonious features; and on the brick wall opposite, which diffuses it with its glowing colors. Since Yu joined the family, Léo eats breakfast with her here rather than in the dining room. This was Yu's choice, as she feels much better in this room than in the cold, overly large dining room. However, they have to come here for dinner and lunch on their day off from school. 

The aroma of their hot chocolate-equivalent drink titillates their nostrils until their mouths are salivating. The golden color of their freshly baked pastry makes their stomachs sing. And in this concert of hunger, the two young Naterelli thank the chef for her work before starting to eat.