Birds are singing. I can always hear the gentle flow of a nearby stream by the cabin, which blends into the tranquil lake here. This is where I live—with my grandfather, Lui D’Amelio—and me, Finn Harvest.

Whenever I feel stressed, I come and sit under the blackberry tree, watching ants scurry back and forth… Hmm, I wonder what ants do—what do they eat? How do they go pee or poop? One time I inspected one closely and noticed it didn’t have a tail… so how do they do it? I think they do it through their mouth.

Oh! Right now several ants are marching in a line over here… They’re so curious.

I lie down a bit more on the ground, closing one eye and observing them closely.

Something I’ve noticed is most of them travel in groups—in neat lines—and some carry on their backs little bits of leaves or things I can’t quite identify…

Are those their snacks? How stingy...

Maybe they use those leaves to brew tea. Grandpa sometimes makes tea from leaves, and it’s so delicious—reeeally delicious.

I lie down flat on the grass, gazing at the sky, sighing in peace.

If there were more kids here, we could count all the ants we see together... we could work like they do. But there’s only me and my grandpa... And my grandpa isn’t a giant kid, so I can’t play with him much.

More than a giant kid, he’s like a werewolf…

I get goosebumps just remembering seeing him shirtless in summer—I'd never seen something like that before. Yuck...

At that moment, I hear footsteps approaching. I lift my head and sit up slightly under the blackberry tree.

I watch carefully and soon see Grandpa walking closer. He looks at me, opens his mouth for a moment, then smiles.

“Finn, I was looking for you—I knew you’d be here. Miss Hargreaves is looking for you. She brought coconut cookies.”

My eyes and mouth open wide. My response is clear.

“Coconut?!” I ask with a huge grin.

Coconut cookies are my favorite, and the best part is Miss Hargreaves usually adds chocolate—they’re the best in the world.

Miss Hargreaves is an old lady who lives a few kilometers from the cabin on a plot of land. She’s the closest thing I have to a grandmother. She comes twice a week and always brings me delicious things—especially those coconut cookies.

“Yes, coconut,” Grandpa says, chuckling. “So come quickly, or I’ll eat them all first, hehe.”

“No! Save the cookies for me!” I jump up and sprint toward the cabin like there’s no tomorrow.

No way! Grandpa Louie is sneaky—one time I left a plate of banana purée on the table and found him devouring it all! I can’t let that happen with these cookies.

I reach the cabin just as my breath turns into near-hyperventilation. My hand seems miles from the door. Desire, longing, passion, the fire of coconut cookies—they slow everything down. With a clumsy but determined motion, I turn the door handle—and the first thing I see is Miss Hargreaves sitting at the table, leaning on it, with a plate of cookies just ahead.

She smiles and waves.

“Finn, so happy to see you, darling.”

Cookies cookies cookies cookies cookies.

Oh! Miss Hargreaves is here too… Well, she baked these delicious cookies, so to me she might as well be a queen, hehe.

I rush to her and hug her with my little arms, looking up with puppy eyes and a huge smile.

“Are those cookies for me? Right? They are, right?”

She giggles softly and nods.

“Yes, yes, they’re for you. Go ahead, eat, eat.” She hands me the plate.

Just then, Grandpa bursts in, somewhat out of breath—probably from his jog. At his age he’s not as athletic as he once was.

“Oh, you beat me here, Finn,” he laughs.

Ha! You should see yourself, Grandpa—of course I got here first~ Though I feel a bit guilty, so I’ll give you half of the last cookie.

“Here you go, Grandpa, you can have some of the last one.” I gently offer him the plate.

“What?! How did you eat them so fast?!” His eyes go wide.

Ha! Grandpa always underestimates me… Clearly, I'm many steps ahead.

Miss Hargreaves laughs at the scene, resting her hand against her cheek as she watches me curiously.

“And so, Louie, have you thought about Finn’s future?”

My future? Now that Grandma mentions it… True—what will become of me when I grow up? I’d love to work as a woodcutter, just like my grandpa.

“What do you mean exactly, Anna?” Grandpa asks.

“Oh, I thought my question was simple... You know, Finn is six now—he’s at an age where he should meet other kids his age.”

“And, as you know, there’s nothing but plants and animals out here...” She looks at Grandpa pointedly.

Indeed, I’ve never met other kids my age. I wonder what they’re like… what they play with, how they talk… I hope I get to know one soon.

“Well, Finn is content here. And as you can see from how he acts—it’s not like he’s different. He plays with his dolls and runs around all over the place like any kid.”

Anna sighs and clicks her tongue.

“Not like all kids. But you know what, Louie? I wonder if this decision is selfish, or if Finn actually wants it. Do you want that for him?” She gives Grandpa a sharp look.

She’s right... Sometimes I’d like to explore beyond the forest. But I’m not unhappy here. Grandpa means the world to me, and I know I’ll be happy as long as I have him.

Can I see the world and still stay with Grandpa?

“Well then let’s let him tell us what he thinks is best,” Grandpa says, looking at me.

“O-okay... I... I want to stay with Grandpa... But I also want to see the world—see beyond trees and animals… B-but I’m scared the other kids might think I’m weird or something.”

Anna ponders, then a lightbulb moment strikes her.

“Well, how about the Floral Magic School? It’s a little magic school for young kids that focuses on caring—for them. Finn could meet others his age and learn a bit of magic too.”

Woah! A school—and magic! Of course I’m interested. But Grandpa says I can’t use magic; I don’t have a mana flow. What’s “flow”? And what’s “mana”? Such strange words. Though “mana” sounds like a fruit… but I know it’s not.

“That’s impossible. I already tried to see a mana flow in Finn, and indeed there’s nothing. He’s a kid who can’t do magic. And schools that teach like that—they’re expensive. Too expensive for someone like me.”

“Hmm... I see. It’s more complicated than I thought, huh? In that case, what about the ‘Helmet and Tanya School’? It’s free and there are plenty of kids like Finn,” she says, settling into a chair.

“Kids like me? Because they can’t use magic too? Or because they live in the forest? Does that mean there’ll be other kids I can talk to about ants?”

“Even if I could take him... who will stay with him? Helmet and Tanya is three days away—far too far, no way around it.”

“Oh, you can go with him,” Anna says. “My nephew’s tavern hires bartenders—experience doesn’t matter if you can learn fast.”

“And I look like someone who knows how?”

“No, but someone who can learn quickly.”

“Alright—get the job, and then what? That wasn’t my main concern...”

Anna sighs and rubs her forehead.

“The tavern also provides lodging to staff. It’s not as lovely as this cabin but it’s adequate.”

“Do you know how much it cost me to make this cabin? Just leave it behind?”

“You won’t leave it. I can care for it while you’re gone.”

“But—”

Anna crosses her arms and shoots Grandpa a determined look.

Louie sighs, rubbing his head… Clearly, he can’t win this one.

“But the fences are old. The wood’s aging. You’ll have to replace them soon...”

Anna laughs lightly, flexing her arm with a confident tone.

“This old lady has no tiredness or laziness left,” she teases.

Hmm... I’m not sure... The last time I visited Miss Anna’s house she almost broke the drying rack because the clothespins were hard to remove... Hmmmm... Let me doubt that, Grandma...

Lui smiles and sighs.

“Alright. We’ll leave tomorrow morning—looks like rain’s coming.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

“The clouds are darker than usual, and the wind’s dropped. It could rain today, tomorrow, or the day after… But rain is coming. I’d rather go safely with Finn.”

Well, Grandpa’s not a wizard or anything—but he’s usually right about the weather… Hmmm… I wonder if, in the future, people will be able to predict the weather as well as he can!

Maybe I should sell Grandpa to a group of crazy scientists to exploit his natural talent, hehe!

I walk up and look into Grandpa’s eyes.

“So... we’re leaving the cabin?”

Lui sighs and nods.

“I love this cabin. I remember your mom used to carve trees that later fell for different reasons. Your grandma used to pick blackberries around here all the time—maybe that’s why I didn’t want to leave: the nostalgia this place held.” He runs his hand along the cabin wall.

“But... we all must leave our comfort someday… Just as I once thought of what I wanted most. I must think of your future, too—and certainly, this is the best option for you.”

The best option for me… I don’t know where we’ll go or who I’ll meet—but I hope to find wonderful people to smile and play with…

Just like I love this cabin, the ants working, walking to the lake, resting with my feet in the water, looking forward to Miss Anna’s visits with her lovely treats—and, above all, gazing at the night sky… All of these make me so happy…

I hope wherever we go, I discover new things worth changing for…

But I know I’ll be okay—because I’ll be with Grandpa.

“Okay! I’ll go pack everything!” I say with a child’s excited grin.

Of course, I’ll start with the most important things… With things I need every day. I’m going to pack all my toys first!

I race up the stairs to the shared room, swing the door open, and stand in front of the chest filled with wooden toys Grandpa crafted, plus a few wool stuffed animals Miss Anna made.

“Oh right! The backpack…” I crouch and pull out a giant bag from under the bed.

Hmm... I wonder if the toys, clothes, food, and Grandpa’s tools will fit... It’s big, but space is still limited.

“Finn?” Anna kneels behind me.

“Anna, I don’t think everything will fit.”

She chuckles softly and smiles.

“Don’t worry—almost everything will go in the carriage.”

“Oh… I see… But Mr. Donald is clumsy with the carriage! What if everything falls out?!”

“No, no,” she laughs more.

“Don’t worry—the carriage is always covered; things won’t fall out.”

“Oh… Okay…”

After a while, Anna helps me pack useful things: clothes, shoes, tools wrapped in pillowcases, my toothbrush, and Grandpa’s homemade toothpaste.

The bag’s stuffed, but the important things are in it.

I come downstairs, hand in hand with Anna.

Grandpa, sitting at the table, glances at her curiously.

“By the way, Anna... This won’t just be us arriving and your nephew offering the job and lodging, right?”

“Don’t worry—I’ll write a letter to my nephew requesting it. It has a family seal only we know, so he’ll know it’s legit. Besides, that little one is like a son to me. I’m like a mother to him… I’m sure he’ll accept.”

“And the location of the tavern?”

“Oh yes—it’s near the Great Cross Lafont Church. Walk four blocks right from the church entrance, then at the first intersection, turn left. After two more corners, you’ll see a red tavern—my nephew Pierre runs it. He has long brown hair—you’ll recognize him.”

“Alright, I suppose…”

“Well then, I’ll head into the village to tell Donald…”

Silence fills the cabin—

Until suddenly, Anna bursts into tears. She rushes and wraps me in a tight hug.

“E-ehehe… A-Anna…?”

“Just a moment, little one… let me embrace these feelings for a while.” She strokes my hair.

“I’m so sorry… Louie taught me to spend so much time with you… he forgot to teach me what to do when you leave… Little one… remember to write me letters telling me how you are, okay?”

Ahh... It’s true... It’s not just Grandpa and me… Anna’s always been there for me too. For as long as I can remember, she’s cared for me in every way possible…

Thank you, Anna. When I grow up, I’ll bring you tons of gold… I hope to meet more people like you in the future.

I can’t hold the tears any longer—they overflow from my eyes. I cling to Anna’s clothes, hiding my face on her shoulder.

“I will! I’ll send you so many letters! So… make room in your mailbox for me!”

She hugs me tighter, nodding with a smile.

“I’ll make a mailbox just for you…”

They say for a greater good you must leave many things behind—but that’s not Finn’s case. He’ll carry nothing but these small treasures that fill his heart, holding them in every breath he takes.