As they finished, Chen stood dramatically in front of Nathan like a final boss.

“Bro,” Chen declared, eyes shining. “You haven’t enjoyed anything.”

Nathan replied, calm, “I enjoyed leaving the car.”

Chen slapped a skewer into his hand like offering a sacred relic. “EAT.”

Nathan stared at it.

Knight watched, amused.

Ping stared like it mattered.

Paola stopped chewing.

Jenn paused.

Even Mrs. Lang looked expectant.

Nathan sighed like a man surrendering.

He took one bite.

For one second, he looked exactly the same.

Then his eyes softened— barely. Almost invisible.

But Ping saw it.

Ping screamed, “HE LIKES IT!”

Paola screamed louder, “Big Bro LIKES IT!”

Chen jumped like he’d won a world championship. “YES! HE HAS JOY!”

Knight rolled his eyes but smiled.

Nathan looked at Chen, voice dry. “You’re loud.”

Chen nodded proudly. “I’m the happiness department.”

Nathan didn’t deny it.

When they finally walked back to the car, everyone was full, sticky, smiling, and louder than before.

Paola had sauce on her cheek and refused to wipe it because she said it was “a warrior mark.”

Ping clutched Snowball in one hand and his bracelet in the other like sacred treasures.

Jenn held her coconut pudding like a queen.

Chen declared himself the winner of every category.

Knight threatened to throw him into a ditch.

And Nathan— calm in the middle of it— followed them back with quiet steadiness, watching their chaos like it was something precious.

Because it was.

This was what family sounded like.

Not silence.

Not perfection.

But laughter so loud it could fill even the longest road.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

They’d barely made it back to the car before Mrs. Lang entered her final form.

“Everyone hold hands,” she declared, tone absolute. “We are leaving. No one disappears. No one wanders. No one—”

Paola slipped her small hand out of hers like a professional escape artist.

Mrs. Lang didn’t even notice immediately.

She was too busy straightening Ping’s shirt like Ping hadn’t just survived a spice battle and cried like a fallen hero.

Ping clung to Nathan, cheeks still a little red, Snowball tucked under one arm like a wounded soldier.

Chen, still chewing something illegal, whispered, “I’m expanding my black market at the next stop.”

Knight sighed like his soul was leaving his body.

Nathan counted heads out of habit.

One. Two. Three—

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Mrs. Lang clapped her hands again. “Alright, Paola—”

She turned.

She blinked.

She turned again, like Paola might be hiding behind the air.

Then her gaze slowly slid to Nathan.

Nathan’s gaze slid to her.

A silent exchange. Two people realizing the same horrifying truth.

Mrs. Lang’s mouth opened.

“…Where,” she said very softly, very dangerously, “is Paola.”

The world froze.

Even the market noise seemed to lower in fear.

Ping looked around, confused. “Paola?”

Jenn, holding her dessert cup, paused mid-bite like a scientist watching an experiment fail.

Chen’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

Knight’s head snapped around. “No.”

Nathan didn’t panic. He simply looked around again— calm, sharp, scanning.

Mrs. Lang didn’t scan.

She erupted.

“PAOLAAAAAAAAA!”

The sound was so loud a vendor dropped a skewer.

Mr. Lang, leaning against the car, sighed like this was expected. “It took longer than I thought.”

Mrs. Lang spun to the children like a commander interrogating soldiers. “WHO LOST MY DAUGHTER?”

Ping instantly pointed at Chen. “HIM!”

Chen gasped. “WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!”

Knight pointed at Ping. “He was sitting next to her.”

Ping screeched. “SHE WAS NEVER NEXT TO ME!”

Jenn lifted her eyes calmly. “…She left.”

Everyone turned to stare at her.

Jenn continued, small voice flat and factual. “She’s Paola. She leaves.”

Mrs. Lang grabbed her own hair. “MY CHILD IS A DISAPPEARING MAGICIAN!”

Nathan started walking immediately. “She can’t have gone far.”

Knight followed without question, posture tightening. “Chen, if she’s missing because you traded her for snacks—”

“I WOULD NEVER!” Chen shouted. Then paused. “…Unless the snacks were rare.”

Knight’s eyes narrowed. “CHEN.”

Chen threw both hands up. “I’m joking! I swear! She’s just… tiny and dramatic!”

Mrs. Lang grabbed Ping’s shoulders. “Ping. Where did you last see her.”

Ping blinked rapidly like his brain was buffering.

Then, hesitantly, he raised one finger.

“…She said she saw a puppy.”

Mrs. Lang’s face went blank.

A beat.

Then she screamed again, “OF COURSE SHE DID!”

Knight’s jaw clenched. “Puppy. Good. That narrows it down.”

Chen started sprinting. “I WILL FIND THE PUPPY ZONE!”

Nathan caught his collar. “Not alone.”

Chen pointed dramatically at the crowd. “Bro, this is my moment. I’m fast.”

Nathan let go.

Chen vanished into the market like a missile, screaming, “PAOLA! COME BACK OR AUNTIE WILL DIE!”

Mrs. Lang staggered like she might actually faint. “I will die.”

Mr. Lang replied calmly. “No, you won’t.”

Mrs. Lang whirled on him. “HAROLD, MY BABY IS GONE!”

Mr. Lang already looking around, “She’s not gone. She’s shopping.”

Mrs. Lang looked like she might murder her husband on the side of the highway.

Nathan moved through the stalls with controlled speed, eyes scanning every corner. Knight stayed beside him like a shadow, sharp and restless.

Ping shuffled after them, guilt written all over his face. “Nate… I didn’t mean to lose her…”

Nathan squeezed his hand gently. “You didn’t.”

Jenn followed last, quiet as ever, not even hurried— because Jenn already knew the truth.

Three stalls later, Knight stopped abruptly.

Nathan stopped too.

Because there she was.

Paola.

Sitting on a low stool like she owned the entire market.

A small vendor had placed a tray in front of her.

Paola was eating sweet roti with condensed milk like royalty— face sticky, hair messy, posture proud.

Beside her, a basket of tiny puppies squirmed.

Paola had one puppy tucked against her chest like she’d adopted it legally.

She looked up, saw them all, and beamed.

“Hi!”

Mrs. Lang’s soul visibly returned to her body.

Then immediately left again.

“PAOLINA LANG!” she screamed. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

Paola blinked innocently. “I found love.”

Knight muttered, “Of course.”

Chen appeared out of nowhere, panting dramatically, hands on knees. “I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE—”

He stopped when he saw Paola.

“…You were eating?” he whispered, betrayed.

Paola smiled brightly. “Yes.”

Chen clutched his chest. “I ALMOST DIED FOR YOU.”

Paola pointed at the puppy. “Look. Baby.”

Chen immediately melted. “Oh my God.”

Mrs. Lang marched forward, ready to scold with the power of heaven.

Paola held up the puppy like a shield. “Mom. He needed me.”

Mrs. Lang froze.

Her eyes narrowed.

Her voice dropped.

“…You are not taking a puppy.”

Paola’s lips trembled. “But—”

“No.”

Paola turned to Nathan, eyes wide, voice sweet. “Big Bro.”

Nathan looked away instantly. “No.”

Paola turned to Knight with full dramatic despair. “Knight… please.”

Knight crossed his arms. “No.”

Paola gasped. “YOU HAVE NO HEART!”

Chen whispered, “Let her take it…”

Knight glared. “No.”

Paola huffed, offended beyond reason, then kissed the puppy’s head dramatically like a tragic heroine.

“Goodbye,” she told it. “Remember me.”

The puppy licked her face.

Paola sobbed like she’d lost her first love.

Mrs. Lang grabbed her hand firmly. “Back to the car. Now.”

Paola allowed herself to be dragged away, still waving at the puppy like she was departing for war.

Chen followed, whispering, “I respect your romance.”

Paola sniffed. “Thank you.”

Nathan walked behind them, calm again now that the missing child had been located.

Knight leaned closer to him and murmured, “She disappeared in less than a second.”

Nathan replied softly, “She’s talented in escaping.”

Ping clung to Nathan’s sleeve again, relieved, still guilty. “Can we tie her next time?”

Nathan didn’t answer immediately.

Because Mrs. Lang, dragging Paola to the car, shouted over her shoulder like a threat to the universe—

“Next stop, I’m putting her on a leash!”

And Paola screamed back, “I’LL BITE IT!”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Next in A Trip Called Family

They ended the day laughing—

Full, loud, untouchable.

But the night would be quieter.

And in that silence… something unspoken would come too close to ignore.

Next Stop: When the Noise Fell Quiet

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───