Oof, earlier-than-usual update!
Warning; somewhat failed attempt at writing a 'feels' chapter!
Off you go then, three, two, one, READ!
He was really, really, really confused. Just how had he ended up at this house? Had he actually sleepwalked? He was still in his red pyjamas… But they weren't dirty, so he couldn't have walked barefoot all the way, surely…
"Did Sensei decide to pull a prank?" he mumbled, softly stepping on the surprisingly cold carpet. He'd pluck the whiskers of the fat cat for the twisted sense of humour.
Tip-toeing and still holding onto the pillow, much like a little naughty child trying to make it to the box of cookies in the kitchen without being noticed by his parents, he maneuvered around the toy cars and made it to the door, which had dozens of stickers stuck on it from the floor all the way up to a little bellow Natsume's shoulders; as high as a little mischievous child could reach.
He grabbed the cold knob and gulped, listening carefully for any footsteps. He really didn't want to frighten the poor people who lived in this house in case they happened to be walking right outside in the hallway.
Slowly, he twisted it. The door creaked awfully loudly and opened just an inch. Natsume held his breath and moved his head to see-
There was something, right there, staring at him with large brown eyes-
Gently, he closed the door again, took a step back, breathed in, then collapsed on the floor, miraculously not landing on any toys. He felt dizzy from the abrupt acceleration of his heartbeat, his skin started to sweat.
"I did not mean to startle you."
The voice was deep and old, soft as wool, a bit muffled as it was coming from behind the door. Natsume's fingers dug into the carpet.
"Please excuse me. I was engaged in a hunt when you called for me. It was a weak call, almost foreign-that is quite unlike you, Reiko. What do you wish to ask of me?"
So it was an ayakashi that knew Reiko…
Natsume took a deep breath, finally calming down. He glared at the closed door. The fact that the creature had not tried to get in showed its politeness. "I am sorry, but I'm not Reko. Reiko is my grandmother. She passed away years ago. I am Natsume Takashi, her grandson." He explained in the clearest, most neutral tone he could master.
"Her grandson… Of course, it's been so very long… I am sorry for your loss, Reiko's grandson." The voice said, lacking any malice. It was pure concern.
Natsume suddenly felt a tingling sensation under his palm and glanced down. He yelped, immediately withdrawing his arm.
"What's happening?"
Little bits of carpet started to turn into black bits and float away into the void. The bed was already gone. The green walls looked like they were melting. The toy cars were dissolving, one after the other…The entire room was crumbling.
"Right now, you are at a child's dream which I am feasting upon. This is not your dream however and if you were to disappear here, you wouldn't be able to ever return."
"A child's dream…" a stunned Natsume repeated, looking around incredulously.
The sensation of falling hit him again. Natsume lost his balance and closed his eyes, blinded by the colors that swirled around him vibrantly, at a speed faster than his eyes could follow. It was like a vortex of images had suddenly swept him off his feet with force.
Then everything stopped moving and he found himself panting and heaving on all four, ready to pour out his dinner on the white tiles of a public bathroom. He coughed hard, but nothing came out thankfully. The stagnant, acid smell of unclean toilets made Natsume's nose wrinkle with disgust. The floor was oily and slippery at touch, probably filthier then he would like to know.
Natsume stood up and wiped the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes moved to observe his surroundings. Yellowish walls, vandalized with cusses, bathroom stalls of which at least two had no door. A row of sinks at his left, with cracked or stained mirrors above.
He focused on the mirror closest to him. His own yellow-orange eyes were reflected on there, his hair was a mess, he thought. But there was another thing on the mirror, standing right behind him.
"It is safe here for now." The creature spoke.
Natsume span around so fast that he almost lost balance.
The creature was big, towering over him by at least four heads. Its gigantic head was even touching the ceiling. A tusk twitched slightly below its big, animal-like brown eyes. It had a rich mane of caramel colour, descending down its back in a thin line, all the way to the fluffy tip of a grey tail. Its body had no fur or hair other than that. Its belly was grey with lighter spots, and its paws had large, sharp claws that were a bit pinkish and transparent, like a cat's.
"Baku…" Natsume stuttered, taking a step back.
Creatures like the one before him were famous among people. Baku were said to eat bad dreams.
Over the years, however, Natsume had never once met such a creature. He had seen countless nightmares, but nothing ever came to his aid. So he reached the conclusion that this famous baku didn't exist. It was just a misunderstanding. People often misunderstood when it came to ayakashi.
"I am indeed called that." The baku replied and its tusk trembled as its deep voice echoed in the bathroom.
Natsume realized that his dumbfounded staring was rude and withdrew his gaze. "Where is this?" he asked.
"Another dream, a dream that I was planning on eating. What did you wish to ask of me, Reiko's grandson?"
Natsume thought about it for a while in silence. This wasn't right. "I'm not the one who called for you."
"I see. That explains why it was such a pathetic summon. If it wasn't you then… could it be, that troublesome Madara?"
Natsume flinched. The baku's eyes narrowed.
"So it was him. I'm assuming you did not agree to this. He must have used Reiko's leftover power. It amuses me immensely to see that he took a liking to you as well, even after all the tantrums he threw about Reiko being the last person he'd ever bow to."
The baku laughed, a hearty, deep laughter that could easily have been that of a fat old man with rosy cheeks. But its eyes refocused, and it regained that certain look of superiority.
"Well, so be it. Tell me, Reiko's grandson, do you have the Yuujinchou?"
Natsume slowly nodded.
"It is a fretful thing, that book. If it falls into the wrong hands, disaster will follow."
Natsume didn't know how to respond, other than lowering his head. The baku's remarks were purposely so. It was trying to test him.
"I would like to return your name."
"For what purpose? What do you have to gain from it?"
Natsume looked up calmly.
The baku observed the firmness, the fiery, yet tranquil, gleam in his eyes.
"It may be arrogant of me, but may I express a request to the esteemed grandson of Reiko? If you see to my wish, I will swear loyalty. Of course, I will accept refusal with no remaining ill feelings."
Another test, it seemed.
"Which will it be, Reiko's grandson?"
Natsume was aware that, even though the creature's name was in the Yuujinchou, it was still to be revered. So he bowed with heartfelt respect and closed eyes.
"If it is something humanly possible, I will try to help."
The baku tapped its claws on the white square tiles. Its brown eyes softened.
"I want you to help me search through the dreams I've devoured. There is a certain dream I want to find. A dream about a beautiful willow by a lake. It is very old, but surely, it hasn't yet disappeared. Surely, I will be able to give it back… surely" the baku's voice lowered.
And then it opened its large mouth and a startled Natsume found himself being swallowed by the creature.
"Just clap your hands."
.
.
.
The baku had granted him access to the devoured dreams. How exactly it worked, Natsume didn't understand, but sure enough, every time he'd clap his hands, he would be instantly transported to another dream.
Most dreams were fading away, with missing parts, or colourless objects. Dreams, in general, were vague, but these were ready to disappear, forgotten inside the baku's stomach. Some were still vivid, the fresh ones. And for the past hour, he had visited countless decaying dream worlds. His hands had gotten sore and red from all the clapping. He felt incredibly tired from the process, having experienced various unpleasant jump scares from the scary things that people's unconsciousness created.
Natsume sighed tiredly as he came face to face with a gigantic red spider which screeched threateningly, wriggling its hairy legs. Normally, he would be scared… but the spider was actually hilarious to look at, having a rather cartoonish appearance and a smiley face replacing its head. Whatever kid this dream used to belong to had no idea what spiders actually looked like.
He gritted his teeth to prepare for the irritating feeling of falling and clapped his hands.
The colours swirled and the spider was replaced by a very long and narrow road. There was a bus station at the end, where a bus had just arrived and was loaded with passengers. Natsume looked down at his feet. He was wearing pointy black shoes and formal trousers. In his hand, there was a briefcase. Probably the dream of someone who was late for work.
He clapped his hands.
A car, falling into the void from a cliff-
He yelped with surprise and clapped his hands.
There was no pen to write the test with-
Again he clapped his hands.
The next one was one of the truly bad ones.
Natsume looked at the people around him with a sad frown. They were all clad in black. And although the faces were erased, since the dream was old and ready to disappear, he could tell that they were crying from the sobs that echoed in the white, fading dream. Other than the people, the only thing still having form was a picture with a brown frame. An old man was flashing a cheeky smile at him, grinning for forever.
Instead of clapping his hands right away, Natsume stayed silent for a few minutes, paying his respects.
This was the first funeral he had come across in the baku's stomach.
There were so many people out there in the world, crying for their loved ones. He wished that the moment would never come for him or anyone near him to experience such a loss, although it was sure to come.
He could have died when Madoka took him away. He would have never seen Touko-san's face again. He would have never heard Shigeru-san's car rumble as it would enter the yard again. He would have never bickered with Nyanko-sensei about anything again. He would have never played cards with his friends again, or gone fishing, or cycling. He…
Touko-san, Shigeru-san, his friends… they'd all cry so much.
Natsume didn't want to die.
And he didn't want anyone else to die either.
The Fujiwara couple would get older. Touko-san's back would start hurting and she'd need Takashi's help to hang the clothes. Shigeru-san's eyesight would get worse, and he'd need a new pair of glasses. They'd go on fewer trips because they wouldn't be able to walk long distances anymore. But he'd still be visiting them often –because he'd be older and would have his own apartment by then, or even a family, even if that sounded ridiculous at the moment. They would talk about the weather, and other trivial every-day things, and some days, maybe, they'd get into small arguments and make up after. All together, they would eat Touko-san's fried shrimp and laugh at Nyanko-sensei's fat belly, and shoot fireworks at the festival, and watch a silly film that would make them laugh so much that their lungs would hurt for hours.
And then, one day, they'd disappear from his life, just like the smiling old man in the picture. And Natsume would be alone again.
The boy wiped away the hot tears that streamed down his pale cheeks and suppressed his sniffling. With one last glance at the picture, he clapped his hands to jump to the next dream, hoping that it would be the one he was searching for.
He was standing on top of a tall, tall tower-
Another clap.
An angry dog, growling-
Another clap.
There was a gun in his hand, and the floor was covered with red-
Another quick clap.
An unknown man, kissing another woman-
Natsume clapped quickly, feeling guilty for having seen a part of someone else's private life.
A chainsaw-
Clap.
He was standing naked in a classroom-
Quick clap.
And clap and clap and clap.
And then he couldn't clap anymore because he found himself frozen from fear.
The suffocating smell of tobacco and alcohol scorched his nostrils and throat. A metallic, battered fan was shrieking electrically in the corner, too old and dangerous. The walls were stained yellow from the cigarette smoke, but no one could tell since the lights were never on in that room. Only the white glow of the television that played nonstop all day and night helped him trace the shape of a skinny woman who slowly rose from a double bed.
Natsume felt significantly shorter and powerless in her presence. She walked towards him confidently, and something about her clenched fists stirred an intuitive fear within him. Natsume took a few steps back until his back collided with the wall. A dead end.
Why did he feel like his heart would pop out of his chest? Why did this woman scare him so much?
"I heard about what happened in school. The principal called. The principal. Do you know what that means? Do you?"
A strong hand grabbed Natsume's upper arm and shook him violently. The woman's long pink nails dug into his flesh.
"I have to give the boy's parents all this money because of you! I have to apologize to them for something you did. And what did you do? You went and broke another kid's arm, like a brutal punk."
Natsume stared at what was supposed to be the shadow's face with scared wide eyes. She put so much pressure in her grip and he just wanted to break free, to get away from her, but she was too powerful and strong. He was a little child, and she was an adult.
"I need to teach you some manners. Want to play violent; I'll play violent too. We'll see how you treat others after this."
He remembered.
This was back when he was little, in the first years of elementary. There was a very scary thing following around another student of his age. That day in the park, he told the other kid that something bad would happen to him. And soon enough, it happened. The kid broke his arm. But the problem is, he took Natsume's warning as a threat, and when he discovered that his arm was hurting, thought that he was the cause for everything.
When Natsume got back at that wretched house, he was confronted by that woman who hadn't hesitated to raise her hand against him whenever she thought that he had misbehaved. She had been drunk that day and didn't hold back. The neighbours called the police because of the disturbing screams that came from the apartment.
She was taken to the police station and he was taken to a hospital, where a bunch of nurses tended to his broken arm and showered him with hugs and lollipops for the following days that he stayed there until a new home could be found.
"How do you like this? Let me see you do it to another kid again!"
Natsume felt the pressure grow and he cried out helplessly. The bone would snap if this went on. Why him? Why did it have to be him? Why did everyone hate him? Why did he have to be alone?
'Takashi-kun…'
Touko-san .
That's right. Touko-san wasn't like that, neither was Shigeru-san. He wasn't alone anymore. He had people that loved him now. There was nothing to be afraid of.
Natsume opened his eyes. He was tall again, in his actual age again. The woman was still holding his arm, but it was a weak and pathetic grip. He was not afraid of her anymore. He broke away with ease, like walking away from a handshake, and the woman didn't put up a fight. Her hand fell limply to her side. She was frozen. A frozen figure, a nightmare that he had defeated. The shadows were already dissolving.
Touko-san and Shigeru-san were waiting for him. He had to find the baku's dream and wake up in time to eat breakfast… and scold that fat cat for the trouble he had gotten him into. No manjuus for Nyanko-sensei for at least two weeks.
'Everyone's waiting.'
He'd go back home. They were still there. They were okay. He was okay.
Natsume clapped his hands loudly, with all the passion that he had used when returning yokai names.
The environment shifted and a strong wind blasted his face, slicking his hair back and exposing his forehead. He squinted, waiting for the free-falling sensation to stop.
Finally, the shapes and colours settled.
Natsume stared in awe at the most beautiful willow he would ever come across. Its thin branches dripped, as if heavy from the slick leaves that covered them. The leaves glistened with such brightness under the strong sunlight, pouring a checkered shade over the soft stubble of grass at the tree's roots, which had slithered on the earth and dug into it like tiny snakes. Half of the tree was submerged into the water of a lake that had a surface so still where even the sun was perfectly reflected, round and bright, instead of a sparkling undefined body. However, there was not much to see beyond that; the background had faded away completely. It was just the willow and the small part of the lake. Not even the sky, where the real sun was supposed to be, had survived the passage of time into the Baku's stomach.
Why would this be considered a bad dream? It was the exact opposite. Natsume slowly trudged towards the willow.
There was someone lying flatly in the shade, he noticed. A young girl, with long caramel hair that was spread on the grass like a spider cob, and in the middle, a sleeping face so peaceful that it seemed almost wrong… like she was dead. A chill run down Natsume's spine. He kneeled down next to her.
"Reiko-san… but this isn't her."
It looked like her, but Natsume knew that it wasn't. Her beauty was that of a dream, fake and bittersweet.
In between blinks, he could catch the glimpse of another woman, an elderly lady that he had never before seen in his life. This was somebody else's dream, and the woman over there was probably that person's grandmother. But because it was fading away, the dream had tried to compensate for the void before Natsume's eyes by replacing the woman with another that would still hold the same status for the dreamer.
Softly, Natsume tapped the Reiko-look-alike on the shoulder. For a moment, he held his breath anxiously, but then her eyebrows and cheeks twitched, and he sighed with relief. The eyelashes flickered and two light orange orbs were revealed – flashing dark brown for a second.
"What is wrong? Is grandpa not waking up again?" the woman asked and Natsume backed away to allow her some room to stretch and get up. Lazily, like a cat, she yawned and stood up straight, but did not get up from the ground. "What is it, Takashi? Do you have a stomach ache? Your eyes are red and puffy…"
A foreign wrinkly hand reached out to touch his face. But it reverted back to Reiko's as soon as Natsume blinked. He shivered. The hand was cold.
"Why are you crying, Takashi?"
Crying?
Ah… That's right. He was crying.
"Don't cry. Granny is just going to sleep for a long, long time. Don't cry for that, Yukiko."
An old woman with kind brown eyes and deep wrinkles etched on her forehead was staring back at Natsume comfortingly, still holding his face. Her hair was a mix of grey and black, cut short and tied to a small, bushy bun.
"It's ok, Yukiko. I'm fine. You don't have to cry. It ruins your pretty little face. So no more crying, alright? Smile, my dear Yukiko. Laugh and smile every day."
"I'm sorry. I'm not Yukiko." Natsume finally said.
But the woman didn't even blink. "Smile, Yukiko."
Natsume gently grabbed the wrinkly hand and placed it back on the woman's lap. A bittersweet, soft smile touched his lips.
"I'm sure your granddaughter has smiled and laughed countless of times."
"Don't cry, Yukiko." The woman repeated blankly, placing her hand on his shoulder.
Natsume slowly got up, and the hand slid down. The elderly woman looked up at him with big, confused eyes. He walked up to the edge of the lake and let his feet sink in the cool water. Rings of ripples traversed the still surface and the reflection of the sun turned into a sparkling mass.
"I found it," Natsume shouted to the void.
On cue, the boy felt a heavy, hot breath at the back of his neck, ruffling his hair. He turned around. The baku's trunk twitched as if in greeting.
"I found it. I found the dream you were looking for." He repeated.
It blinked with approval. "So it seems."
They stood in silence, observing the willow's branches sway in a nonexistent breeze. The old woman glared at nothingness, an apparition lost in an apparition.
"This dream belongs to a child called Yukiko." Natsume said.
"Indeed."
"Yukiko's grandma passed away."
"Yes."
"That was a long time ago, wasn't it."
It was no question. The baku slowly turned to glance at him.
"I ate this dream many years ago. Back then, the owner of this dream was only a child. But now, the time has come for the dream's owner, just like her grandmother… just like for any of you humans, to pass. This dream is no longer a bad one. It has become something very precious. I need to return it while there still is time."
Natsume remained silent. The woman under the willow kept mumbling sweet words to her beloved Yukiko, even though there was nobody that her words could reach.
"If you so wish it, Reiko's grandson…"
Natsume blinked and glanced at the baku.
"If you so wish, I can give you back a dream you had when you were little, about a man that looked like an older version of yourself. I've eaten that dream dozens of times so it must be really important."
Natsume's breath was caught in his throat. The baku continued.
"I want to thank you for your help, so if you wish, I can give that dream to you, and you can do whatever you want with it. You can relive it every night. You will never have to part with your long-lost loved one again."
He looked down at the water, where his feet from ankle and below were submerged, and wiggled his toes, relishing the sensation of mud on his skin. The baku waited patiently for its answer.
Gradually, a smile found its way on Natsume's face.
"Thank you for the offer, but I cannot accept it. But I do have another favour to ask… Could you keep this dream for me, until I'm older?"
The baku's eyes narrowed. It sighed through a rumbling trunk and its small tail wiped the air.
"If that is your wish, then I shall gladly keep the dream safe for you, Reiko's grandson."
"Thank you."
Its mouth started to open. "I shall take you back to your reality then."
"I also want to thank you for all those times you got rid of bad dreams for me. I didn't know. Please allow me to return your name to show my gratitude."
The advance of the gaping mouth stopped.
"If you are willing to return my name, I ought to repay you with more. How about… That's right. I bet that's why that idiot Madara called me. If any nightmares do visit you, I'll make sure that none reach you at night."
And then he was enveloped by darkness.
.
.
.
"Stupid cat!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Hey! Let go of my ear! What is this treatment I get first thing in the morning?" Nyanko-sensei loudly protested at his ear being yanked.
Natsume shook the fat maneki cat angrily. "You summoned the baku, didn't you? I didn't even know you could do that! And why didn't you ask me first, you lazy bodyguard?"
"You were told that it was me? Sheesh, no sense of discretion at all?"
"You're going to explain all of that, Sensei!"
"Relax you idiot! I just used the remains of Reiko's power which she entrusted me with to summon the dream-eater since you didn't seem eager to do anything about it. I deserve a thank you and four extra bowls of food, to say the least!"
"But now that the baku is going to eat my nightmares, I will never know what became of Reiko-san…"
"Is that what you're worried about?" Nyanko-sensei growled. "Seriously, you're hopeless. What do you think I'm here for? I will tell you all about it when I see fit, you just have to be a little bit patient, it's not much that I'm asking for. Now get down on your knees and apologize to me! I have decided that from now on you owe me at least ten extra bowls for your insolence! I'm going to go live with that Tanuma kid, who doesn't mistreat me like you do! If you bring me ten manjuus as a peace offering, I may consider returning back to-"
"Don't push it, Nyanko-sensei. Or no manjuus for a month." Natsume threatened as he let go of the cat and grabbed his school uniform to dress.
"What? Do you think that will stop me? I'll steal your wallet and go buy them myself!"
"As if they'd ignore the fact that a talking cat would offer some high school student's wallet in exchange for sweets and kindly give them to you." Natsume clumsily buttoned his shirt.
"Ha! Wait and see! I'll shape-shift if I have to! Nothing is keeping me away from those manjuus!"
"Takashi-kun! Breakfast is ready!" Touko-san's voice came from downstairs.
"Coming!" Natsume replied and slid the door open.
"Don't you ignore me!" Nyanko-sensei yelled and trotted along the corridor.
Natsume bent down and with one swift movement lifted the heavy ayakashi up. Nyanko-sensei rested his fluffy round head on the boy's arms, sighing.
"You will give some manjuus to your bodyguard, won't you?"
"There's no helping it anyway, right?" Natsume sighed, rubbing the cat's belly. "I'll buy you some on my way home."
Nyanko-sensei purred intentionally.
Natsume entered the kitchen.
Shigeru-san was reading the morning newspaper, absent-mindedly nibbling on some bread. Touko-san, who had been washing the dishes from the previous night, turned around to greet him with a big smile, having heard the loud hop of the cat that jumped on the floor from Natsume's arms.
"Good morning, Takashi!" Shigeru-san lowered his newspaper.
Nyanko-sensei meowed loudly to make his hunger known.
"Oh, you buttoned your shirt wrong!" Touko-san exclaimed with a playful chuckle.
Natsume felt his cheeks flush red. He looked down, only to confirm that he had skipped one button, which meant that each button was at the wrong place, and half of the shirt hanged lower than the other, quite awkwardly. His fingers went to the buttons, but due to his panic, it was difficult to fix anything.
Touko-san wiped her hands on a nearby towel and approached him. "Here, here, I'll do it."
He felt like the warmth of his cheeks was radiating. Natsume avoided making eye contact as the woman's hands worked to fix the disaster.
Nobody had ever fixed his shirt for him.
Emotionally charged from the wild night, Natsume then did something that he had never even considered a possibility.
He hugged her.
Touko-san's arms met behind his back, having fixed the mess. She smiled.
And then Natsume realized what he had done and felt his knees weaken. Quickly, he moved away from her.
"I hope I get that reaction when I fix your tie for the first time, Takashi." Shigeru-san said with an amused smirk and took a loud sip of coffee, breaking the silence.
With his heart still racing in his chest, from immense happiness at having hugged another person for the first time in forever, and from immense embarrassment at having hugged another person for the first time in forever, Natsume robotically sat down opposite Shigeru-san and tried to calm himself down.
"I've made some food for you as well, hungry kitty," Touko-san announced, placing a bowl of food on the floor. Nyanko-sensei rushed to it and shoved his face into it.
"Shigeru-san, Touko-san…"
They looked at him with curiosity. Natsume breathed out, finally relaxing. He glanced at them with sincere honey-coloured eyes.
They were there for him now. And he would always, if possible, be there for them. The future was scary, but it was just as exciting. He'd gather lots and lots of happy memories, and treasure them all until the end.
"…Thank you."
Hehe, this was a purely 'feels' chapter. I hope you liked it! And of course, there could be no cliffhanger here. Tell me what you thought of it! Was it an ok attempt, or should I just stick to the drama and action? (I mean, it's not much of a drama and action anyway, it's just general, or is it not?)
I thought that Natsume's fear of losing those around him should be explored. After all, he did lose both of his parents and had been through many traumatic experiences ever since. Now that Madoka is on the loose, the threat is greater. And I freaking love writing the relationship between Natsume and Touko-san, she really is like a mother to him! And Shigeru-san will have to show a little bit more of his 'dad' side, I'll hopefully come up with some great ideas later on... Oh, and that scene of abuse was there because, well, it is very likely that Natsume had to go through that, don't you think? It was mentioned that he had been around some sake-smelling people in an episode, I think...
Also, next chapter will feature the scary thriller movie night at Nishimura's house, so that's two chapters in a row where the plot doesn't really progress, but I'll pick it up soon, don't worry!
Oh, and a quick note, which is going to sound very morbid; If this fanfic isn't updated for a year, then you have my permission to take it and use it and write it and whatever else you want to do with it, because I will either be dead or just have given up on it. Hopefully, none of the two will happen. I'm just putting this here to ensure that you guys get a continuation no matter what! And I'm definitely not planning to give up on this fanfic! A radical change would be needed, like my home getting destroyed by a fire, or whatever. Though, to be honest, even if my house were to burn down, I wouldn't be affected that much...
Anyhow, thank you for your reviews and support! Always a source of motivation and joy!
Till next time!
