The morning came quiet, shy and with a friendly sun, accompanied by the sounds of birds. Ethan and Mia were still in bed with Rose between them, sleeping peacefully, Mia had her hand on her daughter's body while Ethan was leaning over, snoring with his mouth open, totally exhausted from yesterday. Meanwhile, in the garage, Karl was already on his feet, putting on his boots and yawning - he hadn't slept so comfortably in years, even if it was so close to the ground. The room had a nice echo, so he whistled and listened to the sound echo through the walls, returning to his ears. "In the factory, I couldn't even hear my own thoughts, I couldn't hear my own voice," he thought, "I'm starting to like the silence...".
He stood up, going towards the door and exiting the garage carefully so as not to make too much noise, as the door was metal he closed it carefully and went into the hallway, finishing exploring the details of the house - there wasn't much to look at, just things that an ordinary house would have, ordinary objects - then he went to the kitchen, he had never been in one before other than the Dimitrescu's mansion; On the rare occasions he had been there he could get an idea of what a mundane house was like, even if everything was really old and not so easy to find anymore. The couple's kitchen was quite different, with cheerful colors and pastel shades, perfectly organized and clean - everything in the house was extremely clean. He saw a small bag clip and picked it up, holding it with his mouth while he made a bun with his hair, using the object to keep his hair attached; he already managed to solve the problem with the floating hair.
He then went to the door, wanting to sit on the stairs for a while; it was locked. Karl bent down and touched his fingers to the doorknob, listening carefully for the locks to move until they were in the right position; He unlocked it. "Better put a plastic doorknob on the next one, Ethan.", he thought as he laughed softly. The street was incredibly quiet, there was no one around to bother him there, so he simply leaned against the railing and closed his eyes, enjoying the warm breeze hitting his face. Sometimes, when he needed to cry or just let the sadness take over, he would sit on the roof of the factory and look at the view to get away from the sounds and also to remind himself that he was still a person. It was very hard to keep his posture around Miranda because she always reminded him that he was a monster, a hideous creature, a simple slave - he always fought back by making jokes and being an extreme jerk, but it was all to avoid being that way: sad.
- I mean... I have arms and legs... human hands, human eyes... so I am a human, correct? - he talked to himself, looking at his hands. - But Dimitrescu, Beneviento and Moreau had the same things... - Karl sighed, maybe Miranda was right. Maybe he really was a hideous monster.
- Hey, good morning...
A female voice came up behind him, it was Mia.
-Uh... Good morning... Mrs. Winters! - Karl grinned nervously, putting his hands behind his back. - I didn't expect to see you up so early.
-I was going to say the same, what are you doing out here? - She straightened her crocheted coat, ruffling her hair. - I had locked the door, but it doesn't seem to work against you.
Karl felt embarrassed for the first time, his cheeks flushed slightly.
- Yeah, you're going to have to use some other material for that doorknob... I'm not exactly a caged animal, you know.
Mia saw the bag clip in his hair and raised an eyebrow.
- You got this from the kitchen, didn't you? - She asked, pointing to the bun on his head.
- You're quite observant, aren't you? Yes, I took it, my hair doesn't stay in place and I can't keep it loose out here... I couldn't find anything to tie it up with so I took the liberty of taking it, if you don't mind.
- It's okay... just don't go around picking things up like that without saying anything. - Mia warned, leaving the man silent. She then looked at the street and then at him again. - Tell me... about your powers? Ethan had told me but I wanted to understand more.
Karl looked surprised but was glad to see her interest in his abilities.
- Sure, we can go to the garage, I'll show you.
They both went inside, going into the garage in silence, then the woman leaned against the car and watched him analyzing the tools that were on the wall as if he was choosing what to use.
- Well, the woman who was taking care of me, Miranda, taught me how to deal with these powers from a very young age… So I… - He paused - ... used it for many activities, but especially to work for her.
- How does it work? - She listened, extremely interested.
-… - He scratched his beard, never having stopped to think about the process of bringing his thoughts to reality, how responsive his brain was to Cadou. - ... I just... focus my attention on the object and... - He looked at the car, smiling with the corner of his mouth. - ...levitate. - Karl moved both hands slowly and closed his fists, lifting the car Mia was sitting on.
- A-Ah! Hey! - She opened her mouth, startled to feel the car float, and laughed immediately, amazed at the demonstration.
- What's going on here? - Ethan appeared, holding Rose in his arms.
Karl jumped with fright and the car crashed hard to the ground, causing Mia to fall backwards onto the hood - but without injury. The man freaked out, going to check if she was all right.
- I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean to!
Mia just ran a hand over the back of her head, getting up with a giggle. Ethan looked both confused and annoyed.
- Karl, were you trying to wreck my car?
- No! Ethan - He turned around, still nervous - I was just showing her how my powers work, she was curious!
The man just sighed, swinging Rose slowly into his arms and heading for the kitchen. Mia cleared her throat, straightened her coat, and walked past Karl in silence, leaving him alone in the garage thinking about the embarrassment he'd just been through and hoping he hadn't caused any trouble.