Richard opened his eyes slowly, as he gradually became awake and more conscious, his head lying sideways on the pillow. He took his time to enjoy the chirping birds and the intruding sunlight. Judging by the light level, Richard came to the conclusion it probably was early noon. He shifted in his sheets enjoying the feel of the comfortable fabric, and impulsively turned on his back to stare at the ceiling and commit the peculiar nightmare to memory. Details were slipping off already, but Richard was intensively processing whatever he could remember. As it turned out, that mostly boiled down to the fog, the city, the school and the silhouette with the mysterious voice that had decided to haunt him for some inexplicable reason.

He elevated his torso and sat on the bed to better collect his thoughts. Truth be told, he was feeling far better than yesterday and despite the fact that he had no incentive to leave bed yet, he thought it to be wiser of him to get up and not abuse his uncle's hospitality. He inelegantly removed the sheets that were covering him and stood up swiftly (if a bit abruptly), his feet causing the wooden floor to audibly complain under his weight. Richard however had spent most of his childhood in rooms with similar floors and had grown quite accustomed to the particular sound.

He gave the room a thorough look, seeing as he hadn't managed to do so yesterday. The bed was adjacent to a wall behind him, occupying fully one of the room's corners. In front of him, there was an empty wooden bookcase and to the left, an elegant wooden desk, the 2 furniture's flattering each other via their similar color and texture. The particular wooden desk also had direct access to a window, showering with it with sunlight. Richard thought it was weird that, in all those years, most of his desks had him face a window, but had come to enjoy it or at least tolerate it by now. Finally, he noticed a bedside table that was half a meter away from the bed's end, crowned by an old TV which clashed noticeably with the rest of the room. Richard was not one to complain about such a trivial matter, though. He was only a guest.

Bizarrely, Richard couldn't help but feel unusually comfortable in this room, considering that this was his first morning as its occupant. He never enjoyed all those times he was forced to move and call another building "home", and new rooms always took some getting used to. The same would be true for this one as well, although it was cozier than most. He unexpectedly felt a bittersweet nostalgia overwhelm him and he came to the conclusion that the room somehow reminded him of his childhood. He could easily recall playing with blocks or being read a story in similar rooms when he was way younger. Richard wasn't particularly fond of the fact that he was nostalgic for his early childhood. To him, it felt like a weakness. And yet, he immensely enjoyed all those times when objects or circumstances had caused this unique feeling to resurface within him.

He stood there for a while, lost in thought and memory when he finally decided to it was time to head downstairs. He moved with apparent reluctance; it was probably late and he would inevitably make a not-so-great first impression. Nevertheless, he decided it would be more respectful to just go downstairs and say hi, instead of being woken up by the family at a later hour.

He opened his room's door slowly, hearing confusing, faint voices as he descended the staircase. He paused and gave a listen, before coming to the conclusion that it was in fact television. Continuing rather timidly, he finally came into uncle Leonard's view, who was seated by the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee or tea, newspaper in hand.

"Richard!" he greeted lively, "To be honest, I was contemplating waking you up earlier today but I decided against it. Figured you'd need to rest. Did you sleep well?"

Richard awkwardly scratched the back of his neck brainstorming an appropriate answer.

"Yeah, I slept very well actually… thanks for asking!"

"Glad to hear that! Coffee or tea?"

"Umm, tea would be nice…!"

"Coming right up!"

Richard got seated and took his time to inspect the house in greater detail. The staircase he had descended led to a large hallway that led to the door with direct access to the kitchen and living room, which were only separated by a mere bench with a marble cover. Moving his gaze over to the living room, Richard found a thoroughly captivated Lisa-Marie watching television on the couch.

At that moment Richard inadvertely recalled an important detail; uncle Leonard's wife had passed away about a year ago. He wondered how exactly it had affected the rest of the family at the time and how it had shaped the family as to be what he was now seeing. He discreetly began scanning the house for evidence or "clues" that pointed to the woman's prior existence in this house. When his short effort was met with failure, all sorts of ideas started running through his mind.

Why was there nothing indicating the fact that another person used to live here? Richard had never lost a loved one and didn't consider most movies to be a realistic portrayal of reality, thus he could only speculate as to how someone would deal with loss a day or a year later after the fateful event. He eyed uncle Leonard, who was preparing tea for him at the moment, lost in thought; could this man have forcefully erased all proof of this woman existing? Was it some sort of under-the-rug truth of the household? Was it for the sake of his mental well-being? Or was it for the sake of his young daughter who couldn't hope to comprehend the complexities of reality? Richard gazed down at the table with an intense grimace disfiguring his features; he knew nothing about the circumstances and had absolutely no right to judge.

"Andddd… here's your tea…!" said uncle Leonard, placing a smoking hot cup in front of his nephew.

Richard played around with the submerged spoon a bit, stirring the contents of the cup and watched as uncle Leonard proceeded to sit down and read the rest of his newspaper. His curiosity got the better of him, and Richard attempted to discreetly read the title of the article that had captured his uncle's focus. It was similar to the ones he had read at the train station that had to do with the emergent gang conflicts during the last months, and thus Richard was reminded of several questions he wanted to make; what is it like to be a police officer, and why had uncle Leonard refused employment at the gas station for him? He played with words in his head trying to arrange said questions as properly as possible, but was distracted by a most catching melody suddenly emerging from the TV, and Lisa-Marie's cries of excitement.

"…come visit Junes electronics department store for top-notch devices in…"

At this point, Richard could see uncle Leonard audibly re-adjust his newspaper with apparent irritation.

"Everyday is great at your Junes!" chanted the TV and Lisa-Marie in unison.

"Dad!" Lisa-Marie addressed her father, "when are we going to Junes? I wanna go to Junes!"

Uncle Leonard ran his hand through his hair, omitting to look at his young Daughter, "Lisa please! One day doesn't go by that I do not hear about that blasted Junes place! What's so great about it anyway?"

"Dad, Junes is awesome!" replied Lisa-Marie, emphasizing the last word, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

Uncle Leonard, noticing Richard's expression of interest and wonder, elaborated: "Junes is a department store downtown that Lisa can't get enough of… I swear that thing must be enchanted or something…"

Richard instinctively turned to face Lisa-Marie as if to receive confirmation, encountering her wildly-grinning face.

"Besides" uncle Leonard continued, "today we'll be going to the fair and you'll get the chance to show Richard your favorite games, provided he can come of course. Much better than Junes, am I right?"

Lisa-Marie, faced with what probably was a difficult question, pouted and refrained from answering, indulging herself in further channel browsing.

"So Richard… me and Lisa were planning to go to a fair in the suburbs this afternoon. Nothing particularly crazy but it's a nice change of pace. What do you think?"

Richard took a sip from his tea; it still was a bit too hot for his taste.

"Sure!" he said.

"Great! It's hours ahead in time so we'll have all the time in the world. By the way…" uncle Leonard continued in a sharply questioning tone, "I presume school begins in a couple of days as does Lisa's, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right…!"

"So is there anything you need in regards to school gear? I'm asking primarily because I was thinking of shopping for Lisa anyway…"

Richard never was particularly a fan of any conversation (especially with an adult) steered towards school. He always felt like was being secretly evaluated as a student in such conversations and although he was quite good, he could definitely be better. Richard had a knack for assimilating the subject at class easily but completely lacked any sort of drive to spend time at home in order to revisit a school subject. Long story short, he wanted to be done with this conversation as soon as possible.

"Eh, actually I've brought with me everything I needed…"

"Alright, good good…!"uncle Leonard was lost in thought for a moment, before going on with the association, "if you need anything don't be shy to ask, alright?"

"Sure, uhm…" said Richard, brainstorming ways to change the topic into what he wanted to ask since yesterday.

"So about the crime rates… what's going on?" asked Richard with apparent curiosity.

Uncle Leonard put his hands on his cheekbones, his elbows on the table supporting his head, his face disfigured by an intense frown. After what was no longer than a second however, he relaxed and took a sip from his cup, reminding Richard to do the same.

"It all started a few months ago. The FBI was on the trail of a successful drug dealer who was aiming to turn Jump City into his new great market. When we caught wind of someone new on the streets, we started devising a plan to get him…"

At that moment, uncle Leonard took yet another sip from his cup and gazed aimlessly at the TV with a blank look on his face. It took him a couple of moments to gather his thoughts and continue.

"As usual, the FBI had their own plans and methods, leading to an ugly conflict between them and us. What already was a difficult situation, seeing as the man was no newbie and knew how to slip past law enforcement, became even harder by both sides being completely unprofessional. We were both correct, in a way. It was our issue since it was our city, but also their issue since the man had committed crimes across states…"

The narration had Richard at the edge of his seat, absorbing uncle Leonard's words. Not only did he think the subject was very interesting, but also appreciated the fact that his uncle was willing to reveal information to him that he probably had no business knowing.

"So Richard, to answer your initial question," continued uncle Leonard, "the gang conflicts began at around the time we were busy with this drug dealer person. Obviously we had far bigger fish to fry, so we paid little attention to a couple of minor wrongdoers here and there. Unfortunately however, the lack of response from our part must have given away the message that whatever they were doing was ok. This led to a frantic escalation up until a week ago when a young man, around your age no less, died from knife wounds. There are a couple more important details which I'm afraid that I can't share with you; at least not now. Anything else?"

Richard utilized the momentum he had already gained from his previous question, and taking a sip from his tea (which was cold and distasteful by now) inquired:

"Ehm, uncle, why did you refuse the gas station employment for me? Does it have to do with those gang conflicts?"

Uncle Leonard smiled as he decided to lay down his arguments.

"Well, for one it's quite far away from home, at least for someone like you who doesn't have a car. The area also lacks access to the subway. Secondly, gas station workers tend to work at late hours and are frequently on their own, and thus are susceptible targets for anyone who wants to approach a person solo. If you ever get work around here you should be able to easily get home, either by foot or the subway or –"

As uncle Leonard was about to elaborate a bit more on his arguments, his phone started ringing, making him comically fumble as he tried to reach for it.

"Who could it be? Damn it…"

Richard relaxed, pressing his back against the chair. Out of curiosity, he shot a quick glance towards were Lisa-Marie was sitting, and was taken aback; she was staring at her father who now was roaming around the house talking to his phone, almost angrily. Richard quickly shifted his gaze on his half-empty cup of tea, somewhat troubled and in thought.

When Lisa-Marie noticed her father return back to the table, phone nowhere in sight, she asked:

"Dad, will we go to the fair?"

"Yeah," said uncle Leonard, running his hand through his hair in mild frustration, "we will."

…

It was 30 minutes into the ride to the fair when uncle Leonard announced they were close. Not that Richard minded; he was far too preoccupied enjoying the view and the late afternoon breeze. The radio was playing old rock and blues tunes with uncle Leonard commenting all songs that he could remember something about. Richard and Lisa-Marie settled to mostly listening with the former recalling childhood memories of trying to play his handheld Video Boy in the passenger seat, relying on the street lights to see into the barely illuminated screen of the handheld.

When the car entered a gravel-covered road, its feel and sound were significantly different than that of the asphalt. Richard assumed it signified that they were almost there now and indeed, it wasn't long before uncle Leonard dramatically announced that they had reached their destination. His statement was confirmed by lights here and there, a mass of people occupying space and moving about as well as a plethora of parked cars.

"Alright…" said uncle Leonard (mostly to himself than anyone else) as he was parking his massive, black S.U.V, "let's put it… right… here…"

Richard and uncle Leonard got out of the car followed by Lisa-Marie who was quick to adorably decree that they would be playing bumper cars first.

"Not a chance, princess!" interjected uncle Leonard, cancelling out her royal command, "We're getting cotton candy first!"

And so they did. After grabbing one cotton candy stick each, they wandered around going from stand to stand, checking out the less known fair games and the low price merchandise.

Unfortunately, what originally was a quite jovially mood was quickly darkened when uncle Leonard's phone rang, putting a target shooting game at hold. He cursed under his breath in frustration, with Lisa-Marie adopting a much somber look, unfitting for a child her age. Richard speculated that sadly, she was blaming her father for this. She was too young to fully understand the complex situation, and expecting her to do so would be unfair on her.

"Grayson here… ok… yeah… just give me a minute…" uncle Leonard removed the phone from his ear and addressed his nephew:

"Richard, could you please take her round the fair? It won't be long before I'm done with this…" he produced an awkward smile and jogged towards the edge of the fair, phone on ear.

Richard dreaded to look at Lisa. When he finally did, he found her staring at the ground before her with an unreadable expression. Although it didn't make things any better, he did have an idea of how she felt; for he too had been refused his parents by such circumstances when he was younger.

"Hey Lisa… dad's gonna be back soon… what do you say we go to play bumper cars…?"

"I-I don't wanna… I wanna go home…"

Richard's poker face was hiding the fact that he was at an utter loss in regards to how to handle the situation. He frantically looked around, his brain overheating itself in effort, when his gaze fell upon what probably was his best shot.

"Well, I don't know about you Lisa, but I feel like having my future revealed…"

Lisa did not respond, but showed no resistance to Richard leading her to the fortune teller. The woman was wearing a red bandana around her head, complementing her distinct features remarkably well; long, wavy, black hair, a big but still elegant nose and a couple of wrinkles here and there. The woman appeared as if she was in her late 40's. Richard thought that, at the very least she had gotten the look right; she definetely gave the impression she was magical.

As they approached the woman's workplace, she smiled politely at the prospect of the two of them (as Richard theorized at that moment anyway) being customers.

"Hello there young ones," she said with a captivatingly deep but still feminine voice, "I assume you have been attracted to my table because you want to peek into your futures?"

"That's right!" said Richard.

"Hmmm… very well… but you must make a promise first…" replied the mysterious woman.

"Wha-what sort of promise…?" asked Richard, thoroughly surprised. Lisa on the other hand, had by now completely forgotten that she was pouting, her attention solely focused on the promisingly intriguing lady.

"You must agree to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions, boy…"

…

When uncle Leonard had finally found his nephew and daughter after taking care of the urgent phone call, he was relieved to find them side by side, happily eating candy.

"Hey guys! The deal's been taken care of," he announced with a smile, "what did you guys end up doing?"

"Dad! A magical lady told Richard his future!"

"Wha…! Really now? What did she say Richard? Are you getting rich anytime soon?"

"We won't tell you!" said Lisa sticking her tongue out, "if you hadn't left you would have heard!" she finished with a grin.

"Oh damn… now I really was I could have been there with you guys…" uncle Leonard pretended to be heartbroken, while winking at Richard. "So, did you guys visit the bumper cars, or…"

And with such words, the family parted to enjoy the rest of the day. Lisa however, was momentarily left behind when she spotted a beautiful, blue butterfly flying around. It was only for a moment though, her father's commanding voice urging her to quickly to join the rest of the family.