8 months later.

Hunter's age: 8 months old

In the Noceda household, the family were in the living room. Hunter was sitting down on one end of a rug while Camila and Manny were crouching on the other.

"Come on Hunter, come on, you can do it." Camila said as she opened her arms. The couple had been trying to get him to walk for the past few days, but weren't successful. Today was another attempt. "Come on, tú puedes hacer lo." She said.

Hunter smiled and squealed in delight. He got on all fours and began to crawl, however, he began to stand upright. Both Camila and Manny began to cheer him on, and soon Hunter was walking towards them. He was about to reach Camila when he tripped on his feet, thankfully she caught him before he could hit the ground. Both parents were happy at Hunter for taking his first milestone in life.

"Bien hecho, pequeñito." Camila said as she cradled Hunter in her arms. Manny smiled. "He's learning so fast."

9 months later

Hunter's age: 1 year and 5 months old

It was night time and Hunter was laying on his bed with his father reading to him another chapter of Cosmic Frontier.

"And so, Chief O'Bailey made the decision to fight alongside the members of the Strigiform tribe against the shape-shifting invaders." Manny read to him the last line in the chapter before closing the book.

"Wow," Hunter said in awe. "Chief O'Bailey is one brave guy."

"He sure is mijo, anyways it's time to sleep." Manny said as he tucked his son in. "Sweet dreams, Hunter." He said.

"Night papá." Hunter said before falling asleep.

Manny left the room, put the book on a shelf and walked back to his bedroom, where his wife was waiting for him on the bed. "Welcome back, did my two boys enjoy the Cosmic Frontier?" Camila said.

"We sure did, Hunter has taken a liking to that book." Manny said as he climbed into bed. He noticed the slight lump on Camila's belly. "That's starting to become more noticeable, Hunter is going to ask about that." He said.

"Well I think it's time we tell him, I've been pregnant for over a month now." She said, putting her hand on her belly. Manny smiled before he coughed. Camila took notice of that. "How's your condition going, did the doctor say anything bad?" She said in concern.

"No, nothing bad so far." He said. Manny noticed the concerned look on her face. "Hey, don't worry. Everything will be alright."

"I know, but what if-" Camila said before he interrupted her.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." He said as he kissed his wife on the cheek. "Let's go to sleep."

8 months later

Hunter's age: 2 years old

"Can I see her papá, can I see her?" Hunter asked excitedly.

Manny smiled. "Sí mijo, vamos." He said as he picked up Hunter and entered the hospital room where Camila was staying. She was on the hospital bed cradling her newborn daughter.

"Hola mamá." Hunter said. Camila looked at her husband and son and smiled. Both of them walked over to her side. "I want to see her please." Hunter said.

"Sure cariño." She said as she revealed the baby to Hunter. The baby girl had tan skin, dark brown hair and brown eyes, but the most prominent feature on her was her thick upper lip. "Hunter, say hello to your baby sister, Luz." Camila said.

"Hola Luz, soy Hunter. I'm your big brother." He said as he waved his hand at her. This caused Luz to smile and laugh, bringing happiness to the two adults.

1 year later

Hunter's age: 3 years old

Luz's age: 1 years old

Everything was dark, Hunter didn't move but he felt that he was running. He heard different voices around him but he couldn't tell who they were. Hunter was becoming frightened but he felt he couldn't scream. Soon the dark void was lit up by a large rectangle emitting a bright light, which began to consume the area around him.

Hunter woke with a scream in his room and shortly afterward, his parents entered his room.

"Mijo, what's wrong?" Manny said in concern.

"I had the dream again papá." Hunter said while trying to hold back tears.

Camila quickly hugged him in order to calm him down. "It's okay, mijo. Everything is alright." she said as Hunter hugged her back. "You want to sleep with us tonight?" she asked.

Hunter, trying to regain his composure, nodded. Camila carried him as all three went to their bedroom, where Luz's crib was also in.

All three got into bed and went to sleep. This wasn't the first time Hunter experienced the nightmare. The first occurrence happened about a year ago and each time it would be the same dream scenario, the dark room, the voices, and the bright light. Camila and Manny didn't know why Hunter would have this nightmare, but fortunately for them it would stop after that night. But neither of them would get an answer on why they happened.

2 years later

Hunter's age: 5 years old

Luz's age: 3 years old

Today was Luz's birthday and everyone was celebrating, despite the odd circumstances. Manny's condition had worsened over time and a few months ago was admitted to the hospital. But this didn't stop Luz from wanting to celebrate her birthday with her father. Camila, Hunter, and Luz entered the room where Manny was in. "Hola papá." Luz said as all three walked into the room.

"Hola mija." Manny said. He had a coughing fit which worried both Hunter and Luz. "I'm okay, don't worry about that. Come here." He said, trying to ease their worries.

Both of them walked to his side. "How's my little Luz doing?" Manny said.

"I'm doing well papá, I'm three years old now." Luz said as she held up three fingers in her hand.

"Wow, my little girl is growing up. I'm sure Hunter is taking good care of you, right?" He said.

"Sí papá, I'm taking good care of her. Don't worry." Hunter said.

"I know you are, mijo." Manny said. "Anyways Luz, I got a present for you." He said as he got out a small wrapped gift and gave it to her. Luz grabbed and proceeded to tear the wrapping off, revealing a book called The Good Witch Azura.

"Wow," she said as she opened up the book and placed it on her head. "A new hat."

Everyone in the room laughed. "No, it's not a hat." Manny chuckled as he took the book off her head. "It's The Good Witch Azura, I figured you wanted a new story to read."

"Would you read it to me?" Luz asked her father.

"Yes mija." He said as Luz sat down on the chair beside the bed, with Hunter standing close to the side.

5 months later

The dreaded day had come for the Noceda family. Camila stood in the hospital room crying, Luz hugged her mother tightly as she cried, Hunter stood there motionless as a loud single beep emitted from the hospital monitor. Manny had lost his fight against his illness and now he was gone. The loud beep Hunter was hearing was replaced with a loud ringing noise as he watched the doctors cover his father in a sheet and wrote down the time of death.

Soon everything hit Hunter at once as he began to cry, his voice being the loudest of the three. Camila quickly hugged Hunter to try and calm him down. He hugged his mother back tightly, out of fear of losing her too. The doctors looked on in sorrow at the three remaining Nocedas.

1 year later

Hunter's age: 6 years old

Luz's age: 4 years old

The Noceda family were visiting Manny's grave with each holding a flower they gave to each other. Hunter was holding a forget-me-not given by Luz, Camila had a daisy given by Hunter, and Luz had a crocus from Camila. All three laid their flowers on his gravestone and held a moment of silence. After some time, the family returned to the car to spend the rest of the day together. The mood was gloomy since they were still adjusting to life without Manny. Luz pulled out her Good Witch Azura book, "Can you read to me Hunter?" She asked.

"Sure sis." He said as he took the book and began to read out loud.

5 years later

Hunter's age: 11 years old

Luz's age: 9 years old

It was a Friday evening and Camila was cooking dinner. Luz was on the living room flower drawing a character from The Good Witch Azura while Hunter sat on the couch playing an online zombie video game on the GameSlave 4.

"Niños, a comer." Camila said as she put food on the table. Luz got up and ran to the kitchen to eat, but Hunter stayed in the living room. "Hunter, pause the game and come here to eat." Camila said to him.

"Mamá, I can't just pause, it's an online game." Hunter protested.

"Hunter, bien a comer." Camila warned.

"Just 5 more minutes." He said.

"Ahora." She said sternly.

Hunter groaned as he turned off the game and went to the kitchen to eat. "So, how's school going for you two?" She asked her children.

"It's fine, I found a snake skin and showed it to my classmates at recess." Luz said.

"Oh, did they find it cool?" Camila asked.

Luz frowned a bit. "No, they ran away." She said,

"Don't be sad, mija. I'm sure you'll make some friends." Camila said, trying to cheer Luz up. "How about you Hunter?"

"Well, I talked to some of my classmates today, we played a game together."

"Oh, at school?" She asked.

"No, online. We played a game of zombies earlier today." Hunter clarified.

"Oh." Camila said with a slightly disappointed tone in her voice. Both of her kids were having trouble making friends. The few times they would, it wouldn't last long. Luz's quirky behavior would push them away while Hunter would rather be alone most of the time. But no matter what, she loved them and hoped that things would improve over time.