'Thud!'
'Thud!'
'Thud!'
Little Huan kept striking the wall but apart from the sound of wood being struck, nothing really happened. Annoyed, the little guy went back to their house and some rustling sound could be heard.
After a few minutes, little Huan came out carrying what looked like a steel hammer large enough to let him sit on. Dragging the hammer, he heaved and huffed until he arrived at the wooden wall again.
He bit the corner of his lower lip and positioned himself. Lowering his knees, he exerted strength to lift the hammer. With a grunt, he lifted the heavy hammer and smashed it towards the wooden wall.
'Boom!'
The wooden wall started to show a tiny crack that easily spread from its middle towards the edge. The poor wall collapsed in just a few seconds and little Huan looked at it triumphantly.
The hanging plants remained suspended in the air and when he saw the broken parts stirring, he immediately let go of the hammer and ran towards where the wall had been, underneath the hanging plants. A small ripple is created in the empty space as it engulfed the body of the little child. As his entire body is swallowed in the empty space, the wall has also finished repairing itself and stood tall behind their house again.
Little Huan is greeted by the glare of light as soon as he walked through the empty space. He adjusted his eyes to have a proper look inside.
There is a rectangular room behind the wall of plants and it is quite large, almost as big as their house but there are no other rooms from it save for a washroom situated in one corner where the door is also aligned. On one side is a screen showing a full view of their house outside and the other side is lined with foldable seats and tables.
On the last corner, a big crib is placed. There are some toys hanging over the crib and more toys inside the crib. They looked like live animals in their sleeping posture. Little Huan leaned forward to check the owner of the crib.
Baby Sasha is sleeping soundly amidst her toys. She made faint snores when she changed her position and continued to sleep. Little Huan gazed in adoration at his baby sister before he shuffled towards one side of the room.
The whole room is wrapped in foam and rubbers and his little legs sank in comfort as he walked around. Unable to stay balanced, he jumped and twisted his body in the air then transformed to his hawk form. He flew around the room and spotting some buttons near the ceiling, he choose one to peck on.
Pushing the button allowed a hidden drawer to slide open from one of the walls and he flew down to check its contents. Little Huan landed wearing his diapers but he didn't mind it. Instead, he walked towards the opened drawer. Inside, there are clear glass compartments that houses what looks like different kinds of glowing liquids.
Little Huan took one of the glass compartments and walked towards baby Sasha's crib. On one edge of the crib, a similar type of glass compartment is placed but it's light seemed to be flickering off.
Little Huan took the glass compartment and replaced it with the one he's holding. Immediately, the sleeping animal toys beside baby Sasha opened their eyes and rushed to jump off the crib. Not long after, light flickered from the new glass compartment and enveloped the crib entirely. Few zapping sounds can be heard from within the crib but it did not bother the little boy.
He instead sat beside the crib and crossed his tiny legs while he looked on. About an hour or so had past when the light from the glass compartment started flickering and the light covering the crib started to fade. Little Huan promptly took the glass compartment away and replaced it with a new one. He did this about two more times until the light from the glass compartment no longer covered the crib.
The awoken animal toys looked on as the light disappeared from baby Sasha's crib and showed a fully awake little Sasha. She curiously gazed around with her big, round eyes and stopped to look at little Huan, her big brother. She blinked twice as he stared back at her, unsure whether to smile or approach her.
'Um.'
She opened her mouth and spread her arms. Little Huan moved towards his baby sister to carry her but the toy animals beat him to it and jumped towards the waiting Sasha. She giggled as they licked her face and arms while she patted them with her hands.
Little Huan watched his little sister play with her animated toys, ignoring his presence in the room. Still, he grinned in adoration before he closed the drawer with those glass compartments and took the empty ones with him. He wrapped the empty containers in a cloth he found somewhere in the room, placed it down, then flew in his hawk form through the air and steadily gazed at the door.
Light flickered from the door and as it passes through his eyes, we hear a woman say: 'Access granted!'
The door unlatched itself and gave a small opening to pull into. He flew back to the wrapped containers, landed on his diapers, picked up the containers and walked out of the room. He threw one more glance to his baby sister who continued to pay him no attention before the closed the door.
Outside, he stood in front of the wooden wall with its hanging plants swaying with the wind. The steel hammer still on the ground and the sky a bit dark now. He slung the wrapped containers over his shoulder, picked up the hammer with both hands and dragged it inside.
When he closed the door, he saw that dinner is being served by their mother. His father is already sitting on the other edge of the table and his older brother Zari had already woken up and seated at the dining table. Latini saw him come in and said,
"Oh, you're done. Clean up so we can eat. Tala has just finished her shower."
Little Huan nodded in response and opened a small cabinet to put the steel hammer in. He placed the wrapped containers near the sink and went straight to the bathroom. He quickly finished his shower and stepped out of his room at the same time his sister Tala did. They nodded at each other in acknowledgment then sat down to eat.
When they finished eating, Tala stood up to wash the dishes and Zari stood up to go back to his room, limping. Some bruises can be seen on his face and arms and he badly needed to rest. However, before he can step away from the dining room, their father, Eder, spoke as he looked at little Huan.
"I heard you were asking about Toradashi earlier today little Huan. What would you like to know?" He asked in a mild voice.
Little Huan was shocked at this sudden question and recalling the stories from his mother as well as her reaction, he hesitated. After pondering for awhile, he bit his lips and replied,
"Why did we have to live Toradashi, Baba?"
He clenched his fist as he gathered his courage to ask. Eder fell silent and he just stared at little Huan, making him even more nervous.
'Is there a conspiracy why we had to live Toradashi? Is that why Nana is hesitant to answer? Should I not have asked?' he asked himself but still anticipated to hear the answer from his father.
Eder sighed and gestured at him to come over. Little Huan took careful steps toward his father.
"Huan," he said. "Toradashi is at war right now and I'm not sure how long it will last. I don't want you to grow up in that kind of environment so we have to temporarily leave that place. When the time comes, we will return. By then, our world should be a better place to live in."
He explained solemnly, hoping the little child would understand. Hoping his family would understand. Hoping that they would really be able to return. To Toradashi, their home.