The warm sunlight bathed the entire village, painting the sky in beautiful shades of orange. A gentle breeze drifted through the air, bringing peace to every corner of the world.
Altair: "Hey... are you feeling better now, Aeris?"
Lyra: "Yeah. You don't have to repay us for anything, okay? Just keep living... and never give up. That's more than enough to make us happy."
Aeris gently wiped away the tears running down her cheeks.
Aeris: "Thank you, Lyra. I'm really lucky to have met both of you."
She hugged Lyra tightly.
"I promise... one day, I'll make you proud. I'll become the person I've always dreamed of being."
Lyra smiled softly.
Lyra: "I know you will. We believe in you, Aeris."
Aeris turned toward Altair.
Aeris: "And Altair... I'm really okay now. Thank you for worrying about me."
To lighten the emotional atmosphere, Altair suddenly spoke.
Grrrr...
The sound of his stomach growling echoed through the quiet air.
Altair: "Hehe... Is anyone else hungry? Because I'm starving. Let's go eat!"
Lyra: "Seriously? At a moment like this, you're making jokes?"
Aeris let out a quiet laugh.
Altair: "Come on, don't dwell on it too much, okay? We've still got a long journey ahead of us. I just wanted to cheer everyone up a little."
Lyra: "Alright, alright. You're so annoying. Let's go eat."
Altair: "Haha, okay. Come on, Aeris."
Aeris: "Okay."
As Aeris watched Altair and Lyra walking ahead of her, something ignited deep within her heart.
The sight of their backs lit an everlasting flame—a flame of hope and determination that would never burn out.
---
Altair: "So, what should we eat? Oh, right. By the way, Lyra... I sold some of those flowers you said were rare."
Lyra blinked in surprise.
Lyra: "Really? How much did you get?"
Altair showed them the money he had earned.
Aeris and Lyra froze.
"W-What?! Seriously?! That's so much!"
What they didn't know was that over the past one to three months, those flowers had become even rarer, causing their value to rise significantly.
Lyra: "Since we have plenty of money now... how about we treat ourselves to a nice restaurant at the edge of town?"
Aeris: "Hmm... I'm fine with whatever Altair chooses."
Altair: "Sounds good. I've always wanted to try that place."
Lyra: "Then it's settled. Let's go."
The three of them walked toward the restaurant together.
For the first time in what felt like forever, they walked side by side like a real family, ready to enjoy the reward of their hard work with genuine smiles on their faces.