Juson took only a few steps toward the house before stopping beside the car once more. His eyes drifted back to the roof. The image refused to disappear from his mind. It was no longer simply dust. He knew exactly what it had been. He forced himself to look away before quietly entering the house without announcing his presence. Near the entrance rested an old broom beside an empty dustbin. He picked them up carefully, making as little noise as possible, then slipped outside again. He had not brushed his teeth. He had not eaten breakfast. Neither mattered anymore.
Every ordinary routine had become insignificant beside the memory of the maid dissolving into countless particles before his eyes. He placed the dustbin beside the car and began sweeping every remaining trace from the roof, windows, bonnet and doors with painstaking care. The broom moved slowly at first before gaining rhythm, scraping away every grain he could find. He had no real plan for what he intended to do after collecting them. Instinct alone guided his hands. By the time he finished, every particle rested inside the new dustbin, and the vehicle looked as though nothing unusual had ever happened.
Holding the dustbin tightly, Juson slipped back inside before Yokina could notice him. He headed directly toward the basement, descending the narrow wooden staircase with slow, measured steps. The deeper he went, the colder the air became. A peculiar stillness waited below, not the ordinary silence of an unused storage room but something heavier, as though even sound hesitated to exist there.
Reaching the basement door, he unlocked it with cautious fingers. The metallic click echoed far louder than it should have. He slowly slid the door aside and peered into the darkness. Nothing appeared unusual. The worktable remained where it had always been, shelves stood empty along the walls, and every familiar object occupied its usual place. Yet the room felt strangely lifeless, almost as though it were waiting.
Before he could gather another thought, Yokina's voice floated faintly from upstairs, calling him for breakfast. Thinking quickly, he carried the dustbin inside and placed it beside the table without lingering a second longer. He shut the basement door immediately, climbed back upstairs and called out that he was in the bathroom before stepping into the small washroom located beside the basement entrance.
Upstairs, Yokina remained completely unaware of what had just taken place beneath her feet. She sat beside Herik in the kitchen, patiently feeding him spoonful after spoonful of warm porridge. The little boy accepted each bite quietly, his expression calm and strangely thoughtful for someone his age. Morning sunlight streamed through the open kitchen window, carrying with it a cool breeze that caused the curtains to sway gently across the floor. After several moments Yokina stood up to close the window before the food became cold. She pulled the frame down and secured the latch, but as she turned back toward the table, something lying beneath the window caught her attention.
A kitchen knife rested on the floor where it certainly should not have been. Frowning slightly, she bent down and picked it up. The blade carried a thin coating of dull grey powder that resembled the earliest stages of rust. Assuming it had simply gathered corrosion, she absentmindedly rubbed the surface with her thumb until the powder came away. "Mamma... food," Herik called from behind her with quiet impatience.
Smiling faintly, Yokina placed the knife back in its proper place before returning to him. Without realising it, she reached for the spoon again before washing her hands. Only halfway through feeding him did she notice the grey residue still clinging faintly to her fingertips. She rubbed both hands together briskly until it disappeared, then resumed feeding Herik without another thought.
Meanwhile, Juson stood before the bathroom sink brushing his teeth, though his thoughts remained entirely elsewhere. Every movement felt automatic. He barely noticed the taste of the toothpaste or the reflection staring back from the mirror. His mind kept returning to the basement, the dust, and the impossible events of the previous evening.
After several absent-minded strokes, he removed the toothbrush and reached for the tap. The instant his fingers touched the metal handle, they encountered something unexpectedly rough. He paused and lowered his gaze. Fine grey particles rested around the tap, settled so naturally that anyone else would have dismissed them as ordinary household dust.
Juson stared at them in silence. The sight sent an uncomfortable chill through him, yet he quickly forced himself to believe there had to be a simple explanation. Perhaps Yokina had touched the tap after cleaning the kitchen. Perhaps the residue had come from somewhere completely ordinary. Refusing to let his imagination run further, he rinsed the toothbrush thoroughly, washed his face, dried it with the towel beside the sink and stepped back into the hallway.
"Breakfast's ready," Yokina called from the kitchen as soon as she noticed him leaving the bathroom. Juson nodded quietly and entered the room without saying much. His plate still waited where she had left it. He sat down in his usual chair while Herik remained seated opposite him, his small hands folded neatly in front of him as though patiently observing everything around him. Yokina smiled warmly. "You know," she said, "he brushed his teeth himself today." Juson's hand froze halfway toward the bread. Slowly his eyes lifted to Herik's face, then drifted down toward the boy's hands before returning once again to his expression.
Herik simply looked back at him without speaking. In that silent exchange, Juson's thoughts returned immediately to the glowing particles inside the car, the painful scream, the unconscious body in his arms and the strange light that had burned within Herik's eyes afterwards.
Something had undeniably changed. It was not visible enough for Yokina to notice, nor obvious enough to explain aloud, yet Juson could feel it every time he looked at his son. Without responding, he lowered his gaze and quietly continued eating. The silence remained unbroken until he finally finished breakfast.
Pushing back his chair, Juson stood up and reached for his car keys. "I have to leave for school," he announced. Yokina looked at him in mild surprise. "It's still early." Juson paused only briefly before replying with practiced ease. "There's an event today. I'm in charge of it." The lie slipped from his mouth almost naturally. Yokina accepted the explanation without suspicion.
After saying goodbye to both of them, Juson stepped outside once more. He stopped beside the car and opened the trunk. Hidden inside remained the bundle of clothes he had secretly collected from the kitchen before Yokina noticed anything unusual. Resting beside them lay the old wooden bat exactly where he had abandoned it after returning home. He stared at both objects for several seconds before quietly shutting the trunk.
Unlocking the driver's door, he hesitated once again, turning his head toward the house. From the outside it appeared perfectly ordinary, peaceful beneath the bright morning sky. Yet the illusion no longer comforted him. Entering the vehicle, he slowly reversed out of the driveway and stopped briefly beyond the gate. Instead of turning toward the school, however, another destination settled firmly inside his mind. The police investigation had already begun.
If any connection between his family and the maid surfaced, their lives would become trapped within questions no truthful answer could ever satisfy. With that thought weighing heavily upon him, Juson turned the steering wheel away from the road leading to school and drove toward the riverside instead, carrying the hidden bundle inside his trunk and a decision that had already been made long before he reached the intersection.