In the outside world.Almost 400 kilometers away from where Ulmer’s home used to be, Ulmer’s clone just arrived at his uncle’s house.It was Sunday, so everyone was at home. A twenty-year-old girl was washing the car with a crying face because her dad was forcing her to do it, as she was getting more and more lazy lately. Ulmer recognized her. She was Ruth, the girl with an extra canine tooth, as far as Ulmer remembered her.She saw Ulmer coming, but then completely ignored him and continued washing the car.“How are you doing, Ruth?” he asked her, carrying two bags on his shoulders. He even put on a simple smile for her.“Why are you here?” she said, without even looking at him. “We all thought you ran away from home after that incident. You didn’t even tell us when you came here the last time. Daddy is really angry at you for not even telling him.”“He and my dad hate each other, though,” Ulmer said.“But they’re still brothers!” Ruth snapped at him. “He would have at least seen him
Ulmer’s clone entered the house, and the first person he saw was Jamie, his uncle who was reading a newspaper.Jamie looked somewhat similar to Ulmer’s dad, except that Jamie was shorter and had slant shoulders. Seeing Ulmer, Jamie froze for a second.Ulmer also stopped in his tracks. Both of them kept staring at one another for a little while.Jamie put the newspaper down and got up from the couch. “Where were you all these days, Ulmer? I’ve been visiting the police station every week, but they said the same thing. They couldn’t find you. The last time they found you on CCTV was at a seashore, so we’ve all thought you…committed suicide.”“I went out on some work,” Ulmer replied, “Uncle.”“Work? What work?” Jamie came closer. “You grew taller from the last time I saw you. You also look more manly and handsome.”Ulmer somewhat smiled. “I brought sweets.”Jamie took the bags from him and took Ulmer along to the couch. He made Ulmer sit next to him. “It’s really unfortunate what happened
“So what if he's my nephew or my own son if he’s utterly useless?” Ivy hastily retorted, with an even louder voice. She had to prove a point there that she would always be the loudest person in the house. “You don’t raise a cow that doesn’t give you any milk. Even dogs protect the house from thieves. But what can this guy do?”It angered Mollie very much that Ivy compared Ulmer with cows and dogs. “I’m sure he’ll eat less and work more than a pig like you ever can.”The entire house fell silent. Even Jamie’s eyes widened in a bit of shock.“W-What did you just say?” Ivy couldn’t process it quickly because Mollie had been living like a dead snake ever since she heard that her eldest son Wilson died. On top of that, Mollie was also under the belief that Ulmer also died because he had come to visit her once, and then even the police couldn’t find his whereabouts. Everyone made her believe that Ulmer died as well.However, now that Ulmer was back, Mollie found her voice again.“Are your e
After talking in a jovial manner with Ulmer, Mollie slowly shifted to asking the important questions.“What exactly happened? Were you there when it happened? Was that the reason you ran away?”She thought he had seen something horrifying like the dead bodies of his parents and sisters buried under the building blocks, covered in dirt. She couldn’t even imagine how heartbreaking that could have been for Ulmer.“You came to see me after that,” Mollie’s eyes were teary as she grabbed Ulmer’s both hands. “Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to bear it? Or did you think that Jamie and others were gonna quarrel about you staying here in this house?”Ulmer didn’t say anything.“Jamie asked the police what could have caused the accident,” Mollie said. “They are saying that the two cylinders in the house exploded, and then the fridge also exploded due to a short circuit. I still don’t get how a short circuit can destroy the entire house, including the pillars. Does that m
When Ruth entered the room with two plates filled with food, Ulmer and Mollie were playing snake and ladder together.She suddenly remembered her younger years when she played the same game with her grandmother.“Grandma, I brought the food,” Ruth said.Ulmer looked a little confused. “Why the two plates?”“Obviously, the other one is for you,” Ruth replied, not even calling him a brother. “Honestly, if it was up to my dad, he would starve you and bring some sense into you. He does that to me. I hate cleaning the house, so he not only made me clean the house but also the car. I vomited at the thought of washing dishes, but he made me not only wash the dishes but also clean the toilet. He’s a very strict and smart dad. He always has the excuse that he wants to raise me with principles that would make a proper housewife. You know why? Because I’m average at studies. So, he’s long decided that becoming a housewife is the best thing for me to do. If he thinks that way about me, then how w
Ulmer didn’t want to eat food made by Ivy. The bread wasn’t made by her, but it was still bought by her, so he didn’t feel like eating it.“Don’t let your hatred dominate you,” Mollie told him. “You might dislike them, but they are still family.”“Will they ever truly consider me part of their family?” Ulmer wondered.Mollie paused for a moment and said, “I’ll be frank since you managed to get a job. It’s always better to work on your own two feet instead of relying on others, even if it’s your own family members. Parents are the only people we could trust in my time, but nowadays, parents can’t be trusted, either. They are not leaving anything for their kids and are also using their kids and trying to keep them under control for as long as possible. The times have changed. It’s not wise to rely on others anymore.” She put the plate aside and put her hand on his shoulder. “Work hard at your job, and pray to God that he gives you a wonderful wife. A good woman will stick with you till
Jamie and Ivy were in the verandah, eating together in a relaxed manner while roasting their daughter for doing a half-assed job with washing the car.“Ben learned how to do it when he was four. He changed a tire when he was eight or nine,” Ivy was proudly talking about her one and only son whom she doted on a lot. “And look at you. Why are there still lines on the windows? You didn’t wash it with water in the end, did you? You are quite lazy, Ruth.”“Mom, brother can do a lot of things. I admit that,” Ruth quickly retorted. “But he can’t do some of the things that I can do. For instance, if I call my friends, they will come in hordes, but if my brother calls, I doubt even street dogs would come.”Ivy’s eyes reddened a bit, but she couldn’t quite refuse her daughter’s words. “That’s because he’s an introvert. He doesn’t talk much. He minds his own business, so he doesn’t have many friends. But you, on the other hand, steal money from my purse and your dad’s purse and go out with your
“Please let him use your bathroom.”They were not the words Ivy was expecting, but she reacted before anyone else did. “HUH? What do you mean by that?”The young man and the old man both were a bit surprised by her reaction.“We were passing by,” the young man still tried to explain it as quickly as he could. “My dad’s stomach started hurting. I think the chicken he ate is the case. We didn’t have time to go to our home as it is far. We don’t know this place well enough to look for a public restroom, so we stopped our car as fast as we could. And we ended up at your house. Please, let him use your bathroom. He won’t take along.”“I understand your issue,” Ivy casually replied. “But the bathroom is a personal thing to the house, where only the people of the house go in and come out. It’s not meant for outsiders.”The young man was a bit baffled by her response. He briefly glanced at the old man who was still frowning and clutching his abdomen. So, he had to ask again, but this time, he