"I am hungry," was the first thing Esther said as she trudged into the room. Shikera who had closed the door and was about asking Esther what was wrong, kept her mouth shut and turned to Ethan with a blaming stare.

"What did I do?" he asked with an innocent expression."You were the one who started the game."

"What game? How could you not remember as a father that your daughter did not eat dinner yet?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Right back at you, Kera. How could you not remember that your daughter did not eat dinner yet...as a mother?"

The room fell silent as Shikera failed to find an adequate response to Ethan’s words. As a mother...No matter how many times she heard it, not minding if she gave birth to Esther or not, the word always made her heart fill with warmth. Probably because she never got to spend time with hers, she wanted to feel the connection that her own mother felt with her, that made her do what she did. All because of a sickly daughter.

"Mum?"

Shikera jolted out of her reverie when she heard Esther’s soft call. Simultaneously, she and Ethan chorused together, "I am sorry."

They were both facing Esther and she turned from one to the other, determining the sincerity in their voices before nodding.

"I understand. Maybe daddy was scared of the monster in the kitchen yesterday night and that is why he didn’t cook," she stated.

"Monster in the kitchen?" Shikera asked cautiously, while the corner of Ethan’s lips twitched funnily as he tried to withhold a chuckle.

"Yes, I went downstairs last night thinking you two were already waiting for me but the kitchen door was locked. And I could hear strange sounds from inside..."

"Ah...that’s true, Esther. Daddy will get breakfast ready for you now so let’s go prepare ourselves. We should not be late to school," Shikera interrupted her. Who knew if Esther would start describing the kind of sounds she heard?

She walked towards Esther and placed her hand on her small shoulders, before leading her out of the room.

An hour passed and Shikera, Ruthlyn, and Esther found themselves standing in front of an ancient castle like building with the high placard, ’NewDun Elites Elementary School.’

Ruth walked up to Shikera’s side, surveying the school’s surroundings with her eyes, for any anomalies.

"How does it feel to be at your Alma mater? I heard you guys attended NewDun all through," she asked.

"I can’t remember so I am not even sure what to feel," Shikera answered, chuckling slightly so Ruthlyn would not feel there was much to what she said.

The trio walked up the paved pathway from their car, up to the large doors of the school hall, as Esther directed them. They weaved among the throng of parents heading in the same direction with their child or children in hand, and Shikera smiled at the evident joy expressed on the faces of the kids.

"Will Esther not feel sad that her father is not here?" Ruthlyn commented, causing Shikera to look around. As she had guessed, all the children around them had both of their parents standing or walking with them.

She looked down at Esther but didn’t find anything wrong with the girl’s face, except for the proud wide grin on her face. But she still had to ask anyway.

"Esther, how do you feel about your father’s absence? And why didn’t you tell us that both of us are required?" she asked gently, watching as Esther’s eyes glimmered before she talked.

"It’s alright. It is better than being the only one here without any of you? I’m already lucky to get one person to be my mother so why fret over a father?"

Shikera could not find a answer to the girl’s question, and she did not know why she felt like something was very wrong with Esther’s reply.

Shrugging, she turned to Ruthlyn and nodded.

"Let’s go in," she whispered.

Prancing excitedly beside Shikera and Ruth, Esther ran into the hall. How she wished this day would never end?

But Esther’s wish didn’t come true as the night came earlier than expected, to meet Shikera sitting with Ruthlyn at the villa at the back.

The moon was sitting majestically in the sky, casting its light down on the dark lake and dense woods. Shikera had left Esther with Ethan before coming to see Ruthlyn, so she was prepared to stay as long as she needed to prepare Ruth for the social interview she would be having the next week.

"I think the very first thing I will need to learn is how to smile, so I won’t spoil the very first airing of Elovien for you. You said it has to be interactive, right?"

"Yeah, it has to be. And that means you have to smile and joke, no matter how serious the discussion will get. Also, I think we might be giving chance to the viewers to call and some might want to speak to the guest," Shikera outlined, explaining how the program would go to Ruthlyn who was listening attentively.

"How many hours or minutes do I have to do that for?"

"An hour and a half. They are giving us so much time, but we must be able to capture the attention of our audience all through that time," Shikera answered.

"I don’t think that should be a difficult thing for you to do..."

They discussed late into the night, and once in a while they would assume the post of host and guest and practice for a while before correcting their mistakes.

Half an hour before midnight, Ruthlyn stood up from her bed, yawning loudly as she trudged towards her door.

"I will go downstairs and get coffee, you want juice?" she asked.

"Water."

"I’ll be back in a jiffy," she whispered, walking out of the door. She retrieved the cup of coffee and water from the kitchen and came back up to her room, pushing open the door with her leg.

"Don’t you think water would be too bland..." Ruthlyn started asking when her eyes caught the person she was talking to, lying with eyes closed on the bed.

"Shikera?" she called, hurriedly dropping the cups on the table and rushing over to the bed.

She checked Shikera’s pulse and her heartbeat, making sure they were normal before finally sighing in relief.

"How did she fall asleep so quickly though..."

Her phone rang from the table where it was lying, and she stood up to pick it up.

"Sir?"