Chapter 3

　　Mom and Dad were the first people who believed in me. They told me that I could do anything with perseverance and self-confidence. I wasn’t confident in myself, especially in school but the two of them gave me the motivation to do so. Now that they’re gone, I don’t know what to feel anymore. I lost my interest in the things that were fun for me before.

　　I stayed inside our new house for a whole week. I read a book but got constantly distracted by the noise of children playing outside. Jay and Felix weren’t home as much as I do. The only time I see both of them was either in the evening or in the early morning before they go to their respective jobs.

　　In one week, I finished four fantasy books and a contemporary book that made me cry. It wasn’t a sad book, but I remembered Mom and Dad when I read it. I miss them so much.

　　When my brothers left for their work, I followed their advice to live my life. The outside world was surprising to me. It felt like I was a bat who stayed inside a cave for a few days. The sun shone above my head and the heat of it kissed my face.

　　I supposed that the children were already at school because I couldn’t find their traces around. We have a few neighbors beside our house. I’ve seen my brothers talking to the old woman who lives in the house a few walks from ours. I bet she’s kind enough to welcome us to our new place.

　　I place my hands inside my pockets and walked around the village. The time was around nine before I left the house and left my phone inside. When I’m walking around our old town, I don’t use my phone unless it's too noisy outside. Then I will play some music or audiobooks.

　　Having a self-help audiobook in the background made me feel inspired. Though sometimes I don't follow their tips and rules. The thing about this new town was that it wasn’t too hot during these hours. Maybe it was the season that I forgot about. It wasn’t that far from our old town that’s why I supposed that they have the same climate.

　　I stopped walking when I heard a woman calling my voice. I looked up behind me and saw the old woman who talked to my brothers the moment I arrived in this place. I strode towards it because our parents never taught us to snob people, especially an old woman.

　　“Are you the daughter of Nora and Jack?” I nodded as she spoke the name of our parents. How did she know about my parents? Were my parents here before?

　　“Do you know my parents? And my brothers?”

　　Her crumpled old face, which I thought she was already in her seventies or nineties, nodded. “Of course, I know them. They lived here before.”

　　Our parents lived in this town before? Why they didn’t tell me about that? Since the day that I can remember, we didn’t move out of our home and never visited this place before.

　　“Have you known my brothers before?”

　　She nodded again. “They were cute little boys back then, but now they’ve grown so much and become handsome like your father. When your parents weren’t around, I was the one who look after them. As far as I remember, you weren’t born when that happened.”

　　Of course, I don’t exist at that moment. If I do, I would’ve remembered it. If we lived here before and we had a home the moment we got here, then the house where we’re living right now was ours? I never heard my brothers talking about rent and such.

　　“How am I supposed to call you? What is your name?” I changed the topic. I don’t want to cry while thinking about my parents. I don’t want my mind to wander around on the details my family didn’t tell me.

　　“I don’t tell my name that easy, young woman. But the people in here, including my grandchildren and children, call me Nana. They said that I am the oldest woman in the town of Dusk and Dawn.”

　　“Right, Nana.” It is boring to talk to an old woman if I cannot share things that only teenagers could understand. She also speaks gradually. My attention span, which is as short as a TikTok couldn’t handle waiting for her response. “I’ll tour around the town again so I could familiarize myself with it.”

　　“Sure, young woman. If you need someone to talk to, don’t be afraid to talk to Nana.” She laughed weirdly and it vibrated my nerves inside. “Also, don’t stay outside before the sun sets.”

　　“Why?”

　　“When the night creeps in, ghosts and monsters come alive.”

　　I’m not afraid of ghosts and monsters. They weren’t real. If there’s a thing that I should be afraid of, it must be a weird old woman who has a creepy laugh. She sounded like a witch with her laugh.

　　I got back inside my house. Instead of staying in my room, I fetch my phone, AirPods, and the current book that I’m reading before I continue to walk around the town. I wish I could find a perfect place to read and hang out alone.

　　What I like about this town was that there were trees everywhere just like what we had back then. The fresh air surrounded me and made me breathe easier. As a nature lover, I tend to enjoy these kinds of places.