Quality Time

The dim bus lights flickered gently overhead as Luna leaned her cheek against the cool glass of the window, her reflection faint in the half-lit cabin. The roads were nearly empty, the world still steeped in blue-gray hush. A few early commuters dozed or stared blankly at their phones. Luna simply breathed in the quiet, letting her thoughts drift.

Then her phone buzzed, cutting through the silence with the familiar tone she'd set just for him.

Dad Calling...

She blinked, then smiled as she answered, "Morning, Dad."

Emmerich's voice came through in a tone laced with worry and sharpness. "Where are you? You didn't call. You didn't come home for dinner. Do you know what time it is?"

Luna laughed softly, her voice still hoarse from the hours spent talking. "Almost dawn?"

"Exactly. Almost dawn." Emmerich huffed. "You said you'd be out late, not vanish into the void. I was this close to tracking your phone's location."

"Aw, you were worried about me?" Luna teased, then relented. "Sorry, I lost track of time. We visited Kana's sister, then went on a little food run... then snacks happened, then a whole vending machine adventure with a doctor happened—long story. Anyway, I'm almost home now."

Emmerich sighed again, this time softer, almost fond. "Fine. But you owe me breakfast. I already told the kitchen. They'll have the garden room prepped."

"Deal," Luna grinned. "And I'll even let you rant while I sip coffee dramatically."

"Great, I'll do that," Emmerich answered.

Luna laughed again. "Better prepare myself to be scolded, then."

They exchanged quiet goodbyes, and as the call ended, the bus pulled to the last stop near the base of the hill where the estate road began.

Back at the station, Kana stood with her arms crossed, watching the bus disappear down the road.

"You're such a weirdo," she muttered to herself. "Taking the bus at dawn just to 'ground yourself'?"

Earlier, she'd offered to drop Luna off at the manor—again—but Luna had shaken her head with a sleepy grin.

"Too many fast rides lately," Luna had said. "I just wanna feel small again. Slow. A little grounded. Buses are good for that."

Kana had scoffed, of course. "You could've just lain down on the grass for that. Riding a public bus at dawn in designer sneakers is peak madness."

Luna had only winked. "Then call me delightfully unhinged."

As the bus rumbled to a gentle stop, Luna stood and adjusted her hoodie. The manor gates were just a short walk away now. The mist still curled around the streets like lazy ghosts, and the sky was beginning to blush with the earliest streaks of pink.

Her fingers curled around the phone again, thumb hovering over the home screen where a string of unread messages blinked quietly. She didn't open them yet.

Instead, she whispered to herself, "Time to face breakfast with my very dramatic dad."

And with that, she began her walk up the hill—her steps light, her heart strangely calm, and the sunrise blooming at her back.

After a breakfast filled with warm croissants, creamy scrambled eggs, and her father's fatherly scolding, Luna finally escaped to her room.

"I'll let it slide once," Emmerich had said while buttering toast with calculated menace, "but if you miss dinner again, I will personally install a tracker on your phone."

Luna, still half-asleep and nursing her third cup of coffee, had mumbled, "Sounds invasive, but sure, knock yourself out."

That only made Emmerich stare harder. "Seriously, Luna. Please avoid giving this dad of yours a scare of a lifetime."

Luna laughs once again, "I'll try, Dad, but no promises." 

Emmerich gave Luna a half-smile. 

After breakfast, Luna flopped face-down on her bed and promptly passed out.

Hours Later...

The golden rays seeping through her curtains and the insistent purring of Milo on her back woke her again. Luna groaned and shifted.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," she grumbled, scratching Milo's chin before dragging herself out of bed. Her phone read 1:42 PM.

"UGH!"

Luna got up and hype herself up to try doing something new today so...

"Viral karaoke song...Hmm...It's worth checking out since I got nothing else to do."

Still in her oversized shirt and sleep shorts, a toast in her mouth, she trudged toward the private study room in the estate's grand library. The polished floors felt cold beneath her bare feet, and the stillness of the house offered a strange serenity.

Inside the glass-paneled study room, her personal setup awaited—a powerful tower PC with triple curved monitors, premium noise-canceling headphones, a studio mic, full DAW software already installed, and a glowing keyboard that felt like a command center for a galactic fleet.

Luna sank into the leather chair and cracked her knuckles.

"I guess it's time to see if I've still got it," she murmured to herself.

She then spent several hours recording and editing

She spent the next four hours completely absorbed.

She recorded two covers—one indie ballad, one dreamy folk-pop song—layering harmonies, fine-tuning pitch, mixing instrumentals. Then, on a whim, she even recorded an original song she wrote years ago but never had the tools to properly produce.

Satisfied with the results, she created a new anonymous account on the same video and audio-sharing platform that was blowing up with the clip of her karaoke performance.

She uploaded the new songs under the name "Velvet Echo." No photo. No bio. Just:

"An echo in the noise. Nothing more."

Then she finally dared to look up the viral clip.

Her heart skipped.

3.8 million views.

Dozens of reaction videos. Cover attempts. Conspiracy threads. Even audio analysts debating if the voice was modulated or naturally androgynous. One post even claimed she had to be a trained professional. Another swore they heard her before in a campaign ad—someone claimed it might be AI generated.

Luna blinked. "…What?"

She refreshed. 3.9 million. More comments.

She sat back, stunned, letting it sink in.

Then, ever the realist, she mumbled, "Still a fluke until the next ones get more than fifty plays."

But part of her, a hidden, shy, proud part, smiled.

__________________________________________________________

The sweet, mellow aroma of baked scones and espresso mingled in the air as Luna settled into her mid-afternoon rhythm at the café. Flour dusted her apron, and she hummed under her breath while carefully arranging pastries on a tiered stand. Milo had taken up residence on the sunny windowsill, tail flicking contentedly as customers lounged among the purring feline staff.

The bell above the door jingled softly as a new customer entered—a laid-back college student with headphones around his neck and a tote bag full of textbooks. He ordered a hot chocolate with oat milk and a lemon tart, then made himself comfortable by the corner seat where a cluster of cats lazily curled.

A few minutes later, his phone started playing softly.

And the sound made Luna freeze.

It was her voice.

Velvet Echo. Her cover of the indie ballad. The one she recorded two days ago.

The student casually tapped his phone and said to no one in particular, "This voice is insane. Like… how can someone sing like that and still be anonymous?" He glanced over to Ken at the counter. "You ever heard of Velvet Echo? Just dropped this yesterday. Total chills."

As if in approval, a clowder of cats—Mikan, Baozi, Pancake, and even the grumpy Tanuki—flocked to his table, purring and circling around his feet.

"Whoa," the customer blinked. "Am I… chosen?"

Ken, ever the cat-whisperer, looked up with mild surprise. "Huh. Even Tanuki? That's rare."

Meanwhile, Luna had subtly turned away, trying to look busy reorganizing sugar packets. But Leroy, seated nearby wiping a tabletop, didn't miss her stiffened shoulders or the way her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her apron.

At the counter, Ken narrowed his eyes.

"Oi, what ruffled your feathers?" he asked under his breath.

Luna straightened, turned around, and flashed a weirdly cheerful grin. "What? Nothing. I'm fine. Baking duty. Flour. Yeast. Trauma."

Ken leaned closer. "You okay?"

"I'm always okay," Luna said with that same suspiciously cheerful tone.

"Well, even if you're not, you're still on baking duty," Kenji said with an absolutely unbothered shrug.

Luna glared at him. "I hope you get pelted by flour spirits."

"That's oddly specific," Ken grinned. "You wanna take five? Sit out back, breathe? You look like you might combust."

She hesitated. The song continued to play. The customer tapped the replay button. The cats purred louder.

Leroy raised an eyebrow at her again from the side.

"…Maybe I'll take that break," Luna muttered.

"Thought so," Ken winked. "Don't forget your hairnet when you come back. You're on croissant shaping next."

"I'm going to hide your rice crackers," Luna shot back, pulling off her apron with faux malice.

As she walked out toward the staff door, Leroy's gaze followed her. But he said nothing.

He didn't need to.

His eyes said plenty.