“Welcome, he who holds the Spirit Stone.”
Justin was not much older than his father was when he set out on his first adventure. After a small walk around the Sult Ruins, he was ready to travel to the New Continent and become a fully-fledged adventurer. There he met a young woman named Feena, and soon fell in love. After travelling to the mystical floating continent of Alent, they befriended the woman Liete, and the three, along with a young man from Cafu, they defeated the evil known as Gaia.
A few years later, he returns to his hometown of Parm with Feena, and their three children. His cousin, Sue, came to greet them, and he was stunned by how much she’d grown.
“Sue? Is that really you?” he stammered, as his children swarmed around her. “Of course it is, silly, don’t you recognize me?” Sue really had grown a lot, she was a young woman now, and seemed much braver for it. Her childish cuteness was gone, totally replaced with a sense of feminine charm, and even Puffy seemed to have grown. “Puff-Puff!” He called as he flew in circles around Justin’s head.
“Hey you guys, don’t forget about me!” Feena called from the port, and ran over. Sue was surprised to see that, despite the three children, Feena had retained her youthful figure, and her face was as beautiful as ever. “Can’t you three keep calm for ten seconds?” Feena said, not a trace of anger in her voice. “Come on, give Auntie Sue a break!” Sue stepped backwards. “Auntie? I’m an Aunt? Since when?” The adults laughed.
“We decided to name then Jake, Gadwin and Reisha.” Feena said as she followed Justin and Sue through the town. “Gadwin was so kind, his name just popped into our heads. Where is it from here?” Justin looked a little confused. “Oh, honestly! Left turn here!” Sue laughed, and Justin blushed a little. “It’s been a long time, don’t forget! We’ve been adventuring, and building a house and I don’t have enough brain space to remember all this!”
“Here we are, the Seagull Restaurant!” Sue said grandly. Justin gasped. It had gotten so much bigger! His mother must have had it extended, it now seemed at least twice as large, and was bustling with customers. The front wall was replaced with glass, and Lilly turned around from the table closest to the glass and gasped. Dropping her notepad, she apologised to the customers and ran outside. “Justin! You’ve grown so much! How are you? And this is the lovely Feena that Sue has been telling me so much about! And these must be your children, to think I’m a grandmother, this is all too much, well come in, come in, before the wind blows and our faces stay like this! Come on!”
Lilly lead them inside. “Now, if you head upstairs, the restaurant closes in ten minutes, make yourself at home Feena, it’s no trouble… No, no I insist…” Lilly ushered them upstairs and they sat down at the dining room table. “For both of you, seeing as Justin hasn’t been here for a long time, the room to your left is the new living room, and upstairs has changed as well. There’s now three bedrooms, one for Lilly, Justin’s room has been given a double-bed since news came that you got married, and my room.” Justin looked confusedly at her. “Your room? You live here now?” Sue nodded, sadly. “My foster-parents couldn’t afford to keep me anymore, so Aunt Lilly let me live with her. I’ve been helping out with the restaurant and all, so it’s not like I’m a freeloader.”
A few minutes later, signalled by “Thank you for eating at the Seagull, we hope to see you again soon!”, Lilly entered the room. She was carrying a large pot of stew, and set it down on the table. Sue grabbed seven plates and sets of cutlery from the drawer as Lilly ran downstairs and re-entered with a basket of bread. “Don’t stand on ceremony, everyone dig in!” Feena placed three napkins on her children’s laps as Lilly served the stew. “If you make a mess, any of you three, I’ll do to you what Justin did to Pakon!” The children all laughed and began eating their stew, though they did so very carefully. Justin laughed, Sue giggled and Lilly looked at her grandchildren thoughtfully. “Jake?” She said casually. Jake looked up. “Did your mommy ever tell you how much you look like daddy?” Jake smiled, a little bit of stew dribbling down his chin, and nodded. Lilly laughed. He was the very picture of Justin in his youth.
“So, Justin, whatever happened to your father’s Stone?” Lilly asked. Justin looked at Feena thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the Spirit Stone since we defeated Gaia…?” Feena shook her head. “I don’t remember either. The Spirits probably have it now.” Sue looked down at her plate sadly. “Shame. I always wanted a Spirit Stone necklace…”
Justin helped his mother set up a sofa-bed for Jake, Gadwin and Reisha. He and Feena tucked them in, kissing them on the forehead. They then undressed and went to bed themselves. Holding Feena as she fell asleep, Justin thought back. “My life is perfect… and it’s all thanks to you, Spirit Stone…”
