"Everybody say cheese!" Raegal smiled.
He ran toward his family, laughing as he squeezed into the frame.
Behind them, a beautiful lake stretched out — clean, calm, and still.
"Cheeese!" The family grinned.
Click.
"Why use an old camera, Dad?" Kael asked.
"I just... like it, you know? It was my grandfather's father's — an antique. I love the design." Raegal smiled at his son.
"I like it too," Kael said softly.
"Hey, both of you fools! Come over here!"
A lady called from a distance — dressed in a red dress and a straw hat. Old-fashioned, but she looked radiant.
"Coming!" Kael replied.
Raegal sat down on the bench, gazing at the peaceful lake. Behind it, the mountains rose high — their peaks kissed by clean, white snow.
"You'll have to tell them one day, Raegal," John said quietly, his voice steady but low.
"I... I'll hide it. I'll try," Raegal murmured.
"I just hope you don't.."
"Make the same mistake I did."
John whispered.
Raegal smiled faintly.
"I love my family more than anything, John. I'll do anything for them."
John chuckled. "You know your wife doesn't like me at all."
"Haha," Raegal laughed softly.
"How's your daughter? Heard she's five now?"
"Seven. She's seven."
"Holy—time flies so quickly."
"How are the two siblings?"
"They get along well."
"Ah," Raegal, looking out at the water.
"I just hope this day never ends."
---
The gates open to a new world.
New shape. New directions
New laws.
Same faces, different motives.
...
I'll keep building it, you just wait.
Be paitent.
Because they weren't.