Two months had passed since Terrmomix received the letter but he was still wondering whether to go or not even though he had already said he would.
Today was July 14th, one week left until Terrmomix's birthday and his family already knew since he had told them earlier.
Son, Vexana and Robertita were in the kitchen organizing his surprise birthday party.
-"Now that he isn't listening to us we'll get everything ready. I'll make his cake myself," said Vexana.
Robertita raised her hand.
-"I'll buy him a little present with my own money," her voice was cheerful but quiet so Terrmomix wouldn't hear.
Son gently stroked Robertita's little head.
-"Alright. I'll decorate the house with balloons so the cabin looks more cheerful."
-"Perfect, then everything is ready."
Terrmomix appeared at the kitchen door.
-"What are you three doing here?" he asked without suspecting anything.
The three of them jumped when they heard him but quickly pretended to be doing something else.
-"We were... starting to prepare food," said Vexana quickly, though nervousness could be heard in her voice.
Terrmomix smiled and approached them.
-"Oh, then let me help you."
Son lifted Robertita so she could reach the salt in the cupboard drawers.
-"Of course, the more help the faster we'll finish."
The four of them started preparing the food, laughing and sharing a family moment, the new family Terrmomix had found after a long time.
The next day Terrmomix was getting ready for his date with Vexana, since two days earlier he had promised to go out with her.
He couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror, he was nervous even though they were already a couple. Besides, he wanted to look good for Vexana.
Finally he left wearing a comfortable red t-shirt and black pants. He went to Son and Robertita to say goodbye.
-"Vexana is waiting for you outside, good luck Termi," Robertita tried to encourage him.
-"Thank you Robertita."
Son gently tossed him an apple.
-"Please take care of Vexana, Terrmomix."
He caught the apple.
-"Of course I will. Alright, I'm off now."
He waved goodbye and went out the door where Vexana was waiting for him. Vexana was wearing a white dress, her hair was up and she had her black handbag.
-"You look handsome," said Vexana with a soft, melodious little laugh.
Terrmomix blushed and looked away to the side.
-"You look really pretty too..."
Vexana approached him and without him noticing had taken the apple from his hand. She bit into the apple slowly while nodding her head to signal they should start walking.
-"Let's go."
-"Do you want to go to the movies?" asked Terrmomix as they walked through the city streets.
-"Sure, we can see the new movie that came out yesterday."
The two of them went in to watch the movie, halfway through it Vexana turned to look at him.
-"Hey Termi, what are your plans for the future?"
-"Well, graduate from the academy, marry you and start a family."
Vexana blushed slightly at the thought of starting a family.
-"Family... Children. I like that."
-"Really? We could have one boy and one girl."
-"And we could dress our kids like us," Vexana's voice was full of excitement and joy at the idea.
-"That's a new idea, mini versions of us."
The two of them laughed softly at their idea as the movie continued playing.
When the movie ended they left the theater and walked through the park.
-"Wait for me? I'll go to the bathroom, I won't be long," said Vexana.
Terrmomix nodded his head, sat down on a bench to wait for her.
Vexana walked in the direction of the bathroom but then changed course when Terrmomix could no longer see her.
She went into a jewelry store where she bought two rings, that was Terrmomix's birthday present.
When she came out she put the ring box in her handbag and went back to him.
-"Ready, let's go home."
Terrmomix stood up quickly.
-"Alright. You took a little while, didn't you?"
-"Girl stuff. Don't ask."
The two of them walked back, along the way Vexana took Terrmomix's hand and intertwined her fingers with his.
Terrmomix blushed as red as a tomato, his hand was trembling and sweating a little from nervousness.
Vexana noticed his hand and laughed softly.
-"Are you really still nervous when we hold hands?"
-"Aren't you?" his voice was shaky and he avoided looking at her.
Vexana stopped and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
-"Of course not."
Terrmomix almost passed out right there, he froze so Vexana had to gently pull him towards the cabin.
After a few days Terrmomix's birthday finally arrived.
Terrmomix took his katana and headed for the door.
-"I'm going to get some firewood from the forest, I won't be long."
-"Alright, take care," said Vexana.
When Terrmomix left the three of them started organizing everything for when he returned.
He walked through the forest, even though he didn't know about the surprise he knew they would at least say "happy birthday" to him, even if it was little it would make him happy.
He went deeper into the forest, until he remembered his dad and mom in his mind, how his parents would celebrate his birthdays happily, those moments would never come back.
A single tear escaped from his eyes, he was surprised because he had been so happy lately he couldn't remember the last time he had cried.
He wiped away the tear and put his smile back on. Terrmomix unsheathed his katana and cut through the tree trunk.
-"If I keep going like this I'll have my technique soon, what element could it be?" he wondered to himself.
-"Well, I'll find out later. Now..." he looked at the tree.
-"Mmm..." he brought his katana closer and cut it into smaller logs. "Alright."
He trimmed the logs and started tying them up to carry with him. He stopped and looked up at the sky with a smile.
-"Mom, dad... I know you're watching me from heaven. I miss you but don't worry, I'm happy now and I have people who love me."
A drop of water fell from the sky onto Terrmomix's face.
-"Oh, I think it's going to rain, I should head back now."
Terrmomix walked for a while, as he got closer he saw smoke coming from the cabin, he thought they were cooking something for his birthday but the closer he got the more smoke there was.
Terrmomix's face filled with worry, he dropped the wood on the ground and started running towards the cabin.
He ignored everything around him, his mind only repeated over and over again "No, no please. Don't let it be that."
When he arrived he opened his eyes full of horror and absolute pain, the scene was horrific. His family. The only people he had. His reason for living in this world was in the flames...
The fire burned, the cabin where he had spent beautiful times was gone, the three charred bodies on the ground, the bodies of Son, Vexana and Robertita. Terrmomix didn't cry, didn't shout, didn't move.
The impact was too much for him, his mind was blank, his gaze dull and colorless, he just stood there looking at the fire and the bodies.
The sky clouded over, rain began to fall but it didn't put out the fire, his body no longer responded, it seemed in that moment he had given up.
Raindrops fell down his face, the tips of his hair turned light blue. This was Terrmomix's first obstacle.