Shrouded Seascape

Oliver smiled as he watched his wife and daughter talking nearby. Then, he said gently, "Dear, our daughter must be starving from her long journey back home. Go and make lunch for us; let's eat together."

Olivia nodded and wiped her tears away before rushing toward the kitchen.

As soon as his wife was out of sight, Oliver could no longer contain his longing. He sat down next to Lily and opened his trembling arms. "Mom's gone now, so come here, Sweetie. Let Daddy give you a hug."

Lily smiled sweetly and threw herself into Oliver's arms. The next moment, Lily felt her father's arms wrap around her like two big pythons. "Daddy, that's too strong of a squeeze!"

Oliver hurriedly let go of Lily. He took a moment to compose himself, and a smile rose unbidden to his lips as he stared at Lily before him. "Our little honeybun has grown so big..."

"Yeah!" Lily jumped and spun joyfully in front of her father. "I'm all grown up now, Daddy!"

"Haha, you think you're grown up? I don't think so. You still seem like a child to me."

"You meanie, I'm not a child anymore!"

Oliver wanted to spend more time with his newly returned daughter, but as her father, he had to know the details of her experience.

"Lily, what exactly happened back then? Why did you suddenly disappear from that ship? Were you swept overboard? And what happened to you afterward?"

Lily's face revealed a trace of reminiscence as she gazed at the television in the distance. "So many things happened… I don't even know where to begin."

"It's okay; Daddy's not in a hurry. Take your time, and tell me when you're ready," Oliver said. Lily showed no external injuries, but Oliver remained worried about her. No matter what, he had to ensure that he'd receive an answer.

Lily stayed quiet for a long time before she eventually told her father a story—it was a story straight out of adventure books, and it featured Lily as well as her companions.

Lily refrained from telling her father about the deaths of her companions or any hardships in the middle of the story, and she also changed the names of the Narwhale's crew. She also altered the setting of their adventure to the distant Western Seas—a place her parents had never visited in their life.

Lying was wrong, and Lily was aware of that. However, if her parents were to become aware of what she had been through, they'd become heartbroken and more worried about her.

Doctor Oliver struggled to make sense of his daughter's bizarre story. He tried his best to understand it, but he truly couldn't make heads or tails of it. If Lily weren't the one sitting before him, he'd treat the story as a bunch of nonsense.

While Lily was telling her story, many different delicious dishes and fresh fruits were laid out on the dining table. A bowl of milky white fish soup was even placed before Lily.

"Let's eat first. These are all your favorites. You must be craving them after being away for so long," Olivia said, looking at her daughter with heartache.

Lily froze upon seeing the fish soup. She carefully picked up a silver spoon, scooped up some soup, and put it in her mouth.

Then, she closed her eyes, savoring the distinct flavor that she had only been able to taste in her dreams until now. A few seconds later, she looked up and grinned sweetly. "Mom's sweet fish soup is still so delicious."

"If you like it, eat more. I made all these dishes for you," Olivia hurriedly moved the bowl of fish soup closer to Lily.

Lily's heart became filled with warmth as she stared at her parents, whose eyes were on her. She had been dreaming of this scene many times before, and finally, it was no longer just a dream.

Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside.

All three people inside the house turned to look at the door.

A little girl, looking to be about six or seven years old, was standing at the door with a backpack. She looked a bit like Lily, and she sounded childish as she immediately grumbled, "Daddy, why did you not come and pick me up today?"

Lily was taken aback.

Oliver noticed that, and he stood up immediately to pick up the little girl. Then, he brought her over to the table and said, "Lily, I forgot to tell you, but you have a sister."

Clearly, there were some differences between the two planes. In the other world, Lily had a younger brother, but here, she had a younger sister.

The two girls—one big and one small—stared blankly at each other. Eventually, Lily shattered the ice, asking, "Hello, my name is Lily. It's nice to meet you. I'm your big sister."

The little girl shrank fearfully into her father's arms. Lily was nothing more than a stranger to her, after all, but beneath the encouraging eyes of her father, she eventually muttered, "Hello, Lily."

The entire family smiled at each other upon hearing that.

The meal went on, and a joyful mood hung in the air above the dining room as the family laughed and talked to each other.

When Lily opened her eyes one morning, she found herself in her mother's embrace. A tinge of helplessness suffused her face. Olivia was too scared that she'd lose Lily again, so she had been staying by Lily's side over the past few days.

Olivia would even follow Lily and chat with her from outside the toilet.

Upon seeing that Olivia was still asleep, Lily closed her eyes and smiled. Then, she reached out to give her mother a tight hug. "Ah, it feels so good to be home."

Lily had no plans of going back to sleep, and she was also busy thinking about other things. Her wish had finally come true, and now, she needed to think about what kind of person she ought to become.

When she was young, her dream was to become a good doctor like her father and save lives. However, things were different now. In addition, she also had the freedom to choose whatever path she'd take in the future.

And Lily wanted a new life exclusive to her new identity as a human being…

This was supposed to be an easy choice, but Lily's brows furrowed the more she thought about it. It turned out the decision was harder to make than she expected, especially when so many options were available to her.

By the time they had to eat breakfast, she had yet to find a satisfactory answer.

When Olivia saw Lily poking at the beans on her plate with a fork, she instantly realized that something was troubling her daughter, so she decided to ask her about it.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about what I should do next," Lily replied honestly.

"How about helping out at my clinic? I happen to need a nurse. You can learn the trade with me, and you'll eventually become a doctor," Oliver suggested.

"No, I don't want to," Lily said, shaking her head. "I don't want to become a doctor."

"Lily, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. It takes a very long time to become a competent doctor, but it pays off. The income is quite considerable once you start working out there."

Unfortunately for Oliver, the many years that Lily had spent as a mouse had led to her losing any interest money. In other words, attracting her with money was a fool's errand.

Just then, Lily's sister, Celia, who was busy scooping some milk into her spoon, chimed in, "Go to school with me, Lily. Teacher told me that people can only become good members of society by going to school."