Nathaniel Summers returned home for the first time that night, and Purple Summers had nightmares all night long.
It was less of a nightmare and more of a memory.
She dreamt of her own death, her body soaking at the riverbed, her flesh gradually rotting and turning white.
The feeling was too horrifying and utterly desperate. Her soul wandered without support, helplessly guarding her deceased body, unable to see a glimmer of hope.
When Purple woke up, she found her face drenched with cold sweat.
She gasped slightly, feeling suffocated and irritable, so she simply put on some clothes, got up, and opened the window to let in the fresh air.
Upon looking up, she saw Nathaniel Summers in the distance.
He sat in the desolate garden, dressed in black, with a bag of corn kernels placed on the wooden bench. He took a small handful and fed them one by one to Tiny.
Purple's expression suddenly froze as if chilled by the cold morning air.
Tiny never grew close to strangers.