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He was a complete stranger with a friendly smile.

He befriended the Smiths quite efficiently and they always welcomed him with open arms. The couple was on good terms with him. The children found him interesting. There really was no need for any suspicion.

Maya burst through the door of the old shack she called home, bearing a tray topped with three cups of tea, cookies, buttered toast and a loaf of cake. Ray immediately got up from the porch stool to assist his wife.

"Sorry for the delay, Dr. Saunders," Maya apologized, handing the tray to her husband and clearing away the makeshift table which was two overturned crates joined together. "The cake took a while to cool down."

Their guest, Sander Saunders, a charismatic man in his late thirties with well-kept hair and a lengthy moustache, shook his head as means to wave off the inconvenience. "I see you have been enhancing your menu, Mrs Smith," he pointed out with a smile as the couple sat down to offer him the tea. "Cakes and cookies are a bright new addition."

Maya smiled in return. "Well, our financial situation got better ever since our weapon sales went up. We thought to upgrade a few things."

"We've even gathered enough for Kai to start school next month," Ray added happily, getting reminded of his son's excitement at finally being able to join school like all his other friends.

"Oh, marvelous!" cheered Dr. Saunders, clapping loudly and eliciting a few chuckles from the blacksmiths. "I should give him my congratulations. Where are the little tykes anyway?"

"They're out playing in the back," Ray answered, nodding his head at the house.

Dr. Saunders raised an eyebrow. "Do you leave your children unsupervised often?"

"Sometimes, when we're a bit too busy and they are not keen on staying put," Maya replied with a giggle as if her childrens' little capers brought her amusement.

Ray nodded along to that, smiling proudly. "Kai keeps us at peace. He does an excellent job of caring for Nya when we aren't around. They can be left alone for hours without any worry."

Dr. Saunders hummed in thought. He stroked his long moustache while a strange gleam accented his eyes. "I wonder how well they'd do when they're left alone. . . forever," he drawled with a grin that looked unmistakably sinister.

Ray's smile dropped at the sudden change in mood and he eyed the man expectantly, waiting for him to reveal what he meant by that statement. He turned to look at his wife and saw her frowning. He could sense her unease.

He shifted his gaze back to their guest. "Excuse me?"

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Tag, you're it!" Kai yelled, sneaking up behind his oblivious, four-year-old sister and tapping her quickly on the shoulder. He didn't wait for Nya to acknowledge what happened. He simply took off running to the other side of the yard.

Kai laughed in merriment as he scrambled to take cover behind boxes of old swords. He poked his head around the corner, waiting for his sister to come bounding towards him. But she was nowhere in sight.

"Nya?" He called out but there was no reply. He waited a few more seconds before grumpily climbing out of his hiding spot. He trudged back to where he last saw his sister and found her gone.

"Hey, where'd you-" he started but broke off when he heard an excited yell.

"Butterfly! Butterfly!"

Kai spun around to see his sister running down the neighborhood lane after a pale yellow butterfly, reaching out her hands in an attempt to catch it. He watched in horror as the milkman, who was riding in from the other direction, lost his balance while trying to keep his bicycle from hitting the runaway child.

Kai cried out at the scene and thundered after Nya, nearly hitting the milkman's bicycle himself. This time, the bike toppled over and the man fell into a bush along with the bottles of milk. Kai couldn't stop to apologise but he did hear the man screaming in rage after him.

"Blast those Smith children! Bane of the whole village!"

"Nya, stop!" Kai yelled but the little girl was too mesmerized by the fluttering insect to hear him. Kai followed her onto the main dirt road that cut through the bustling village of Ignacia. His head spun as he took in the herds of horses, men running around with their fruit carts, older children chasing each other with sticks and every possible danger Nya could come across.

His feet slapped the ground as he hoped for the best and dove into the chaos after his sister. He stumbled into a flock of chickens and tripped, scraping his knee. Groaning, he got up and dusted himself while the birds clucked and scampered away. "Ow," he mumbled, wincing when he spotted little drops of blood on his knee.

Dodging and avoiding obstacles the rest of the way, he finally made it close to Nya. Was she slowing down? No. The butterfly flew over the little stream trickling down adjacent to the village. Nya stopped at the bank, looking up at the insect in despair.

Kai reached her, panting and out of breath. She turned to look at him sadly and pointed at the butterfly. "It flew away! I wanna catch it."

"Are you nuts, Nya?" Kai huffed, grabbing the girl's arm and dragging her back up the road. "Wait till I tell Mom and Dad about this. They'll be so angry."

Nya struggled against her brother's hold. "Nooo!" she whined, pulling Kai back. "Don't tell Mommy and Daddy! Please!"

"Then promise me you won't do that again."

"Pinky promise!"

Kai sighed and smiled at his sister's imploring eyes. He could still feel the sting of the wound as they entered their backyard. He made Nya sit down on the grass and told her he'd be right back.

"Don't go anywhere," he called back at her. He made his way inside the house, searching for his mother in order to obtain a band-aid or any other healing remedy.

"Mom!" He wandered into the kitchen but found it empty. Frowning, he entered his parents' bedroom. No one was there either. "Mom? Dad?" The continuous silence made him suspicious. Not only was the house devoid of his parents' presence but the forge where the weapons were made seemed quiet too. And he confirmed the absence by checking there as well.

"Brother!" he heard Nya call out from outside, sounding frantic.

"What?" He rushed out onto the porch where his sister was. "What is it?" He paused at the threshold of the door, mouth agape. At his feet lay a tray and broken cups with the tea spilling out. Crushed cookies, crumbs of cake and shards of porcelain littered the floor between the displaced box table.

His young mind still not comprehending the situation, Kai stepped over the mess and ran out into the open. He glanced down the lane for any sign of his parents but discovered nothing. "Mom!" He yelled, turning his head this way and that. "Mom! Dad!"

Nya sniffed, her eyes tearing up. "Where are they?"

At the sound of her distress, Kai abandoned his search and shuffled back to her. He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Nya. They probably went out for something in a hurry. They'll be back soon, you'll see."

Nya, forever ready to trust her brother, nodded and let him lead her back inside.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Kai cracked open his eyes and stared groggily at the ceiling. The room was dark which indicated that it was night. He sat up and glanced at his sister who lay asleep beside him on the little bed, hugging her stuffed bunny which their mother had sewn for her. Kai suddenly remembered the afternoon earlier.

Taking care not to wake Nya, he scrambled out of bed. The moon glowed brightly through the open window, darkening the shadows in every corner. It must be late in the night, Kai thought. His parents must be back by now. Unfortunately, upon checking, their room was still empty. And so was the entire house.

"Mom, where are you?" Kai muttered, voice trembling. Panic was setting in and he could feel his legs shaking. With every hopeless call, the hair on his arms rose and the tears in his eyes dripped onto his cheeks. "Mom, Dad, please," he sobbed.

Finally, the fear made him snap. He didn't care if he woke Nya up now. He just wanted his parents back. He began screaming at the top of his lungs.

"MOM! DAD!"

He ran out of the house again, his breathing loud and hysterical. "DAD! MOMMY!"

The rest of his words dissolved into loud cries that tore through the silent night. He could now hear Nya crying inside but he couldn't run to her. His shaking legs gave way under him and he sank to the ground.

Tears cascaded down his face as he mustered up enough strength to let out a single desperate cry for his mother before breaking down entirely.

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