Made by Zach Zaphiere

Date	:	July 1st, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

★★★

Occhiolism
"The awareness of how limited our senses as well as our perspectives are, by which we couldn't draw any complete conclusions about everything we want to know in this complex world."

★★★

Sere stared out through the window of her family's car parked across from the pizza restaurant. The chicken fingers restaurant her father initially wanted to go to take away some dinner was closed, so... Pizza it is. The girl stays in the car, staring at the hustle and bustle of London with a restless heart. This place should have been her first home, the typical old brown buildings should have been her most comfortable scenery, and the muggles passing with various thoughts and respective directions should have made her feel welcomed. But today she realized that this place was no longer her most comfortable place. Is it fine to feel this way? Is it okay if I feel uncomfortable here and want to run fast back to Hogwarts? It hasn't even been a day since I leave the castle.

Sere's father got back into the car with two boxes of pizza that he placed on the backseat. The Rolls-Royce ran through the city, towards her house, which she didn't want to go to right now, at all.

Throughout the way to the pizza restaurant there was no conversation between Ashton and Sere, now that they had finished ordering pizza, the atmosphere is still the same. It's just that the tempting aroma of pizza made Sere bite her lip. A long day's journey had made her so hungry and the girl felt a pretty huge potential for her stomach to break the silence. Hold on, hold on just for a moment! Please get along with me in this situation, lovely stomach!

Growl---

Sere closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as her prediction came true. Holy crap! The corner of her eyes met her father's as they glanced at each other for a few moments until Ashton finally opened his mouth, "Pepperoni or Cheese Burst?"

Sere cleared her throat, "Pepperoni."

Just then, Ashton pulled the car over, right next to a mini park, and grabbed one of the two pizza boxes from the backseat, telling Sere to take a slice of Pepperoni Pizza. Ashton himself grabbed one after her, and the two took a bite of their own pizza.

The atmosphere was no longer quiet when Ashton opened his mouth, "The satchel... Does it work properly?" Ashton stared at the Enchanted Satchel on Sere's lap. Typical of realistic Ashton: rather than asking if her daughter liked her gift, he would rather ask if the thing he gave her was actually useful. Sere nodded briefly, "Thank you." The girl cleared her throat, trying her luck one more time, "Who did you get this satchel from, Dad?"

"The parents of the student that your mother and I met on that Magical Platform. They bought the Enchanted Satchel from the... wizarding village? If I'm not mistaken, the name is similar to hedgehog."

Sere glanced at her father, "Hogsmeade."

"That's it." Ashton seemed to be provoked and added, "Their kid is your peer that noticed you at school. The parents give me every single news of you, regularly. Thank God, because not even a single message or letter, from you, has come to me this whole year." Ashton lowered her voice, "I can't believe I allowed you to go to that school. Looked at how you communicate with us. It must be your new friends gave you this mannerism. What a bad influence."

Sere just kept quiet and chewed her pizza, not giving any response, choosing to observe children half her age who were playing in the playground not far from where the car was parked. Usually when she saw something like that, her heart felt jealous, but now Sere feels nothing. Those children must have never swam in a giant casserole dish or been flying on a broom. Sere's little smile appeared as she remembered the beautiful magical things in her first year.

But the smile didn't last long as her father said, "You can enter the new private school starting form the next school year.”

★★★

"What do you mean by that new private school?"

Sere stepped into the house, following Ashton who was already in the kitchen to put the pizza boxes on the dining table. "Your mother and I have registered you to a new private school in the city. You know, it's not easy to find a school that willingly accept a new student without a complete educational background. There's no way I'm going to mention that you went to a magic school for a year, right? No one would believe in such a nonsense."

Sere gritted her teeth, "Who gave you the approval to transfer me to a new school?"

Ashton turned to look at his daughter, "Hogwarts is not a safe place for you, Sere. I even reflexively made sure that your limbs were still intact down to your fingers at the moment I saw you earlier. Hearing about all the activities you did in that wizarding school, and how you could lose your knuckles at any time, I feel that you are better off here, close to us. A good school is a school that can provide their students the safest and most comfortable place, and Hogwarts is not one of those good schools."

"You know absolutely nothing about Hogwarts." Sere clenched her fists, her eyes darkened, her emotions could no longer be contained. She shouted. "Who are you to judge the safety of Hogwarts?! That school is my first home! That school is my most comfortable place, my safest place right now!"

Ashton really couldn't believe what had changed his daughter, making her over-glorifying Hogwarts and everything in it. This world is so vast and his daughter's mindset seemed to be on the other side of the world. Such a complex one, too complex for Ashton to understand. "We just wanted to get closer to you after hearing about all your dangerous activities this whole year, Sere! There will be the same new excitements in this new school too!"

"BUT HOGWARTS IS DIFFERENT!"

The sound of glass shattering was heard as the glasses in the hanging cabinet suddenly shattered and the shards spread all over the kitchen. Sere Nade didn't even realize that her own emotions could be that dangerous until this happened.

"What is going on here?"

A voice from the front door startled them. Sere immediately ran towards the woman who owned the voice and hugged her tightly, "Grandma!" She burst into tears. All these feelings are too much for a twelve-years-old girl to bear.

The woman who was currently hugging her granddaughter back was Diana Kim, Ashton's mother and his only remaining parent left. She calmed Sere down and guard the girl to come in to her bedroom. Her sight were directed on Ashton as if to say, 'We're going to talk about this.'

★★★

The day had turned into night. Diana decided to accompany and listen to Sere's stories during Hogwarts until the twelve-years-old girl got her late-afternoon nap before going back downstairs and talking to her son. Knowing her son's stubborn nature very well, Diana tried not to judge Ashton and chose to also listen the fifty-years-old man's point of view carefully.

"You know, Sere looks... happy." Diana said when Ashton finished telling his point of view, "I understand your point of view as a parent who wants a complete security for your daughter. But, have you ever listened to her stories about what she experienced at that magic school?" Diana smiled softly, "Everything seems so extraordinary for her. Something that she never felt before."

Ashton chuckled, "I also initially felt that she would get that happiness, that's why Hana and I decided to give her a chance. But, Mother... We hardly know anything about her. She sent us no letters, no conversations in almost a whole year. Moreover, the parents of---"

Diana chuckled, "You both love your daughter very much, huh? You both always want to protect her from everything, even cotton that has no potential to hurt her." The woman in her mid-seventies continued, "If you're worried about her, how about asking her to be more careful instead of taking action that you -and only you- think is the most correct?"

Ashton shook his head, "That very young kid doesn't know what kind of dangers could befall her."

Diana raised her eyebrows, "And that very young kid should be told what kind of dangers could befall her." Diana's hand reached out to pat her son's shoulder, "Sere is a smart daughter. She even got perfect scores for six out of eight unfamiliar magical subjects at her present school. Did she tell you about that?" Again, Ashton shook his head, "What you should do is entrust your worries to her, so she can take care of herself. Tell her that you love her so much. You don't want her to get hurt. It will take some times, but your daughter will eventually understand. Sere is different. She is special."

Right after saying that, the sound of busy footsteps was heard from upstairs. Ashton and Diana immediately ran up because they believed that the sound came from Sere's room.

When Ashton opened the door, Sere Nade seemed to be tidying up a lot of things, stuffing everything into her suitcase and satchel. Without bothering to see who was at the door, Sere said, "I'm going back to Hogwarts. Right now." Her eyes were still full of tears, her face was wet, and her hair was limp.

Diana rushed to hug her granddaughter and calm her down, "Hey, Darling. Calm down." Diana held both of Sere's hands, "You're coming with me to my house, okay?" The puffy eyes stared at Diana uncertainly and the grandmother assured her with, "I will make you your favorite roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. Tell me more about your Hogwarts life and I'll take you back to the station when the time comes. Sounds interesting?"

The British-Korean girl nodded quickly, "Thank you." Diana, still hugging her granddaughter, turned to Ashton and said, "There's too much glass shards shattered all around the kitchen. This place could hurt her, physically. She is coming home with me tonight. Call some helpers to clean it up tomorrow. Now help me to bring the suitcase downstairs." Diana led Sere to step downstairs and directed her granddaughter to get into her car first. Diana's driver was already waiting there.

★★★

Ashton put Sere's suitcase right in the car's trunk. Diana was now in front of him, patting her son's arm, "She's safe with me. You have to calm yourself down as well." She took a deep breath before continuing her words, "You are a good father and Hana is a good mother. I believe you both are good parents." Diana followed Sere, got into her car, and the four-wheeler took both of them away from the house. Sere left her father, and didn't even get anytime to meet her mother.

"I was too angry earlier, Grandma." Sere hugged her grandmother. Diana didn't deny it, "Right, and you're also too tired. Get some rest, Darling. We'll talk about everything when you feel better.”