Arash had just finished bathing the kids and feeding them when he sank onto his favorite spot, exhausted. He was eagerly waiting for Hana's messages. His eyelids grew heavy as sleepiness assaulted him, but he fought to stay awake. Today he felt more tired than usual: their normally independent eldest had been clingy—she wanted to be spoon-fed too, although she ate fine at kindergarten. It did not help that the little one had been cranky all day. No amount of coaxing made her feel better; she kept throwing tantrums during bathing, feeding, and dressing. It had been a real struggle to put on her diaper. He was glad he had managed to stop himself from giving in to his anger and slapping her. Arash had thought that by now the child would have become accustomed to their mother's absence, but how wrong he had been. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since Hana left. It had started to take a toll on his work performance—he kept making mistake after mistake while drafting several proposals. Thankfully the deadlines were still far off, so he had time to amend them. Arash sighed deeply. He thought she hadn't texted him since yesterday; most likely she had forgotten again or fallen asleep too soon. He hoped she would spend more time with him today. He missed Hana dearly. He had never felt so alone. He had courted her since their school days. Their relationship evolved from arrogant disregard to head-over-heels infatuation, then to deep loyalty and passion. He had worked tirelessly for years to win her. Hana was the sun of his life, brightening it with her fiery passion; he was the rain for her sensitive heart, soothing it when it threatened to combust. Together they complemented each other completely—two pieces of the same whole. He had no friends outside work; she was and remained his best friend. He gladly skipped networking with colleagues over mamak and futsal so he could spend his limited time at home with the love of his life and their mischievous daughters. Like other young parents, their time to indulge in their shared passion for anime and manga dwindled to almost nothing. Arash couldn't even remember the last title he'd watched with her. Occasionally they managed to squeeze in fleeting romantic conversations after the kids were finally asleep. Arash waited, wallowing in memories of his wife's laughter and her excited banter about buying furry plushies. He would text his wife, "How's your day, Ayang?" followed by "I miss you," and an hour later, "Are you alright?" He had left the kids playing in the living room, the coffee table moved aside to avoid accidents. They played and fought, made up and fought again, while he waited absentmindedly with a deep longing in his heart.

Feeling bitter, he opened the Webnovel app and read a few new chapters without focusing on them. Seeing young protagonists overcome challenges in a new world only reminded him of his wife, who was stuck in a strange, unknown forest. He thought, "Where are you, my love? I need you." He felt deeply sorrowful.

His wife was the opposite of those young heroes; he still couldn't grasp how it could happen. If it were not for watching Spirited Away and reading transmigration stories, he wouldn't even have entertained the notion. Nonetheless, as a responsible, grounded person, he refused to be swayed by random, unfounded thoughts that had no proof. He had even rebuked his wife over the issue, which left a bad taste in his mouth.

In recent days he filled his waking hours making tutorial after tutorial that he hoped would help her. It seemed she would stay in that unknown place for some time, since he had no idea where the location on the map she had painstakingly sent was. She even said a bird had drawn the map for her! He doubted the map's reliability but did not bring it up; he didn't want to sour their conversations again. He had passed the map to Hadi without telling his brother-in-law who had drawn the rough map on the dirt floor. As a digital analyst in the police department, his brother-in-law was better placed to trace Hana's whereabouts than her useless husband. Who knows—he might find some important clues. Honestly, his conviction had begun to waver. A snake that can charge. A fox with an antler. A bird that can draw a map. Don't tell me the next thing will be a flying fish, he thought bitterly. Within a week his wife had adopted so many new strays just because they were cute. What world-shaking bombshell would she reveal next? He felt both eager and uneasy. If only he were beside her now. He had never thought his wife delusional or capable of lying to him.

"Papa, Papa, she bit my nose!" the teary-faced girl cried, jumping into his lap and bringing him out of his reverie. Arash gently massaged her nose and chanted, "Painnnn, buang! Painnnn, buang!" He made a throwing motion, as if tossing the pain away, after blowing on her red nose. "There—better now, right?" The little girl nodded; her aggrieved expression eased. The little one cried and rolled from side to side, throwing a tantrum. She was upset because Arash was purposely ignoring her. It was a silent punishment for the naughty little girl, who was always heavy-handed with her big sister.