The little girl puffed her cheeks cutely.
"We were about to leave you dummy."
Duncan chuckled.
"Oh come on Lillian. I know you would never betray your poor brother."
Lillian scoffed.
"Just you wait and see dummy, just you wait and see."
Frank sighed as walked towards Agnes and whispered into her ear.
"They are at it again."
Duncan and Lillian shouted unison.
"DADDY!"
Agnes smiled as her eyes shifted between Lillian and Duncan who was standing not far away from her.
"We are blessed to have two angels in our house."
Duncan and Lillian shouted together.
"MOMMY!"
Frank kissed Agnes' cheek.
"We are also blessed to have such a loving mother and wife."
Lillian immediately shielded her eyes with her hands.
"Gross! What do always tell you? Get a room!"
Duncan sighed.
"They are at it again."
Lillian added in disdain.
"Playing love-doves."
There was a stretch of silence and then everyone in the living room busted into laughter.
Duncan shook his head.
"We should probably get going if we don't want to be late."
Frank nodded and led the way to the house's door while everyone followed.
As the family of four stepped through the door, smiles of joy were planted on their faces.
Their house was decent in appearance with a steep roofline and brown painted bricks on its outside.
It was a single story house that was built along the street.
The family of four could barely be considered a middle class family, in fact in some cases they were no different from lower class family.
The night had descended over the city, gas lamps placed on posts along the roadway acted as a source of light in the darkness.
Its streets were filled with a lively atmosphere.
The air was filled with faint fog and the grounded was covered in mud.
The street was crowded filled with pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages and street vendors.
Agnes continued to carry Luna in her arms as she engaged with her in a conversation.
Behind them, the father and son duo walked side by side.
Frank lightly patted Duncan's shoulder."Hey buddy.
"Duncan turned to face his father.
"Yes?"
Frank looked into Duncan's gray eyes.
"Do you have any dreams or goals for your future? Because you have been unusually silent on the topic unlike your sister who literally always chants into our ears about how she will be a famous singer when she grows up."
Duncan chuckled.
"Lillian's talent for being a singer is quite promising."
Frank grinned.
"It sure is, answer the question Duncan."
Duncan sighed and said plainly.
"I got no dreams, no goals or anything like that."
Frank shifted his gaze towards the mother and daughter duo.
"Duncan, most people think that what differentiates us from a corpse is the fact that we breathe but I argue with that reasoning."
He then smiled.
"I believe that the thing that draws a line between us and the dead is our ability dream, to dream of a better tomorrow even if chances are may never see it, the ability to strive for a goal even if chances are you may never reach it. That, my son is what makes us truly alive, truly worthy of calling ourselves the living."
Frank turned to look at Duncan.
"You may wonder, why dream of something you may never see? Why strive for a goal you may never reach? Well buddy, just as how a burning torch can be passed down to the next person, dreams can also be passed down, goals can be inherited."
A swam of emotions flashed across Frank's eyes.
Was it fear?
Was it sadness?
Duncan was not sure.
Frank then cupped Duncan's face.
"If you don't have a dream of your own, you are free to choose mine, your mother's or even your sisters. Mind you, if you choose your sister's, you are in for one hell of a competition."
Duncan was at loss of words.
"A-ah, I thin-"
Before Duncan could finish his sentence, the voice of Lillian reached the pair's ears.
"Hey! What is taking you so long? We are almost there!"
Frank smiled at Lillian and then patted Duncan's shoulder.
"No pressure buddy."
Duncan nodded.
"Okay."
The father and son duo increased their pace.
The family of four reached a music hall.
Agnes put Lillian on the ground and looked at Frank.
"This is where we separate?"
Frank nodded.
"Lillian and I will use the backstage entrance for performers and stagehands while you and Duncan will take the main entrance."
Agnes kissed Frank's cheek."See you later then."
Duncan and Lillian hurriedly turned away from the scene.
The two groups waved at each and went separate ways.
The entrance fee per person was 3 Isen cents, so the mother and son pair had to pay 6 Isen cents at the ticket booth.
They had to navigate through corridors and aisles to reach their assigned seats.
While it took awhile, the mother and son duo still managed find there designated seats.
By the time they sat down, the performances were about to start.
Frank who was now wearing a red tail coat, a black waist coat, a white shirt with a black cravat, black trousers, black tall boots and a black top hat.
Frank bowed slightly and then smiled at the audiences.
"You shall wait no more for the Red Garden shall begin its performances."
As the showman, Frank coordinated each performance with a skilled hand and thus giving the audiences a good experience.
The first performances included many things like music, singing and comedy.After about two hours, the show they were waiting for began.
"Greetings ladies and gentlemen, today we are about to witness a performance like no other presented by our infamous little Lillie, star of Ashton city, I bring to you, Lillian Clement."
Agnes whispered to Duncan.
"He makes me want to dig a hole and hide."
Duncan whispered back.
"The feeling is mutual, mom."
With a blush on her face Lillian walked onto the stage.
She was wearing a white gown, white gloves and a matching pair of white shoes.Lillian voiced out.
"Greetings ladies and gentlemen, my name is Lillian Clement. I stand before you to sing a song I created with the help of my parents and brother. It is called....Let me."