Chapter 42

Akane initially thought it strange that Caleb's mother wanted to hang out with her. Still, she would have been lying if she said she didn't enjoy her girls' day out with Angelika all the same. She couldn't remember the last time she got treated to shopping and a day spa trip. And Caleb's mom was such a fun and personable woman to hang out with, every bit as charming and charismatic as her man.

As it was, Akane returned to her family home in incredibly high spirits, nails freshly painted, bags in hand. She couldn't wait to send a picture of her new haircut to her boyfriend and tell him all about the fun day she had.

Her excitement was soon replaced with wary curiosity, however, as she slid open the front door and stepped inside. Almost immediately, Akane could tell things were different. For one, it was a fair bit warmer in her house than she was used to. What's more, all the lights were on, something she definitely wasn't used to.

"Mom? Dad?" she called out curiously while setting the bags by the door. Akane looked around at the walls and nearby table, noting a distinct lack of dust. Everything looked so much brighter than it did before. She wasn't used to it.

"Ah, good, you're here. Welcome home, babe."

Akane turned to see Caleb standing near the entrance to the living room, sleeves rolled up, a visible sweat on his brow. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"Caleb? Have you been cleaning?"

He chuckled awkwardly. "Surprise! Yeah, Mom and I had been planning this for a while now. We just needed an excuse to get you out of the house first." With a smile, he then added. "I love your haircut, by the way."

She turned away meekly and blushed, running a hand through her neck-length hair. "Do you really like it? I know it's a lot shorter than it was before. But the stylist said I'd look really cute with shorter hair."

He brushed her bangs back and kissed her. "You'll always be beautiful to me. But shorter hair definitely works on you."

Akane smiled lovingly at him before gazing around the room once more. "It's so much brighter in here than it was before. I can't remember the last time there was so much...light in my home." She gazed back at Caleb and placed her hands up to her chest. "Did you...did you do all this for me?"

"There's still a lot of work to do," he admitted. "The kitchens gonna need to be fumigated, and the tatami mats in your bedroom will need to be replaced. I haven't started on the windows or cleaned any of the restrooms yet." With an excited grin, he then added. "But check this out."

Caleb took his girlfriend by the hand and led her to one of the spare rooms. All the clutter was gone, and the ugly old curtains had been replaced, allowing natural light to come pouring into the room. Along the walls, all the books and manuals she'd been hoarding in her room were now resting on brand-new bookshelves.

"I put them together myself," he admitted. "I figured this would be a more comfy place for us to come study together than your room."

"Caleb..." Akane was legitimately starting to tear up. This was easily the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her before.

"There's one more surprise," he insisted before taking her by the hand again.

Akane was led to the backyard. Though much of it was still an overgrown mess, Caleb had gone through and cleared out a small patch under the shade of the old oak tree. Resting beneath its branches was a picnic blanket with a basket set up.

"Just something I whipped up this morning," he explained. "I figured since it was finally warming up outside, we might enjoy the weather."

Her lip quivered, and she wiped the tears from her eyes before hugging and kissing Caleb gratefully.

"I have the sweetest boyfriend in the whole world," she whispered lovingly to him in their embrace.

He smiled at her words. "I'm glad you like it."

They sat down together under the old oak, enjoying some of Caleb's slow-roasted man hock sandwiches. Everything about it was so wonderful, and all Akane could think about was how amazing this day had been. She was the luckiest girl in the whole world...

...yet there was one small thing that could make it even better.

Caleb caught his girlfriend smiling wistfully at the ground and sat up off the blanket. "Something up?"

"You know what would make this absolutely perfect?" she asked quietly, a nervous bit of hope in her voice.

Before he could ask, Akane stood up off the blanket and jogged over to the back door before sliding it open and calling inside.

"Mom! Dad! Come out back! Caleb set up a picnic!"

But, of course, there was only silence.

"It's such a lovely day! You two should come outside and get some sunshine! It'll do you both good!"

Nothing. Her hopeful smile slowly began to fade.

"Please?" she asked a little more quietly.

Only silence. Caleb said absolutely nothing as he watched his girlfriend slowly deflate little by little.

"It's so nice outside...." Her voice got progressively quieter and quieter as an all too familiar gloom enveloped her. "You promised me you'd try to be more active. You promised."

Still, no one answered.

"Please...just this once?" she asked pitifully. "Come sit with me just this once?"

Caleb lowered his head and shut his eyes.

"You were never there for me...." Her lip began to quiver as her features contorted into a hurt and angry glare. "...not once. Yet I still forgave you."

He began chanting to himself.

"You yelled at me when I was scared. You hit me, locked me in a kennel when I wouldn't stop crying...but I forgave you!" she cried, her voice biting, tears streaming down her face. "All I needed was your love...your help...but I still forgave you."

The air grew cold around him.

"So please..." She hung her head in defeat. "...please just give me this one thing. Just once...let me feel like we're a real family."

Caleb finished his incantation, and his eyes began to glow for the briefest moment. It was then Akane finally heard the floorboards begin to creak.

"Alright, alright. We're coming, dear daughter. No need to be so dramatic."

She slowly raised her head, hope returning to her eyes as two figures slowly lumbered down the hall.

"Your father and I were just napping, sweetie. We didn't mean to ignore you."

Akane's entire face slowly lit up into an ecstatic beaming smile as the reanimated corpses of her parents slowly came shuffling out onto the back deck of their family home. Caleb continued to subtly pull their bodies along like marionettes on a string, projecting his voice through their throats.

"We're sorry if we upset you, dear," her father's rotted jaw moved up and down under his command. "Your mother and I have been helping Caleb clean the house all day."

"We'd love to have a picnic with you, sweetie. If you'll have us, that is."

The joy in her eyes at that moment shined brighter than the sun. "Of course, we will!"

"I know we've had our problems in the past."

"Your father and I weren't always the best parents in the world."

"But it means so much to us both to have earned your forgiveness."

"We love you, Akane. From the bottom of our hearts."

She began to break down again, sniffling and wiping her eyes before wrapping them both up in a giant hug.

"I love you both so much." A spider crawled out of her father's eye socket and down her neck. "The past doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is you're here for me now."

Caleb wrapped their rotted, skeletal arms around her before pulling them towards the picnic blanket. Ultimately, this was only a temporary solution. Once his mother located suitable replacement parts, he'd perform a proper necromantic conjuring and have her parents brought back to life for real.

Albeit in hideous pain for the rest of their natural days, but that ultimately was not what was most important. What was important was that Akane was smiling again. She looked happier and more content with her life now than ever before. And as the four of them sat together as one family eating lunch, Caleb reveled in every joyful moment he spent with her.

"Thank you so much for today," Akane spoke to him, love in her voice as well as her eyes. "It's meant more to me than you'll ever know."

"I'll do it all again if I must, Akane. I mean that."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before pouring tea for the four of them. At long last, Akane had the loving family moment she always secretly wanted. A memory she could look back on for the rest of her life.