Jackal expressed his gratitude to Asha by slightly closing and opening his eyes upon seeing her standing by the door.
He felt immensely thankful for having Melissa’s heart returned to him.
However, at that moment, Mel pulled something out from behind her back.
“Mel picked this for you, Daddy! Thank you for allowing Mel to be born as a horse.”
In Mel’s hand, there was a single carnation beautifully arranged with baby’s breath.
Even from a young age, Mel showed talent in flower arrangements, taking after her mother.
Jackal was deeply moved and was momentarily speechless.
Asha swiftly brought a large towel and placed it over him so he could receive the flowers.
As Jackal transformed into his human form, he draped the towel over his body and accepted the flowers from Mel.
However, he remained still for a while.
“Daddy…?”
Observing his stern expression, Melissa glanced at him, thinking that her father was very angry.
Then Jackal spoke up.
“Thank you, Mel…”
He made his way directly to his workshop and sat in a chair, gazing at the flowers for a long time.
Asha and Mel exchanged silent nods while standing at the doorway, secretly leaning their heads forward to catch a glimpse inside the workshop.
But then, Jackal raised one of his arms and wiped his eyes.
Both of them widened their eyes at the sight.
Now that Mel noticed, she was really troubled and worried that her father might come to dislike her wild and untamed self.
Observing him carefully place the flowers in a glass jar on the desk, Asha whispered softly into Mel’s ear, making sure only she could hear.
“Dad is a sensitive person.”
Mel looked up at Asha with wide eyes and nodded.
After patiently waiting for her father to calm down, Mel quickly approached him as soon as he left the room.
“Dad, Mel wants to transform into a horse too! Please teach me how to transform too!”
Jackal asked with an excited expression on his face.
“Do you really want to know…?”
“Yes!”
“…Shall we go practice with Dad then?”
“Yes!”
Melissa nodded vigorously, filled with determination.
Jackal transformed into a horse and carried Melissa on his back to the lake.
Considering the kelpies’ affinity for water, he thought that taking Mel to the water might aid her transformation.
At that moment, Asha didn’t object to riding a horse, but out of concern for Mel’s safety, she climbed onto Jackal’s back as well and positioned her daughter in front of her.
Experiencing horseback riding for the first time, Melissa widened her eyes and shouted with excitement.
Satisfied to carry the two people he loved, Jackal moved as cautiously as possible, trotting toward the lake.
Arriving at the lake, Mel, with a determined expression, plunged into the water, splashing.
However, no matter how soaked or how much she meditated in the water alongside Jackal, Mel couldn’t transform into a horse.
Feeling discouraged and downcast, Mel let out a deep sigh, and the wet Jackal beside her spoke up.
“It’s okay. You’ll be able to transform on your own when the time comes. Even Dad didn’t try to force it.”
Mel nodded, but couldn’t help sighing once more.
Jackal turned his head and noticed Asha sitting some distance away at the water’s edge, her feet dipped in the water.
“What are you doing there? Come in too.”
As he cast a seductive glance her way, with his wet hair dripping, Asha involuntarily swallowed.
“Oh, I’m fine. I didn’t bring any spare clothes to change into…”
However, those words were useless.
Jackal walked to the water’s edge, picked up Asha and hauled her over his shoulder, then transformed into a horse.
Asha burst into a joyful scream and hugged him around the back of the neck.
Jackal, who turned into a horse, was playful and waded into the water with Asha on his back.
Suddenly, he bent his knees and sank to the ground, causing Asha to get drenched.
When Asha let out another scream, Melissa found it amusing, and she joined in and tightly embraced her.
Asha just laughed as she couldn’t stop them.
“Really! Because of you, my clothes are all wet! Take responsibility.”
When she demanded he takes responsibility, he glanced back at her with expressive eyes.
Witnessing the sparkle in his blue eyes, Asha realized something and asked in a daze.
“Wait, did you purposely make me wet…?”
His eyes narrowed, seemingly conveying that he would take responsibility for everything.
Now, even without speaking, they could communicate telepathically. Asha burst into laughter at her own confusion.
Although Melissa didn’t succeed in transforming, the three of them enjoyed playing in the water since they were already at the lake.
It was hoped that Melissa wouldn’t remember her initial failure negatively.
As Asha and Melissa teamed up, attacking with water from both sides of Jackal, he submerged in the water and resurfaced, shaking his mane as a form of retaliation.
Asha and Melissa both screamed and laughed as the swaying mane and water droplets splashed on them like a bucket of water.
As the sun began to set, the three concluded their water play and returned home.
While Melissa went to wash up, Asha let out a sigh of relief.
“Today was truly an eventful day.”
“Yeah, today was probably Mel’s most lively birthday. Let’s quickly take a shower too.”
Asha silently gazed at Jackal as he removed his wet clothes.
It was fascinating to see the cloth clinging to his strong body, but he looked better when he was completely naked.
Sensing her gaze, Jackal began unbuttoning his shirt and glanced away.
An unexpected silence hung in the air, creating a strange tension between them.
Asha swallowed hard, and Jackal suddenly transformed into his horse form and approached her.
Sending her a meaningful look, he leaned down to remove her wet top with his face buried in it.
But then…
“…Mom and Dad! Mel finished showering…”
Melissa burst into the room abruptly, freezing at the sight before her and staring wide-eyed.
Jackal remained motionless, his nose tucked under Asha’s clothes.
His eyes trembled as he turned his gaze to the side and noticed Melissa standing in the doorway.
“…Dad, what are you doing?”
Asha’s face belatedly flushed red.
“Oh… well, I was helping Mom undress. She was struggling to take off her wet clothes….”
“Oh, I see…”
With a stern expression, Melissa turned and left the room.
Jackal transformed back into his human form and slumped onto the bed, completely naked.
As the tension dissipated, it felt as if all the strength had drained from his body.
He was red from his neck to his ears.
Mel, who usually resisted bathing, seemed to have taken a quick shower today.
Asha gently embraced him by the neck and whispered in his ear.
“Let’s shower together once Mel is asleep.”
When Jackal looked at her with widened eyes, Asha mischievously smiled this time.
His heart started racing wildly once again.
“Alright… Maybe today we should take a longer shower.”
Realizing the meaning behind those words, Asha’s face also turned red.
The two looked into each other’s eyes before passionately embracing and kissing each other.
After kissing for a while, they entered the shower together.
The lights in their room stayed on throughout the night.
* * * * *
Following Melissa’s fifth birthday, the village held a Rain Ceremony.
The rain ritual consists of praying that there is no drought and was traditionally organized by the Kelpie clan, so the villagers had high expectations.
Jackal, who was the first village chief to perform a rain ritual, attended the ceremony with a serious demeanor, leading the prayers, while Asha diligently assisted by his side.
The sight of the two of them in their ceremonial attire was quite majestic.
While Mom and Dad were busy, Melissa wandered around town alone, playing.
Then, suddenly, she caught a glimpse of someone’s face peering out from the dark river, staring in her direction.
Melissa was so startled that she screamed.
“It’s a water ghost…!”
Frantically, Mel looked around for help.
However, when she turned her gaze back to the river, there was no one there.
Now convinced that it was indeed a ghost, Mel’s eyes widened, and she found herself unable to move.
She trembled.
But then, something unexpected happened.
“…My name is not Water Ghost, it’s Nek.”
Melissa jumped in surprise at the sudden voice that came from behind her.
Suddenly, Nek, who had transformed into a human, stood before her.
He went ‘hmm’ as he leaned in to look at little Melissa.
“You’ve never seen me before, have you? But I’ve always been by your side.”
“By Mel’s side…?”
Melissa’s pupils quivered in what seemed like disbelief, and Nek cleared his throat before speaking again.
“Since you were a baby, I’ve been watching over you. Flowers like water, so I thought I might help. I’m a water spirit. But, whenever your Mom and Dad saw me, they tried to chase me away. Even though I wasn’t even naked or anything…”
As he said that, he looked up disapprovingly and let out a sob, but due to his extensive record, Jackal prevented him from getting anywhere near Asha and the baby.
To them, Nek was already labeled as a ‘water pervert’.
But Melissa, who didn’t know that fact, lit up with excitement at the mention of a ‘water spirit’.
She was at the perfect age to adore fairies and she was delighted to come face to face with a spirit.
Nek asked with a goofy grin.
“If you’re bored, would you like to play with me? I’m planning something really fun right now.”
“What is it?”
“In this rain ceremony, my role as a water spirit is very important. I need to use my powers to bring rain to the village. But a spirit that does such amazing things can’t ordinarily use its abilities, right?”
Melissa nodded.
With a mischievous look on his face, Nek began to entice Mel.
“So, here’s the thing. How about creating a water splash with me during the rain ceremony? All you have to do is gather as many people as possible by the river.”
“Water splash… ?”
“Yeah! We’ll lift up the river water and spray it on the people attending the ceremony! Everyone will be drenched from head to toe. It will be a super fun water game, hahaha!”
Melissa stared blankly as Nek danced frivolously.
Somehow, she knew why her mom and dad didn’t want him to come close…
Melissa boldly shouted, narrowing her brows.
“That’s a bad thing to do!”
“What?”
“Spirits shouldn’t do bad things!”
“Why do you think it’s a bad thing? It’s just a refreshing water play, you know? Don’t you know that the rain ceremony is originally a day for water play?”
As Nek spoke, his eyes widened. Melissa, who wasn’t quite sure which day the rain ceremony was, was almost swayed by his words.
Especially since she had enjoyed playing with water so much last time, his words sounded even more tempting.
