Chapter 147 - Toy and Books (1/2)

Adam proudly showed off his car and Abby felt her heart burst. Too cute! How was she supposed to handle a cuteness attack of this level?

Katie mock whispered, ”He shows it to everyone he likes.”

It was official. She melted into a puddle of sentimental goo. Her nephew liked her right off the bat! He was very trusting considering his mother barely told him they were family, which proved he was a happy and well-adjusted kid.

What kind of childhood did he have living out here in the middle of nowhere? Katie had obviously commissioned that toy for him but what about his other toys? Were there any picture books? What sorts of things did little kids even do in this world in the absence of a playground?

”Who made it for you?” Abby asked, gesturing to the car.

Katie was a bit embarrassed. ”Ah, I got one of the carpenters who moved here from Rowenhilde to do it. He made a few others toys like this for him and other kids started wanting them too so now there are wooden cars all over town. We even started selling them in bulk to the merchants who pass through here after one of them bought one on a whim for his grandson.”

Wow. Such a small thing ended up widespread because she wanted something familiar for her son to play with. Abby couldn't help but wonder exactly how much influence her sister had managed to have on this world by accident.

She was very curious about Katie's life here and wanted to know more. Seeming to sense this, Katie excused them (Al and Blaise were still deep in discussion) and showed her around the house.

In addition to a modern bathroom, there was also a fairly modern kitchen. There wasn't a microwave or a proper fridge but Katie explained that there was an ice box of sorts in the cellar outside for keeping things cold.

Adam had a few more familiar toys as well. His wooden car wasn't the only vehicle he had. There was also a wagon pulled by a wooden horse and a rudimentary truck. He had a teddy bear too; stuffed animals did exist here though bears weren't the most popular. Most children had stuffed rabbits for some reason.

There were also wooden blocks to build towers and bridges with. Everything else appeared to be carvings of various animals found in the mountains, such as deer.

”You guys use a lot of wood, don't you?” Abby asked dryly.

Katie shrugged. ”We're surrounded by trees; lumber is one of our best resources. Wait until you see the wooden playground I convinced someone to build! All the kids in town love it.”

She was fairly certain she knew what kind of playground her sister was talking about. When they were younger, they visited a historical park where the playground was almost entirely made of wood and shaped a bit like a castle. They used rubber and plastic a little bit for slides and rope courses but that was it.

Her sister wasn't the most creative person in the world by any means but she was full of a lot of random knowledge. Getting other more talented people to act on that knowledge had yielded quite the results and she had hardly seen anything yet.