Starts it all... Alan, a resident of a church-run hostel, had lost track of time. After finishing school at 18:00., He wandered to the lake area, mesmerized by the stars twinkling above. His fascination with space often led him to forget about his surroundings.

As the night wore on, Alan suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing he was late for the 20:00 curfew. Panicked, he hurried towards the hostel, hoping to appease Mother Superior with a peace offering. He decided to buy steamed sweet potato, her favourite snack, in the hopes that it would soften her anger.

As he approached the hostel gate, he found Mother Superior waiting for him, her expression a mixture of relief and annoyance. "Why are you late, Alan? You know the rules perfectly," she said, trying to sound stern.

Alan launched into a creative explanation, "I'm late because of you, Mother. I saw a store selling steamed sweet potato and thought of you. I knew you'd love it, but I forgot my purse at school. So, I had to come back to the hostel to get it, and that's why I'm late."

Mother Superior wasn't convinced by Alan's tale, especially since Nila had already informed her that he was sitting by the lake, lost in thought. Taking pity on him, she decided not to leave him out in the cold. "This is your last warning, Alan. Next time, I won't listen to any excuses. Do you understand?"

Alan nodded sheepishly, "Yes, my lord."

As the hostel gates opened, Alan stepped inside, grateful for Mother Superior's mercy. She couldn't help but think back to the day she found him, 19 years ago, abandoned by the lake. The memory still filled her with a mix of anger and sadness. She had taken him in, raised him as one of her own, and now, he was a bright, albeit sometimes reckless, young man.

After finishing school, Alan was ready to go to college. However, his mother superior didn’t want to let him go. She understood how important university was for him, but she reluctantly decided to let him go, even though she didn’t want to. Alan, too, didn’t want to leave her, but he knew this step was necessary for his future. With a heavy heart, he made his decision.

Alan had very few clothes—only his neat uniform—so his mother decided to buy him new clothes. As always, she wanted to do this quietly, without Alan’s knowledge. She called Nila and asked for her help.

"Are you available the day after tomorrow to go shopping with Alan, or should I ask your mother for assistance?" asked the mother superior.

Nila didn’t want to miss the chance to spend time with Alan, so she eagerly agreed. "I’m always free to go shopping with him. Actually, I’ve been wanting to spend time with him, so there’s no need to ask my mum about this. I’ll handle it. But, Mother, did you ask Alan about it? I’m 100% sure he’ll never go shopping like this."

The mother superior sighed. "Yes, I know how stubborn he is. That's why I’ve come up with a plan. First, you need to tell him that you have two tickets to the space centre to see the stars. You know how much he loves space and astronomy. He won’t refuse that, I’m sure. But the space centre opens at 20:00 PM. So, for the time being you’ll need to tell him another little lie. Do you have any ideas?"

Nila thought for a moment and then said, "Luckily, the day after tomorrow, there’s a book fair in the nearby town. I’ll tell him about that first. He’ll want to attend for sure. After we finish there, we can head straight to the shopping mall. But if he asks about where the money comes, what should I say?"